Changing IP address in Windows XP...

[Cobra]

Hi guys,

I have just moved house and I am having a little difficulty getting my PC working on the network. There are five of us in the house, and I would apparently have the same IP address as another user. My networking icon says "Little or no connectivity", but the "Repair" button fails to do the trick. I went into command line and typed "ipconfig /renew" but it tells me there is a problem with the DHCP server and so cannot renew my IP address.

Does anyone know how I can change this address?

Funnily enough, I turned my machine on this morning and it seems to be working fine. Maybe the problem has cured itself, maybe I've jumped in before the other person with the same IP as me.

Many thanks,

Cobra

EDIT - I should add that I have tried a Google search and come up with two solutions - the command line one and the TCP/IP properties one. Neither will work.

[guns1inger]

Does the network use DHCP ? or does everyone have a fixed IP address ? If there are only 5 of you it should not be too hard to find out who is sharing an IP address with you.

When you say thae solutions you found didn't work, what do you mean ? You couldn't change your address ? or changing it didn't fix the problem ?

[bazooka]

Cobra,

Do you have a router?

[Cobra]

We do have a router, and it does support DHCP. When I say it does not work, I mean to say that it fails to change the IP address because it cannot contact the DHCP server (or something along those lines). Sorry - I should have added a little more detail.

I think the problem is solved now - someone may have activated the DHCP function on the router. I'm not sure, and I can't check since he's gone out again.

Our network (in case this is relevant) is as follows:

- One port router connected to an eight-port hub
- Every machine connected to this hub
- Router connected to the ADSL port

Thanks for your responses!

Cobra

[rallynavvie]

Why do you have a hub into a router? That'll cause problems if you don't set it up properly.

[bazooka]

I would recommend dumping the hub and getting a switch.

You are killing each other sharing the bandwidth between 8 computers.

The switch will make things more efficient.

[SquirrelDip]

Why do you have a hub into a router? That'll cause problems if you don't set it up properly.

Because it's a single port router. Most routers today come with buit-in switches but this wasn't the case a short while back.

I would recommend dumping the hub and getting a switch.

You are killing each other sharing the bandwidth between 8 computers.

The switch will make things more efficient.

I agree but this isn't where the problem lies. However, another reason to upgrade is that the configuration of newer routers is better.


The simplest setup for your 8 machines is to make sure the DHCP server is turned on in the router and set all machine's network settings to "Obtain an IP address automatically" and "Obtain DNS server address automatically." Letting the DHCP server on the router dish out the IP's will ensure that everyone get's a unique IP.

Manually setting the IP's in you computer's network setup is useful for gaming - this way you can set port forwarding to a specific machine. Still, a better way is to set up reservations in the router's DHCP to map specific IP's to specific computers - to do this you'll need the MAC address of the network card on each computer (that you want a reservation for), you can get this by typing "IPCONFIG /ALL" in a comand window and look for the "Physical Address" entry.

Also note that if you have manual settings for the IP addressing that "IPCONFIG /RELEASE" and "IPCONFIG /RENEW" won't do anything - thes commands only work for DHCP setup.

It is possible that an older router may not allow reservations - this would be another reason to upgrade your router.

[stiltman]

We do have a router, and it does support DHCP. When I say it does not work, I mean to say that it fails to change the IP address because it cannot contact the DHCP server (or something along those lines). Sorry - I should have added a little more detail.

I think the problem is solved now - someone may have activated the DHCP function on the router. I'm not sure, and I can't check since he's gone out again.

Our network (in case this is relevant) is as follows:

- One port router connected to an eight-port hub
- Every machine connected to this hub
- Router connected to the ADSL port

Thanks for your responses!

Cobra

ipconfig/release and /renew will only work if you are running DHCP. If you are using static IPs, then you have to manually change them via the properties of the local area connection in the network settings. I know that doesn't solve your problem, but from reading your first post, it sounds like you are running DHCP, and in this post it sounds like you weren't suppose to be running DHCP.

If you are running static IPs and type ipconfig /release, you will get this message
Error: No adapters bound to TCP/IP are enabled for DHCP
So to me, it sounds like you are running DHCP and you need it turned on in the router's setup

[Cobra]

The hub is a switch - once again, my mistake. The router is a Zoom X4 - split new.

I think DHCP has been turned on - everything just works now.

Thanks very much for the suggestions - if something goes wrong I'll look back here!

Thanks again,

Cobra

[Garibaldi]

Does anyone know how I can change this address?

Its too bad you don't have win 9x. You could just go to run and type winipcfg, which would display all your ip settings and you could choose to release them. Of course Microsoft got rid of that in XP.

[bazooka]

Of course Microsoft got rid of that in XP.

Now it uses ipconfig.

[rallynavvie]

Command line stuff is cooler anyway...

Having a switch behind a router can still cause problems if not configured correctly. If you are noticing problems like a website not loading the first time you browse to it but then works when you reload it right away that is a problem with a double-switching. Same thing happened to me with my DSL modem/router and my wireless router.

[Cobra]

Ahhh! I've often wondered why that happens at home! I take it I must simply configure the router and let it know there is a switch already in place.

The network at my house is now working perfectly, and there are no problems with the Internet. I don't know who solved it or how, but I'll find out sometime soon.

Thanks for the tip, rallynavvie!

Cobra