Okay, so, I had to get my own internet disconnected because I'm unemployed and couldn't keep paying the bill, so now I'm using this unsecured, open signal that shows up in the wireless networks. Well, Monday, I got a message from my computer saying that my IP address conflicted with another system on the network, and I haven't been able to access the internet since, and that's the only open signal I can pick up. I've tried to repair the signal, but nothing ever works. Does anyone know what this means or how I can get my computer's IP to stop conflicting with another on the network or what I can do to get back on the network? I don't know who the signal belongs to, but it's a Linxus signal, and my computer operates on Windows XP if that helps. Thanks in advance!
Well every device connected to the internet has it's own IP address that gets assigned to the device. If your IP is the same as another device's it won't allow you to access the internet on that modem and/or router. The only way I know of to fix that is to have access to the router settings. You could also try google. It's actually more helpful than you think.
Most routers assign IP addresses dynamically. You should simply have to disconnect from that network for long enough for it to forget your device and then reconnect to get a different address. The time period will differ depending on the router, but I'd start at 30 mins or so.
Assuming the person hasn't changed the default admin settings, which might be a good bet since it is an unsecured network, you could just log onto the router and reset the DHCP. Defualt password is usually "admin" and no login name.
I went on Google, and I tried a few of the suggestions, but none worked....like, I tried the IP address release/renew thing with CMD, since that's what most suggested. I'll give this a try when I get home. Thanks.
Windows giving an IP address conflict means that there is another computer on the same network behind the router that has the same IP address. This is sometimes caused by reseting routers. If the other computer is also running windows, they likely recieved a similar error message. Most other operating systems just ignore it. Many aren't aware, but you can manually set your IP address. First, find out what address you are being assigned. Easy way in XP is to go to Start > Ctrl Panel > (Classic View) Network > Wireless Connection > Support tab > Details You also need to know the network mask and default gateway. Next, you are going to go back to the general tab, and click properties. Then double click on Internet Protocol. (it might say IPv4) Here's where you set it. Select Static, and enter the first 3 numbers. For the 4th, if the IP you previously had was >100 and the last number of the subnet mask is 0, enter a number between 30 and 99. If it was less than 100, enter a number between 150 and 250. You are going to enter the exact same subnet mask and default gateway as you previously copied down. Further down, you need to enter DNS servers. I always enter 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4, which are Google's public DNS servers. Using these will prevent content filtering from your friend's router. (won't completely stop it, but most consumer routers filter by having you use the router as your DNS server, and your router then does the lookup) Click OK on these screens, you MIGHT need to restart, and that should solve your problem. If you still get an IP Address conflict, try the 2nd part again, picking a different number from the same range.
