Win XP Home Networking

[dreamworks]

Hi guys ..

I have a LAN which comprises of 1 Windows 2K Server, 5 Windows XP Home PCs, and 2 Windows 98 SE PCs. On the server machine, DHCP is enabled and a class C IP address is being used. The problem came when I realize all the Windows XP Home PCs are using the same IP (192.168.0.34) although it is configured to obtain automatically from the DHCP server. The 2 Windows 98 machines run fine and excellent. Why is this so? Can anyone advise please?

Thanks ..

 

[muzikool]

This thread needs to be in Networking...

I assume that you are using a router since your IP begins with 192. If that's the case, I would simply assign each system a static IP that falls in the router's range of valid IPs. That would be the most effective way to manage your network in my opinion.

 

[dreamworks]

Thanks .. but the unfortunate answer is that because I am using the same type of motherboard which is Asus build, apparently all the network card which is incidently built in has the same MAC address. And so thats the reason why the DHCP server assumes that it is the same PC, when in fact it is not, and I was thinking it was some networking problem with Win XP Home all this while!! : (

Just a case of pure bad luck I guess ..? : )

 

[gonaads]

I am moving this thread to "Networking". You should get more responses there.

*thread has been moved*

gonaads

 

[PseudoKiller]

I have never heard of the same MAC on any machine afaik all MAC's are unique. hmmm.

 

[muzikool]

I have never heard of the same MAC on any machine afaik all MAC's are unique. hmmm.

Right, I'm not sure how that could be.

 

[dreamworks]

neither could i believe it .. but it seems so when I checked all the 5 units of PCs running Win XP Home as they were bought in the same batch. Its just the case whereby the mainboard comes bundled with everything in it, for an office use, and so thats the case.

 

[Admiral Michael]

still they should have diferent MAC addresses, I kno on my laptop I can change my MAC address, check in the NIC's hardware properties.

 

[blinden]

yeah, check the configs on them, don't assume they are the same MAC, because i'm sure they aren't, if they are, you have a case against ASUS for some motherboard replacements because they can't do that.

I assume you are using a switch, not a router, as it's on the hardware layer, not the IP layer which your problem is occuring?

 

[Geffy]

the main points of MACs are that they are unique to so I would go yelling at ASUS about that. I think that the DHCP leases are done on MAC addresses, and I am pretty sure that the ipv6 uses the mac address in some part of constucting the ipv6 address, so were you to implement that in the future with these machines you would also have trouble.

 

[dreamworks]

It is true. The MAC address is the same indeed which is causing all the machines to be using the same IP address. Anyway, thanks a lot guys. Just posting this so that it might be useful to anyone coming across this scenario and cracking their head for the whole day only to be taken down by the MAC issue. Cheers ..

 

[Mubbers]

Interesting - I'm just attempting to set up my LAN via my wireless D-Link router/modem. WHich is why I'm reading this forum!!

Both machines have identical MAC addresses (according tothe router)

One's a sony laptop and the other an Advent

Is this a router issue?

 

[Mubbers]

Yes - seems I was looking at the MAC address of the router :LOL: