Hope we can get it working for you. I'll do some more asking around. Dynaverse is a real hoot!
Anyhow, seems like I remember something about running things in teh background or something. So, try turning everyting off, anti-virus, firewall, etc. Also, turn vsynch off on your video card (that used to make me hang in the 3d portion of the game, which isn't exactly your problem yet, but still a problem for some).