IP Address Issues

  • Thread starter Thread starter TheScullster
  • Start date Start date
T

TheScullster

Hi all

Hoping someone will be able to explain how IP addresses are assigned.

I have a laptop (formerly used on our corporate network) which I am
struggling to get onto my home network.
AIUI, at work our domain controller acts as DHCP server and "issues" an IP
address to each client that logs on.

With the laptop at home, where does this IP address get allocated from?
I have no DHCP/domain server at home - just a peer-peer wired network of XP
machines connected via a Netgear switch.
The point to which the laptop is connected at home, previously had another
desktop PC networking correctly.
I only currently have one other PC connected to the network, but this seems
fine.
Have googled this and found that it is a common fault with wireless
devices - not wired.

The error I am getting is "Limited or no Connectivity".

So far I have tried:

Releasing the IP address and renewing with ipconig.
Applying the patch from MS KB 884020
Repairing the broken IP status


Is the problem that the PC believes that it is still a member of a domain
and expects an IP address to be assigned in this way?
When connecting (or attempting to) at home, I have logged on to the machine
itself as local admin.

Any comments/suggestions on all this very welcome

Phil
 
Yes, the workstation is trying to obtain an IP address from a Domain
Controller.
You must un-join the Domain, which can be accomplished by joining a
Workgroup.
From Windows XP Help and Support Center (Start | Help and Support):

To join a workgroup
You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators
group in order to complete this procedure. If your computer is connected to
a network, network policy settings might also prevent you from completing
this procedure.
Open System in Control Panel.
On the Computer Name tab, click Change.
Under Member of, click Workgroup, type the name of the workgroup that you
want to join, and then click OK.
If your computer was a member of a domain before you joined the workgroup,
it will be disjoined from the domain and your computer account will be
disabled.

Steve
 
Yes, the workstation is trying to obtain an IP address from a Domain
Controller.
You must un-join the Domain, which can be accomplished by joining a
Workgroup.
From Windows XP Help and Support Center (Start | Help and Support):

To join a workgroup
You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the
Administrators group in order to complete this procedure. If your computer
is connected to a network, network policy settings might also prevent you
from completing this procedure.
Open System in Control Panel.
On the Computer Name tab, click Change.
Under Member of, click Workgroup, type the name of the workgroup that you
want to join, and then click OK.
If your computer was a member of a domain before you joined the workgroup,
it will be disjoined from the domain and your computer account will be
disabled.
Click to expand...
Thanks Steve

But what if I regularly use the laptop at work and home?
Surely I don't have to disconnect from work's domain each night to logon to
home network then re-join when I come into the office?

Phil
 
In
TheScullster said:
Hi all

Hoping someone will be able to explain how IP addresses are
assigned.

I have a laptop (formerly used on our corporate network)
which I am
struggling to get onto my home network.
AIUI, at work our domain controller acts as DHCP server and
"issues"
an IP address to each client that logs on.

With the laptop at home, where does this IP address get
allocated
from? I have no DHCP/domain server at home - just a peer-peer
wired network
of XP machines connected via a Netgear switch.
The point to which the laptop is connected at home,
previously had
another desktop PC networking correctly.
I only currently have one other PC connected to the network,
but this
seems fine.
Have googled this and found that it is a common fault with
wireless
devices - not wired.

The error I am getting is "Limited or no Connectivity".

So far I have tried:

Releasing the IP address and renewing with ipconig.
Applying the patch from MS KB 884020
Repairing the broken IP status


Is the problem that the PC believes that it is still a member
of a
domain and expects an IP address to be assigned in this way?
When connecting (or attempting to) at home, I have logged on
to the
machine itself as local admin.

Any comments/suggestions on all this very welcome

Phil
Click to expand...

If you haven't done so already, you might want to post your
question to the Windows XP Networking newsgroup. See if your
news server provides access to this newsgroup;

microsoft.public.windowsxp.network_web

If not, you can access it through the Microsoft news server by
clicking on this link.

news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.windowsxp.network_web

Next, if you need to connect to a domain at work, don't even
consider joining it to a workgroup at home. The problem you're
experiencing has nothing to do with domain membership.

I'm no networking expert but my experience tells me that using
a router instead of a switch would probably solve your problem.
A router will act as a DHCP server and assign private IP
addresses to all your computers.

If you're planning on using your laptop's wireless
capabilities, you'll need a wireless router. The documentation
for the router will explain how to configure your wireless
network. Once that's set up, you'll need to use either a
program that came with your laptop or the wireless network
wizard available through Control Panel to configure your
wireless adapter.

Good luck

Nepatsfan
 
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