HELP - Network DHCP based addressed overwritten by Autoconfig

[Alan]

Over the last few weeks suddenly the NIC card on my desktop PC gets a static
IP address 169.254.164.39 with a subnet mask 255.255.0.0. Doing ipconfig in
the dos window, shows Autoconfig enabled as ON with the IP address shown
above. There is no network connectivity and the system reports limited or
no network connectivity.

This computer is connected via a physical LAN to the home networking hub.
The network configuration is setup for DHCP and other wireless computers
connect without a problem.

A couple of weeks ago after spending a couple of hours making all sorts of
changes I was able to get this to work normally again with DHCP. Today
however it has reverted to the same static address.

Any suggestions and advice on fixing this is deeply appreciated ? Can I
disable autoconfig through some registry setting ? Could this be some virus
or other malware on my system.

Thanks in Advance,
Alan.

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

Over the last few weeks suddenly the NIC card on my desktop PC gets a static
IP address 169.254.164.39 with a subnet mask 255.255.0.0. Doing ipconfig in
the dos window, shows Autoconfig enabled as ON with the IP address shown
above. There is no network connectivity and the system reports limited or
no network connectivity.

This computer is connected via a physical LAN to the home networking hub.
The network configuration is setup for DHCP and other wireless computers
connect without a problem.

A couple of weeks ago after spending a couple of hours making all sorts of
changes I was able to get this to work normally again with DHCP. Today
however it has reverted to the same static address.

Any suggestions and advice on fixing this is deeply appreciated ? Can I
disable autoconfig through some registry setting ? Could this be some virus
or other malware on my system.

Thanks in Advance,
Alan.

That's not a static IP address. It's an Automatic Private IP Address
(APIPA), and Windows XP only assigns it when:

1. The network connection is configured to obtain an IP address
automatically, and:

2. It's unable to communicate with a DHCP server to get an address.

So, something's wrong with the connection to the networking hub and
the DHCP server. Is it really a hub, or is it a broadband router?
Hubs don't have DHCP servers built in, but broadband routers do.

Try a different network cable. Try a different hub port.

Uninstalling and reinstalling the network card in Device Manager might
help. If it doesn't, I've written a web page with more suggestions:

Windows XP Network Troubleshooting - Problems with Network Cards
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/troubleshoot/networkcard.htm
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

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