Windows system error

[Andrew May]

Isn't that what we all do here? It is uk.d-i-y.

[Jules]

Hopefully. Engineers make stuff. Real engineers make stuff to make stuff with :-)

[John Rumm]

Since I can't see any responses that cover all of that question yet...

Wifi = Wireless Networking - usually to a standard such as IEEE 802.11a, b, g or n. Often used by laptops, Wii consoles and anyone who can't be arsed to string network cables about the place. If you are connecting to your internet access device by a cable, then you can probably ignore this. However take care that if your router supports wireless access, this is not switched on and open for anyone in range to jump on!

Your IP address is number that identifies your computer on a network. It needs to be unique within the network. These addresses can either be set manually by the operator for the computer when the network is setup, or they can be configured automatically with some help from your internet router.

The error you are seeing is most likely a result of some devices on your network being setup with addresses by an operator, and others being setup manually. For this to happen without the potential for an address duplication the router needs to be told which addresses to not hand out automatically, and operators need to remember not to configure machines with fixed addresses in the automatic range. (or if they are going to be clever, use the the router to automatically hand out the fixed addresses as well as the others!)

To check your settings, Open "Network Connections" in Control Panel. You will probably see an entry under "LAN or High-Speed Internet" like "Local Area Connection ". Right click on this and select "Status" from the popup menu. Click the support tab. You should see if your address is manually set or automatically allocated, and also what it is.

If its set automatically, then that indicates there is probable another device on your network with a fixed address, and no one has yet told your router not to give that out automatically. If your address is set manually, its basically the same problem, but at least you know which address to avoid.

To tell the router what addresses are ok to hand out, you will need to go to its setup page. Look at the address given for "Default gateway" on the above mentioned Support page, and then go type http:\\ into the address bar of your web browser. (the address will often be something in the 192.168.1.n) range). Enter its username and password if required, and then look for the LAN or DHCP setup section. Usually there is a starting address specified, and a pool size - say to start allocating addresses from 192.168.1.2 and to allocate a maximum of 100 addresses. Changing the start address to begin at .100 and to allocate

20 addresses aught to be ample for most home networks. Then any manually configured computers can be setup with addresses lower than .100 (or above .120) with the safe knowledge that the the router won't also give out this address.

[Rednadnerb]

Same here. We have no fixed IP addresses and use the default settings only on our wireless router, it is password protected so there are no strangers using it. It is the router that assigns the addresses dynamically to the Windows operating system and sometimes they c*ck it up. I maintain that it is a bug.

[tony sayer]

In article , Colin Wilson scribeth thus

Course you can try switching all PC 's off apart from one and seeing if all's well .. then switch on another and so on till the conflict happens. If it happens with just the one PC then chances are your connection is being "borrowed" and this can and does happen...

as suggested secure your connection or change the password and make sure to update all !your! Machines.. the invader should then fall of your net..

Moral of the tale is "cable where and when you can, wireless where you can't"...

[Mike2]

On Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:49:36 +0000, tony sayer hurriedly dipped his quill in the best Quink that money could buy:

Question :

I do have a router .. it is in it's box.

I am connected via a Voyager adsl 105 modem to broadband. Is that a good thing .... my ISP says it is not and that I should use wireless as it will be faster ?

Mike 2

[The Medway Handyman]

Best flat pack on the market by a long, long way.

[dennis]

Engineers make stuff down to a price that still works. Real engineers make stuff for others to make down to a price.

[dennis]

There is a far simpler explanation than a hacker.. you get the same problem if you switch off the desktop and the router but only suspend the laptop. The router forgets the allocations and allocates an address to the desk top when you switch them on. Then when you resume the laptop it can have the same address as the desktop.

Substitute Wii, Xbox, etc for the desktop if you want.

Some routers remember the address allocation over power offs and this doesn't happen BTW.

[Rednadnerb]

Well done that man, that fits my scenario. I take back my accusations about it being a bug. Our router gets switched off/on every time the connection runs slow.

[tony sayer]

In article , Mike2 scribeth thus

Well the wireless won't be any faster than the wired and often a lot slower but usually for net use its usually sufficient..

[The Natural Philosopher]

so dont buy flat pack ;-)

[Rod]

Possible - but another simple cause exists.

Two computers, A and B.

o Switch on A and, say, it gets given ip address 192.168.0.10. o Put A to sleep/hibernate. o Wait a while (longer than period of time your router allows the lease on an address to last). o Switch on B and it will validly get address 192.168.0.10 because nothing else appears it be using it. o Now switch A back on and it thinks it still has the address

192.168.0.10 - but when it tries to use it the problems start.

Usually A or B relinquishes the clashing address and asks for another one, likely 192.168.0.11 if that is not in use. (Maybe they both do - though whether one of them gets given 192.168.0.10 again, or the second one gets 192.168.0.12, I really don't know.)

And you can imagine the fun and games if multiple computers sleep/hibernate and get switched on again at random intervals.

My suggestion is, as someone else posted, associate MAC addresses with specific ip addresses. And lengthen ip address leases so that they are not reused within any normal period of switch off. In a domestic environment a lease of a month or more could be reasonable.

[John Rumm]

Not really.

But that is not why the USB modem is not a good thing. In reality the speed limitation is likely to be the broadband rather than the modem or router. However there is a slight speed advantage with a router since its always on and there is not need to "connect" as such. The router also places less processing requirement on the PC which may be an advantage on very low spec machines.

The main liability with the modem is that it presents itself as a windows networking adaptor and hence your firewall protection is implemented in software running on your PC, rather than in a separate box also further obscured by a layer of NAT.

[Mike2]

On Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:43:42 +0000, John Rumm hurriedly dipped his quill in the best Quink that money could buy:

Thanks for the information John

Mike 2

[chris French]

Have to say, I've never come across that situation here - after using different routers over the years - though I'm not silly enough nto claim it couldn't. (and note a computer going to sleep/standby shouldn't suffer the problem anyway as it's network interface is probably still active - Wake on Lan relies on that. Hibernation is a bit different though.

IME this problem is most often caused when an fixed IP address has been set on a device for some reason. The device is off, the router gives out the same address by DCHP, and then when the device is turned on again - bingo - IP address conflict.

This is pretty easy to check for, but seeing as the OP hasn't been back again yet, I'll not bother posting instructions yet.

[dennis]

It doesn't run the IP stack for wake on LAN so it is dead as far as the IP layer is concerned.

[Rod]

Have to agree that any sleep that keeps the network adaptor live should not have this problem so long as it remains connected to the network. (I think I forgot to mention that as one possibility.) Though there are far too many options for WOL, etc. that I didn't want to exclude the sleep possibility.

I do have personal experience of this happening. To begin with I couldn't see what was happening - though obvious enough that fixed ip or MAC-to-ip mapping could fix it. It was a few years ago - and things were so different then.

[Clint Sharp]

In message , Rednadnerb writes

You'd like to think there are no strangers using it.

Windows will cache an IP address and attempt to regain the same one on boot, if the router has already reallocated the IP address then you may see the error, it seems some router/Windows combinations don't play nicely when it comes to doing the correct DHCP handshaking.

Might be worth trying to see if you can alter the DHCP lease time on the router as the router should keep a record of what had the address and reallocate it to the same device when requested within a certain time as long as it hasn't run out of free addresses.

[Clint Sharp]

In message , John Rumm writes

Or not as the case may be.