how to permanently enable DHCP in windows 7
hi, here's my problem: my home network looks like this: modem > main router > wirless router > PC > PC > PC (me) main router IP address: 192.168.0.1wireless router IP address: 192.168.15.1 when i first installed windows 7, my PC was getting an IP addressfrom the wireless router. i found that DHCP was 'disabled' and by running the problemdiagnostic tool it detected that and allowed for the main router to assign the IP address. i was able to access the internet, no problems. the moment i rebooted my PC, once again it acquired the IP address from the wireless router and DHCP was infact 'enabled'. i found myself having to manually assign the defaultgateway address (192.168.0.1)including the IP address and subnet mask. this created something called 'network 2' which sets the DHCP service to 'disabled'.yet again by running the problem diagnostic tool, it enabled DHCP andinternet accesswas fine again cos it acquired the IP address from the main router (the manual settings i made earlier was cleared)this happens everytime i reboot!can someone help me out, thanks!
July 2nd, 2009 3:49am

You should disable the DHCP service on the Wireless router. Your clients will pickup the the DHCP configuration it picks up first from the network. From your explanation I understand that both the main router and the wireless router are providing DHCP addresses on your network and the wireless router supplies no default gateway. When you switch off DHCP on the wireless router, your PC's will only get DHCP replies from the main router and should be fine with that.Ray
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July 2nd, 2009 4:46am

hmm but my PC connects to the wireless router via the main router? i'll give it a shot anyway..
July 2nd, 2009 5:04am

If your main router is able to provide the DHCP configuration it should be fine.As far as I can see the setup of your network is not quite ideal with the two routers cascading. In most cases you are able to disable the router functionality of the wireless router. In that case it will function as a switch with a wireless AP. When you do that your main router will provide all IP addresses on your home network and the AP is a nice switch that provides wireless access to your network. Probably the only thing you have to do is connect the main router to a LAN port of the wireless router and not use the WAN port on the wireless router at all.Ray
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July 2nd, 2009 5:24am

Hi Ray,i should have mentioned this earlier but what you mentioned is exactly how its setup. i know this because (apart from the obvious "i should know my setup") i have my HD partitioned with XP on it and it all works like a charm. so this issue appears to be specific to windows 7.
July 2nd, 2009 7:26am

Ok. Am I correct when I assume:1. Only the main router provides DHCP services on your network2. When you get a DHCP address from the network it does not contain a default gateway address3. This only happens on the wireless adapter4. You tried tweaking the DHCP Client service in the Services MMC to solve this (you should not touch this service)5. When you manually configure the NIC it works fine until you reboot6. On Windows XP you get a valid DHCP configuration including the default gatewayRay
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July 2nd, 2009 7:33am

Hi Ray, i have logged into the wireless router and disable DHCP and now the connection is fine. although it doesn't explain why it was getting an IP from the wireless router in the first place.
July 3rd, 2009 7:41am

Because of the way DHCP works! When a machine starts up, it sends out a broadcast to discover a DHCP server. It will accept the first offer it receives. Normally the broadcast is confined to the local segment so you only get replies from your local DHCP server. However some routers willforward the the broadcast. This is essential for companies which have many segments running on different IP subnets but just one or two DHCP servers.Bill
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July 3rd, 2009 10:18pm

configure your TCP/IP in automatic mode..you client will renew its ip address every 8 days by default..if u want dedicated ip address for ur machine windows 7..just configure in ur router for ip address as excluded ...
August 5th, 2012 8:56am

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