stopping auto ipv4 address changing on my network

[highland hippie]

Hello All

 

I have set up a small network at home that runs two client machines (both XP) and the server is a Vista machine (64 bit)

the two clients have programs that run along side a program on the main vista machine but recently for some reason they do not connect using the machine names in the config files for the two client programs. What I have had to do is to input the IPv4 address into the config settings and then the two clients connect and run fine. The issue is the the IPV4 address changes every day I switch on the network. This means that every day I have to change the config files for the two client programs so that they connect to the server ( bit annoying)

 

What I wanted to know is this, can I set a fixed address for the server and if so will this then still allow me to use the rest of the network without it effecting connections from other programs that need on line access from the client machines. I think I tried to set the server address once before and this stopped some of my programs from connecting to the internet.

 

Any advice would be most welcome as ever

 

Regards

 

HH

[seedy21]

Hi Highland Hippie

 

You should be fine having your Server on a Fixed address.

 

If you don't know how to complete this here is how you do it.

 

open the start menu, click Control Panel.

Double click Network and Sharing Center.

Click Manage Network Connections on the left side of your screen

Right click on the one you use to connect to the internet. Then click properties.

Click Internet Protocol(TCP/IP) and then the Properties button

Click on Use the following IP Address and type in what you would like it to be

Edited June 13, 2013 by seedy21

[highland hippie]

Hi Seedy21

 

I will try the suggested tonight if I get time and report back.

The other two machines also use the internet for downloading data for the programs that I run in real time, would it be as well to set the same ip address for all three of the machines to connect to the internet or does this cause some kind of conflict in terms of each machine talking to other machines in the network?

 

I am still getting to grips with networking at the moment and I have installed a switch so that I only have one lead connected to my hub, and the three machines talk to each other through the switch.

 

Thanks for the reply

 

regards

 

HH

[seedy21]

Hi highland hippie

 

You cant have more than one device running of the same IP Address. I would try just setting the server as a Static Address and if we have conflicts we will put the other client machines to static address :)

[highland hippie]

Hello seedy 21

 

I seem to have sorted out the issue of changing ip address but I still have a minor niggle on my network.

 

I have a vista machine as a server and two other clients, one on xp home and one on xp pro. It seems that when I start the setup the xp home machine shows the network drives on the other machines as on line but the xp pro machine shows them as off line. If I synch the drives on the xp pro machine they become connected and it all works fine. I want to know if there is a setting in the xp pro setup that will automatically put the network drives on line as the system starts up.

 

As you can imagine it is a bit of a pain to have to synch then drives each time I start the setup so any help would be great.

 

Thanks as ever and regards

 

HH

[seedy21]

HI HH

 

Sorry for the late reply, just got back from France :)

 

Any chance you can Map the Network Drive again and make sure Reconnect at Logon is checked?