IP address conflict error

[Katrina]

Well, first few months this error was rare, but since the last one week it is happening every day. This happens when someone else on my wifi network connect to the internet while I am connected. It causes my system to get disconnected and I need to reboot my PC or the modem(sometimes only), this is irritating during gaming.

Can anyone suggest a fix?

[darkwoon]

Well, first few months this error was rare, but since the last one week it is happening every day. This happens when someone else on my wifi network connect to the internet while I am connected. It causes my system to get disconnected and I need to reboot my PC or the modem(sometimes only), this is irritating during gaming.

Can anyone suggest a fix?
This happens because two computers are getting the same IP address on your network. Either the DHCP server (that is the service that assign IP addresses) from your modem is not working properly, or a computer is not using DHCP. You need to ensure that none of the connected computer define its IP address in a static way, but instead gets them automatically from your modem/router.

Under Windows Xp:
- Control Panel->Network Connections;
- Right-click on your connection;
- Select "Properties";
- Select the TCP/IP protocol in the list that appears;
- Click "Properties";
- Ensure that "Get IP address automatically" is selected.

Under Windows Vista/7, you can reach the connection properties from the Network & Sharing Center->Manage Network Connections.

If all computers are already configured to get their IP address from the router/modem, then you have to check if the modem is configured so it provides them. How to do this depends on the brand and model of your modem/router, but can usually be found in a "DHCP Server" menu/tab.

You should also check which IP each computer gets. For that, you can type Win+R, run "cmd", then on the command prompt, type "ipconfig" (without quotes). ipconfig is the command that will show you your current network configuration, including your IP address.

Hope this helps!