Setting A Static IP



This is the procedure for setting up a Static IP to be used by your Router/Modem.


A few things worth a mention here, there are lots of good reasons to set up a 'Static IP' on your home Network (LAN), but please don't be confused.  This is not the same as getting a static IP assigned to you by your Internet Provider, and has nothing to do with the IP provided by them.

Routers and/or Modems that have NAT (Network Address Translation) use a set of 'Internal IPs' in order to be able to allow more then one computer onto the Internet at the same time.  This 'Internal IP' is the address your router/modem assigns to direct things to the correct PC.  

If you go to the trouble of setting up rules and port forwarding in a device, and it suddenly one day decides to assign a different IP number from within its range, your rules basically are useless.  This can happen to any NAT capable device, although, some are worse about it then others.

Probably the best way to go about setting up a static internal network IP is to set it in the router but this can be complicated for someone not familiar with their routers internal workings and not all routers support this function. Usually this is in an address reservation menu item or can be related to the MAC address of your machine.

Here is how you go about setting up a 'Static IP' from within the operating system.
You're going to need a bit of information in order to set this up properly.  

First, Click on the 'Start Menu' then choose 'Run'.  



In this box type the letters cmd then click 'OK'.


Now you will see a MSDos Box like the one below, as shown in green below, please type ipconfig /all then hit the 'Enter' key.



You should now see a lot of information about your IP configuration.  It's time to write these things down for later use.  The IPs you need to take note of are color coded above.  
IP Address (in red)
SubNet Mask (in orange)
Default Gateway (in blue)
DNS Name Servers (in yellow)


Once you have these IP numbers written down, just take a quick peek to make sure you have them exactly as shown in your box (the numbers will be different for everyone), once you do you can close this Black MSDos box.

Now its time to take this information and put it in the right places for the computer to use it.
Open your 'Control Panel'.  Look for the 'Network Connections' icon.




Double click this to open it and find the 'Local Area' or 'Wireless' connection your trying to configure.  'Right Click' it and choose 'Properties'.




A new box will appear, this has a small menu in the middle.  Scroll through it and find your 'Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)' and click it once to highlight it.
Then click the properties button located just underneath, shown in a green box below.




Another new box will open, it has two sections that need information filled in.  Before you make any changes, write down the settings as they appear here. If things go wrong you can always change the settings back.

On the first section you need to 'Tick' 'Use the following IP address:'
Now you need to use the information you wrote down earlier to fill these sections in.  
Use your IP Address, Subnet Mask, and Default Gateway here, as shown below.

On the second section please 'Tick' 'Use the following DNS server address:'
Here you need to put in the two DNS Name Server addresses you got earlier.  The top one first and the second one listed in the second box.



When this is finished you will click the 'OK' button on this screen and the 'Ok' button on the Local Area or Wireless properties box also.  Please note that this can sometimes cause you to loose Internet connection for a moment and if so, just reboot after you have made these changes.


If you find that you can not get web pages, the problem is more then likely the DNS numbers you entered. If you are sure you have entered them correctly as they were on the MSDos Box, then you may need to call your Internet Service Provider for the correct ones.  Some routers/modems will let you put just the Default Gateway IP in the top space of the DNS settings, letting the router/modem get them for you.

If you are still having problems or need further help please visit the forums to post your questions.
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