Vista grabs first IP in routers range

We have a new laptop with Vista Premium. We used the same account and
password for the other machines. The issue is that in this peer-to-peer
network the Vista machine is taking 192.168.1.101 when there is already a
machine that has been given this IP. I temporarily solved the problem by
giving my other machines (all XP Pro) static IPs. I do not want to give the
laptop a static IP so that it can be used at local hot spots.
Does anyone know why the Vista machine would not just accept the IP given by
the router?
Its a Linksys router (b/g) about a year and a half old. I suppose I might
try updating the firmware, but I think that Vista should just take the IP its
given and play nice.

"Jerry Langley III" <JerryLangleyIII@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
message news:0F77D783-5B99-42D1-B4BF-A44AC70A00D4@microsoft.com...

> We have a new laptop with Vista Premium. We used the same account and
> password for the other machines. The issue is that in this peer-to-peer
> network the Vista machine is taking 192.168.1.101 when there is already a
> machine that has been given this IP. I temporarily solved the problem by
> giving my other machines (all XP Pro) static IPs. I do not want to give
> the
> laptop a static IP so that it can be used at local hot spots.
> Does anyone know why the Vista machine would not just accept the IP given
> by
> the router?
> Its a Linksys router (b/g) about a year and a half old. I suppose I might
> try updating the firmware, but I think that Vista should just take the IP
> its
> given and play nice.
>

Some routers allow you to reserve a specific DHCP assigned IP based on the
client MAC Address. Check the Linksys admin pages. Its possible a firmware
upgrade, if one is available, might add that feature. You could also use
third-party firmware like DD-WRT if your router is supported. DD-WRT calls
this "Static DHCP"...

http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Supported_Devices

Vista also has an alternate address function that will do what you want.
Here is an XP article that describes this...

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/283676

Lastly a third-party program like NetSwitcher may work for you also...

http://www.netswitcher.com

--

Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)

Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the
mutual benefit of all of us...
The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights...

"Sooner Al [MVP]" <SoonerAl@somewhere.net.invalid> wrote in message
news:7D52BCA7-6F96-42A8-A4D2-B55B521AA824@microsoft.com...

> "Jerry Langley III" <JerryLangleyIII@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
> message news:0F77D783-5B99-42D1-B4BF-A44AC70A00D4@microsoft.com...

>
> Some routers allow you to reserve a specific DHCP assigned IP based on the
> client MAC Address. Check the Linksys admin pages. Its possible a firmware
> upgrade, if one is available, might add that feature. You could also use
> third-party firmware like DD-WRT if your router is supported. DD-WRT calls
> this "Static DHCP"...
>
> http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Supported_Devices
>
> Vista also has an alternate address function that will do what you want.
> Here is an XP article that describes this...
>
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/283676
>
> Lastly a third-party program like NetSwitcher may work for you also...
>
> http://www.netswitcher.com
>
> --
>
> Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)
>
> Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the
> mutual benefit of all of us...
> The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
> rights...
>

I forgot to add you would need to disable the home router DHCP server and
assign a static IP to your laptop in order to use the alternate function. Of
course this also presents problems if other guest devices want to connect to
your network.

Personally I see no issues using static IP addressing for desktops that
never move and are on a small home network environment. Its basically set it
and forget it. Just make sure the static IPs are outside the range the
routers DHCP server assigns.

--

Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)

Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the
mutual benefit of all of us...
The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights...

Thanks Al

I can do the static IP thing for the fixed machines, as you alluded to there
guest devices (WII, DS handheld, Pocket PC etc) and I was concerned that
there may be a collision with the laptop. But the bigger question is why
this is an issue in the first place. If we take this laptop to a hot spot
will it try to do the same thing? There is some kind of bug going on here.

"Sooner Al [MVP]" wrote:

> "Sooner Al [MVP]" <SoonerAl@somewhere.net.invalid> wrote in message
> news:7D52BCA7-6F96-42A8-A4D2-B55B521AA824@microsoft.com...

>
> I forgot to add you would need to disable the home router DHCP server and
> assign a static IP to your laptop in order to use the alternate function. Of
> course this also presents problems if other guest devices want to connect to
> your network.
>
> Personally I see no issues using static IP addressing for desktops that
> never move and are on a small home network environment. Its basically set it
> and forget it. Just make sure the static IPs are outside the range the
> routers DHCP server assigns.
>
> --
>
> Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)
>
> Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the
> mutual benefit of all of us...
> The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
> rights...
>
>

"Jerry Langley III" <JerryLangleyIII@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
message news:B94323D8-C579-4901-A51C-8BEF983DB54E@microsoft.com...

> Thanks Al
>
> I can do the static IP thing for the fixed machines, as you alluded to
> there
> guest devices (WII, DS handheld, Pocket PC etc) and I was concerned that
> there may be a collision with the laptop. But the bigger question is why
> this is an issue in the first place. If we take this laptop to a hot spot
> will it try to do the same thing? There is some kind of bug going on here.
>

The DHCP server determines the lease time period. For example the default on
the current Belkin F5D7230-4 router I use is "Forever" but I can also select
time periods of a half-hour, one hour, two hours, half day, one day, two
days, one week or two weeks if I want to. So for example a one hour lease
may be appropriate for a public hotspot while a home user, like myself, will
opt for the default. Your router may or may not allow you to control the
lease period depending on the firmware installed.

--

Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)

Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the
mutual benefit of all of us...
The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights...