Error message meaning?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Terry Pinnell
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Terry Pinnell

I left Agent collecting my news and emails and when I returned with a
coffee found that XP had rebooted. On examining Event Viewer I found
this message, timed a few minutes earlier:

"Unable to contact a DHCP server. The Automatic Private IP Address
xxx.xxx.xxx.xx will be assigned to dial-in clients. Clients may be
unable to access resources on the network."

Could someone give me a clue as to what its significance might be
please? (I've reluctantly withheld the address, in case it has a
security exposure. But I suspect it might be the most helpful
element?)
 
The address most likely starts with 169.254 and the error means just what it
said. The DHCP server cannot be contacted. Check your connectivity.
 
Terry Pinnell said:
I left Agent collecting my news and emails and when I returned with a
coffee found that XP had rebooted. On examining Event Viewer I found
this message, timed a few minutes earlier:

"Unable to contact a DHCP server. The Automatic Private IP Address
xxx.xxx.xxx.xx will be assigned to dial-in clients. Clients may be
unable to access resources on the network."

Could someone give me a clue as to what its significance might be
please? (I've reluctantly withheld the address, in case it has a
security exposure. But I suspect it might be the most helpful
element?)
Click to expand...

The address of 169.254.x.x is a private, non-routable address that
can't be reached from the Internet. Revealing it isn't a security
risk.

Was this a one-time problem? If so, it could have been caused by a
minor glitch at your ISP. Is you dial-up connection working now?
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
 
Steve Winograd said:
The address of 169.254.x.x is a private, non-routable address that
can't be reached from the Internet. Revealing it isn't a security
risk.

Was this a one-time problem? If so, it could have been caused by a
minor glitch at your ISP. Is you dial-up connection working now?
Click to expand...

Thanks, Steve. The actual address was 169.254.145.78. And I think this
could be related to the long-standing and still unresolved problem I'm
having with intermittent disconnections. I've posted separately about
that over the last few weeks, most recently here:
Subject: Repeated disconnection, RAS Error
Date: Sat, 14 Feb 2004 10:24:47 +0000
Message-ID: <[email protected]>

Any further advice you can give would be appreciated please. As I
hoped my post implied, I'm out of my depth here, and wouldn't
recognise a 'DHCP server' if I tripped over one <g>.
 
Terry Pinnell said:
Thanks, Steve. The actual address was 169.254.145.78. And I think this
could be related to the long-standing and still unresolved problem I'm
having with intermittent disconnections. I've posted separately about
that over the last few weeks, most recently here:
Subject: Repeated disconnection, RAS Error
Date: Sat, 14 Feb 2004 10:24:47 +0000
Message-ID: <[email protected]>

Any further advice you can give would be appreciated please. As I
hoped my post implied, I'm out of my depth here, and wouldn't
recognise a 'DHCP server' if I tripped over one <g>.
Click to expand...

You're welcome, Terry. I'm sorry, but I don't have anything to add to
the answers that other people have posted.

Your ISP's 'DHCP server' assigns an IP address to your computer when
you connect to the Internet. That IP address uniquely identifies your
computer and lets web sites and other Internet servers send
information to you.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
 
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