This article describes how to change the Internet Protocol
(IP) address that is assigned to a network adapter. An IP address may be
assigned automatically if your network has a Dynamic Host Configuration
Protocol (DHCP) server, or you can specify an IP address.
How to Change the IP Address That Is Assigned to a Network Adapter
Log on to the computer by using the Administrator
account.
Click Start, point to Control Panel, and click Network Connections.
Right-click the local area connection that you want to
modify and then click Properties.
In the This connection uses the following
items box, click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click Properties. The Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties
dialog box appears.
Continue with the steps in one of the following two
sections, depending on your circumstances.
How to Automatically Obtain an IP Address
Follow these steps to configure the computer to obtain an IP
address from a DHCP server. Note that you must have a DHCP server.
Click Obtain an IP address
automatically.
Click Obtain DNS server address
automatically if you do not want to specify the IP address of the
Domain Name System (DNS) server.
Click OK. In the Local Area Connection Properties dialog
box, click Close.
In the Local Area Connection Status dialog
box, click Close.
Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Open box, type cmd, and then click OK.
At the command prompt, type ipconfig
/release, and then press ENTER.
Type ipconfig /renew, and then press
ENTER.
The network adapter is assigned an IP address by the DHCP
server, and a message similar to the following appears:
Type exit, and then press ENTER to
quit the command prompt.
How to Specify an IP Address
To assign an IP address to the network adapter, follow these
steps:
Click Use the following IP address if you
want to specify the IP address for the network adapter.
In the IP address box, type the IP address
that you want to assign to this network adapter. This IP address must be a
unique address in the range of addresses that are available for your network.
Contact the network administrator to obtain a list of valid IP addresses for
your network.
In the Subnet mask box, type the subnet
mask for your network.
In the Default gateway box, type the IP
address of the computer or device on your network that connects your network to
another network or to the Internet.
In the Preferred DNS server box, type the
IP address of the computer that resolves host names to IP addresses.
In the Alternate DNS server box, type the
IP address of the DNS computer that you want to use if the preferred DNS server
becomes unavailable.
Click OK. In the Local Area Connection Properties dialog box, click Close.
In the Local Area Connection Status dialog
box, click Close.
Troubleshooting
There is an IP address conflict: If you try to assign an IP address that is already in use, you
receive the following error message:
The static IP
address that was just configured is already in use on the network. Please
reconfigure a different IP address.
In this case, assign an unused
IP address to the network adapter.
Your computer cannot connect to other computers on the network: If you assign an incorrect subnet mask address to the network
adapter, the computer is effectively located on a different network. You cannot
connect to other computers on the network.
Your computer cannot connect to other computers by using host names: If you assign an incorrect DNS server IP address, or if you do
not use a DNS server, you cannot connect to computers by using their host
names. This prevents you from browsing the Internet. You can connect to other
computers by using their IP addresses.
To work around this issue in
a local network, add host-name-to-IP-address mappings in a Hosts file.
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