IP address will not release on Win 98

I have a network with 2 computers on it. The first computer is connected to a 2wire homeportal modem/router by a USB cable. The second computer is connected through the phone line to the modem/router. The other day the first computer has quit connecting to the net. I have run several tests, uninstalled/reinstalled, and contacted tech support. What I have found is the network adapter has a default IP address that windows gives it. I have tried to release and renew the IP through winipcfg and commands in DOS but the IP does not change. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

which is the computer that doesnt connect?

I think you may be mistaken about the ip.

If you right click on the desktop icon for network neighbourhood it should give you a list

clients adapters and protocols.


click on TCP/IP and properties. This should allow you to change the systems IP.

It is the first computer on the network. It connects to the modem/router through USB.


The computer's IP address is obtained automatically. The issue is the Ethernet adapter’s IP address assigned by the computer. It is a default IP address that the network does not recognize. I have tried uninstalling/reinstalling the adapter and COM settings with no luck.

chances are that the reason why it keeps getting the same IP address is because there aren't any other clients looking for IPs. so what's happening is the DHCP mechanism in your router assigns something like 192.168.1.10 to that computer, because .10 is the beginning of the DHCP range, and if no other clients need an IP number and that one's available, then, being the first one in the range, it will be assigned to that machine.

if you're really worried about the IP address, set a dynamic one. but, before you do that, try to ping an IP address from your machine. something like 216.239.35.100 (google). if you get a ping reply and can't access webpages via URLs, it's more than likely a DNS problem. check your DNS and gateway settings.

argh... okay simply.... something is failing with DHCP between the win98 machine and the homeportal, because win98 cant get an ip it automagically assigns it's crap default dealy.... if ipconfig /renew doesnt do anything naturally check your cables and also try assigning a static IP, if all that fails there is most likely an issue with the hardware (network card) or perhaps a driver issue.

from what it seems, you've done most of this.... I would check for a link light on the network card / hub and if you dont get one swap cables with the working machine... if it's still an issue try a different port on the homeportal.... keep narrowing it down like this, hopefully you find a problem you can fix, such as a bad port on the hub/homeportal (which is easily fixed if there is another free port)

also watch to make sure you dont have your cable plugged into the uplink port of the homeportal, this port defeats the necessity of a crossover cable when connecting to certain hubs/switches. From my experience the Homeportal has two RJ45 ports but only one is useable as one is uplink and one is standard. if this is the case you will need a hub or switch to go between.

good luck