How to release and renew your IP Address


Even though your computer’s network card has now been assigned a new address, it doesn’t know that address until the system refreshes (about every 15 minutes during September, or every hour the rest of the year) or you tell your computer to find its new address. That process is called “releasing and renewing” an IP address.

Windows Vista
To manually release and renew, follow these steps:

  1. click on the Start Menu
  2. type “cmd” in the text box that appeared about the start button
  3. wait for “cmd.exe” to show up in the start menu area (under the heading “Programs”)
  4. right-click on “cmd.exe” and select “Run as Administrator” from the context menu that pops-up
  5. when the dialogbox comes up (User Account Control) asking you for permission, select “Continue” to open the command prompt
  6. type “ipconfig /release” and hit Enter
  7. after the IP is reset to 0.0.0.0, type “ipconfig /renew” and hit Enter. Your computer should then see its correct IP address.

Windows XP or 2000 (Click Here to automatically release and renew your IP Address)
To manually release and renew, follow these steps:

  1. click on the Start Menu, and select Run
  2. type “cmd” in the Open box and click OK
  3. type “ipconfig /release” and hit Enter
  4. after the IP is reset to 0.0.0.0, type “ipconfig /renew” and hit Enter. Your computer should then see its correct IP address.

Macintosh OS X
Follow these steps:

  1. go to the Apple Menu and select System Preferences;
  2. click on the Network icon;
  3. on the TCP/IP tab, set the Configure drop-down menu to Manual;
  4. type random numbers into the IP address field, and click Apply Now;
  5. after the IP is reset to those random numbers, reselect Using DHCP from the drop-down menu, and click Apply Now. Your computer should then see its correct IP address. That’s it! You are now able to browse the Internet.

Windows 95/98/ME
Follow these steps:

  1. go to the Start Menu and select Run
  2. type “winipcfg” in the Open box, and click OK
  3. in the next window, IP Configuration, select the Ethernet adapter (not the PPP adapter) from the drop-down list
  4. click the Release All button
  5. after the IP is reset to 0.0.0.0, click the Renew All button. Your computer should then see its correct IP address.

Macintosh OS 9 or 8
Wait 15 minutes, and then restart your computer. (Macintosh OS 9 does not have a way to release and renew the IP address.) Your computer should then see its correct IP address.

Last revised on 06/11/08

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