How do you disable an IP address?

Question

I connected to someone else's IP address
accidently and now
when I set up a wireless network connection
it gives me a message like this...
http://i14.tinypic.com/6sa0twh.jpg
please help me get out of this state. Thank you...
( I use a laptop, which runs on Windows Vista, if that helps)

Answer 1

To add, edit, or remove wireless network connections on a client computer
1.
Right-click the wireless network connection icon in the notification area, and then click View Available Wireless Networks. For more information, see Notes.

2.
To add, modify, change the preferred order of, or remove wireless networks, under Related Tasks, click Change the order ofpreferred networks, and on the Wireless Networks tab, do any of the following:

To Do this
Remove a preferred wireless network
Under Preferred networks, click the wireless network that you want to remove from the list, and then click Remove.

Add a new wireless network
Select the Use Windows to configure my network settings check box. Under Preferred networks, click Add.

Automatically connect to available networks that do not appear in the Preferred networks list
Under Preferred networks, click Advanced, and then select the Automatically connect to non-preferred networks check box.

Modify settings for an existing wireless network
Select the Use Windows to configure my network settings check box. Under Preferred networks, click the wireless network connection that you want to modify, and then click Properties.

Change the order in which connection attempts to preferred networks are made
Under Preferred networks, click the wireless network that you want to move to a new position in the list, and then click Move up or Move down until the wireless network is at the desired position.


3.
If you are adding or modifying a wireless network, click the Association tab, configure wireless network settings as needed, and then click OK. For more information, see Related Topics.

4.
To define 802.1X authentication for the wireless network connection, click the Authentication tab, configure the settings as needed, and then click OK. For more information, see Related Topics.

5.
On the Wireless networks tab, under Available networks, click on View Wireless Networks, and then do any of the following:

To Do this
Update the list of available wireless networks that are within range of your computer
Under Network Tasks, click Refresh network list.

Connect to a wireless network after configuring network settings on the Wireless Networks tab
Under Choose a wireless network, click the network to which you want to connect, and then click Connect.

Important

If a network does not broadcast its network name, it does not appear under Choose a wireless network. To connect to an access point (infrastructure) network that you know is available but that does not appear under Available network, follow the instructions in the previous table for adding a new wireless network.

Answer 2

Somebody is copy/pasting prewritten answers. Ah, well. so be it.

First, this is a reference to your own network, not a neighbors.

Your DHCP Server is finding an IP address which is duplicate. This can occur if you are using Static IP addresses.

Simply connecting to a neighbors wireless network will not give this error. Their IP address assignment has nothing to do with yours.

Instead of attempting to explain it all here, I am going to provide you links to some vital information. The first will be to the Vista Networking Help and How-to:

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/networking.mspx

This next link is to more detailed help for Vista, simply click on the Networking link to the left:

http://support.microsoft.com/ph/11732

Locate any Troubleshooting link, and/or start from scratch and rebuild your network.

My next question is if you have used a Static IP address to port forward any application through your firewall. If so, the Static IP address is probably not a high enough number to avoid clashing with the automatic IP address assignment via your modem or router. You will need to reconfigure that Static IP address to a higher number, or one that is not in the list assigned by your router.

Now, you can also ensure you never "accidently" connect to a neighbor's wireless connection again.

Once you have successfully setup a wireless network connection, right click the connection in the Network Connections folder, and select Properties.

Click the Wireless Network tab. Click on any unwanted wireless connection in the list of Preferred Networks, and then click Delete. Once you have deleted all of your neighbors connections, click on the Advanced button under the list of Preferred networks.

On the small dialog box which opens are a few options. Make sure there is no check mark in front of "Automatically connect to non-preferred networks". Once you do this you will no longer automatically connect to wireless networks in your area which are unsecured.

My husand once thought it would be neat to see how many wireless networks in our neighbohood which were not secured he could connect too. I had a mess to clean up. lol

The advice above is how I stopped him from fooling with our network settings in the future. Thank goodness he doens't know about that box. lol

Good luck and much success fixing your network IP conflict issue. I am sure it won't be difficult to correct.

*edit* Please do not enter your own IP addresses and DNS server if your ISP has not instructed you to do so. Unless you have an advanced reason to do this, what you are doing is setting a Static IP address. This will be in direct opposition to your ISP settings. It will also be in direct opposition to your routers DHCP Server IP address assignments.

Don't follow these types of instructions unless you have first setup a manual System Restore Point. Even setting a manual restore point is not a garantee that all will be well. I know first hand that a restore point will not advert a crash, as I am currently recovering from one after changing out my adapers driver and attempting to use the restore point I set to change back to my previous settings when the new driver would not allow my connection to receive an IP address from the DHCP Server in my router.

If it comes right down to it, take your system to a reputable repair shop, such as the Geek Squad, for assistance. While Yahoo! Answers is a great place to receive some minor assistance, it is not a place to trust blindly when your system is at stake. Most people mean well here, but a few mislead on purpose, so take care.

Answer 3

http://www.ehow.com/how_2056398_change-ip-address-windows-vista.html