Video:Windows XP IP Address
with Don SchechterBetter understand your IP address by learning how to view and potentially change it in just a few easy steps.See Transcript
Transcript:Windows XP IP Address
Hi. I'm Don Schechter for About.com Computing. Today I will show you how to find and change your IP Address in Windows XP.How to View Your IP Address
Every computer, wireless device, or other gadget connected to the Internet has an IP address. IP addresses are numbers separated by dots. To view your computers IP address in Windows XP go to the start menu. Click on run. Type cmd in the box and then hit OK.The command prompt will appear. Type ipcofig. This shows my modem and here is my IP address. Notice the first three groups of numbers - 192.168.1 All the computers on my network start with these three groupings of numbers. One computer ends with a .44, another is .46 and so on. You'll likely find your network to be similar.
How to Change Your IP Address
IP addresses can be released and you can request a new one. You will likely not have to do this unless there is a IP conflict over your network and two machines were manually given the same IP address. Sometimes, when I'm trying to diagnose whether my internet connection is down or having issues, I'll release and renew my IP to see what results I get.In the command prompt you can type ipconfig /release. When I hit return, my IP address will go to 0 and I won't have any network access.
If I now type ipconfig /renew my computer will search for an open IP address. It's given me the same .45 address again since no other machine took it. If you are interested in viewing more than just your IP address, submnet mask, and default gateway you can type ipconfig/all. This displays the full TCP/IP configuration including detailed information about the host name, DNS Servers, and so on.
Finally, if you have multiple network adapters you can type ipconfig followed by the name of network adapter to just view information just about that adapter. If you're moving a computer from location to location, it's generally a good idea to just do a quick release and renew to get a new IP. Thanks for watching. For more information please visit us online and computing.about.com
About videos are made available on an "as is" basis, subject to the User Agreement.