IP Address Conflict on Network

ShimmyShimmy
edited March 2005 in Science & Tech
I'm getting a Windows System Error message that says:

There is an IP address conflict with another system on the network. I've tried looking for help but anything out there hasn't done me justice so far. Any advice to get this message away would be helpful. Thank You!

Shimmy :confused:

Comments

  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited March 2005
    Turn off all of your computers, turn them back on one by one.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited March 2005
    and when they are all off, reboot your router or whatever is acting as your DHCP server to flush the cache and possible reset a possibly corrupt DHCP database.
  • DexterDexter Vancouver, BC Canada
    edited March 2005
    Are you using a router within your home / office? Or are you connected directly to the internet through the high-speed modem?

    Dexter...
  • ShimmyShimmy
    edited March 2005
    Thanks guys..I'll be sure to try your advice when my roomate gets home.

    Dexter - to answer your question, Yes I am using a router. My roomate is hooked up to the Cable modem-and the wireless router, and my laptop is connected via my wireless card...?? Does that make a difference at all?

    Shimmy.
  • DexterDexter Vancouver, BC Canada
    edited March 2005
    Possibly. Are they all using DHCP, or have you hard coded IP addresses into them? If they are hardcoded, check to make sure they are unique, no duplication. If they are DHCP, then Prime's suggestion above will fix it.

    And if you are using DHCP, especially for the wireless, the next time you you get the message again, go into the router and check the LAN DHCP status. See what devices are attached to the network, and make note of their actual MAC ID addresses. Check those against the ethernet adaptors in the computers that are supposed to be on the network. It is possible, if your security settings are not very good, that you have someone stealing wireless bandwidth from you. If a MAC ID shows up that is not one of the computers you know about, then you have someone leaching bandwidth from you, and you will need to turn on security for the wirelss if you do not have any, or set a new WEP password for the network if you already had security enabled.

    Dexter...
  • ShimmyShimmy
    edited March 2005
    Dexter -

    I rebooted the system and still received the message again. I was going to check the IDs like you said, but I'm not sure where to go to find those addresses. I'm not even sure what a MAC ID is. If it isn't already apparent I know nothing about networking....
  • DexterDexter Vancouver, BC Canada
    edited March 2005
    MAC ID is a different way of saying MAC ADDRESS, which is...

    http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/M/MAC_address.html
    Short for Media Access Control address, a hardware address that uniquely identifies each node of a network.


    What kind of router is it? Basically, you log into the router, locate the page that shows you currently connected systems, or the DHCP status page (some routers have seperate status pages for the wired and wireless connections) and look at what is connected. That will show you the MAC ID for each connected system.
    Basically a unique identifier for each ethernet adaptor (network card or other networkable device like a router, printer, etc.) On my Linksys wireless router at my office, I go to the router's web page, then into Status, then click DHCP Clients Table. On my Netgear wireless router at home, I log in, go to the Attached Devices button. That shows me the list of all attached devices, whether DHCP or hard-coded. So depending on what router you have, the procedure may be different, and the way it displays results may be different.

    Then you check each computer by going to START -> RUN, type in CMD. You will get the Command Window. Then type:

    ipconfig /all

    That will give you a bunch of info, what you are looking for is the item listed as "physical address" (yet another way of referring to the MAC address.) It will be in Hexidecimal, and look like this:

    00-03-47-A4-AD-20

    Numbers and letters will vary, but that's the pattern, 6 groups of 2, with dashes in between.

    Write that down then close the command window. Repeat on each computer that should be connected to the router.

    So, if you have a MAC ID connected to the router that is not listed on one of the computers, then yuo have an uninvited guest. The good news is that you can just change your router security to block them out, and many roouters even allow you to filter out individual or a range of MAC addresses, so you can just enter the unwanted address into the blocking filter and they will be locked out.

    Dexter...
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