Cannot change an IP address other than directly editing the registry

Hi, all.

I have run into a situation I wish I knew how to get out of. One of my systems won't allow me to change the IP address (static) or use ipconfig /renew to pull a new one via DHCP (dynamic). If I try to change IPv4 settings, every time I try, it wants me to reboot the machine, and this is regardless of which interface I try it on (ordinarily, there are several additional "interfaces" on this machine, usually pseudo-interfaces software packages provide, though see below on what I did to deal with those and try to eliminate them as possible problems).

The only way I can reliably change the IP address on this system is editing the registry for that particular interface and rebooting.

I've tried the usual

Code:

netsh int ip reset blah.txt
netsh winsock reset

stuff. but to no avail. I've also tried updating, uninstalling, then reinstalling the ethernet controller driver, in this case, an on-board RealTek RTL8168. And to be EXTRA safe, I even went so far as to remove any software that creates additional "adapters", e.g. LogMeIn Hamachi, VMware Player, VirtualBox, etc. I'm not even afraid to edit the registry to get rid of all the crap these left behind after I uninstalled them. When they are there, some already have IP addresses assigned to them (e.g. the VirtualBox host-only network has a static, but when I check IPv4 settings, it says it's in DHCP, even though it's not). Hell, I've gone so far as to do this:

Code:

netsh int ipv4 uninstall
netsh int ipv4 install

And my machine STILL insists on giving me the finger.

Here's the output of netsh command prompt wizardry when I show then try to disable the interface:

Code:

C:\Users\(redacted)>netsh int show int "On-board wired GBE"

On-board wired GBE
   Type:                 Dedicated
   Administrative state: Enabled
   Connect state:        Connected


C:\Users\(redacted)>netsh int set int "On-board wired GBE" disable
An interface with this name is not registered with the router.

The system in question is running Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit.

Also, just so everyone knows, I prefer static IPs. Right now, it's the only way that works since DHCP won't.

Ordinarily, I'm pretty good with stuff like this (in other words, I'm no newbie; fly as high as you feel the need to, and I am not afraid of command lines), but this one has me stumped.

Any ideas?

--IJ.

*bump?*

Kaktussoft said:

Code:

 
netsh int ip reset blah.txt
netsh winsock reset

work fine? Do it again please

I'm still having issues, but not nearly as bad. The short story is that I was getting "access denied" on the "netsh winsock reset" command, but I did manage to fix it via a repair shell and importing working copies from a working Win7Ult64 system. I'll explain in greater detail below.

Code:

netsh  interface  ip  set  address  "On-board wired GBE"  dhcp

No errors?

No errors; actually sets DHCP. That's before and after I did the above.

Kaktussoft said:

Service "DHCP-client" is running?
Service "DNS Client" is running?

Running and running respectively.

Kaktussoft said:

Changing settings as member of "Network Configuration Operators" needs reboot

May not necessarily apply to me. I'm in the administrators group (see below). However, I'll check my laptop to be sure, and I know that machine works (again, see below).

Kaktussoft said:

Do Local Users and Groups Manager - Open to show the groups.
What groups are you member of? Or do:

Code:

net  user  youraccountname

For myself:

Code:

[C:\]net user (redacted)
User name                   (redacted)
Full Name                    (redacted)
Comment                      (redacted)
User's comment
Country code                 000 (System Default)
Account active               Yes
Account expires              Never

(redacted)

Local Group Memberships      *Administrators       *Remote Desktop Users
Global Group memberships     *None

For Administrator:

Code:

[C:\]net user administrator
User name                    Administrator
Full Name
Comment                      Built-in account for administering the computer/domain
User's comment
Country code                 000 (System Default)
Account active               Yes
Account expires              Never

(redacted)

Local Group Memberships      *Administrators
Global Group memberships     *None

I only include Aministrator because normally, on a Windows 7 machine, the account is not enabled by default. On my machine, I turned it on so I can test extraordinary cases like this. I tried again as administrator. Same thing.

However, after reviewing your message, and since "netsh winsock reset" was yielding an "Access denied" message and some other reading I had done just prior to this, I decided to go to the extreme of physically removing the \HKLM\System\ControlSet001\Services\Winsock and \HKLM\System\ControlSet001\Services\Winsock2 keys. However, to do THAT, I booted to a repair shell, ran regedit and mounted the system hive to delete those two keys. Otherwise, the keys would be locked. Rebooted normally, but with a broken network. Fixed THAT by getting working keys from a known-working setup, my Win7Ult64 laptop. It's still having problems with the GUI (still wants a reboot), but setting a static DOES work but says it wants a reboot; an ipconfig /all shows the changes took effect immediately. Furthermore, commands on netsh, like:

Code:

netsh int set int "On-board wired GBE" enable

actually sees the interface now. That command yielded an "Ok" message.

After this recent round of meddling on my part, on the whole, things look MUCH more encouraging.

I'll check the group memberships on my laptop in a bit and keep you updated.

--IJ.

Forgot to mention that a "netsh winsock reset" now yields the desired results in the return message, but not QUITE the fullly-desired results. Everything ELSE works, though.

Checked my laptop. She has the following for my account:

Code:

[C:\]net user (redacted)
User name                   (redacted)
Full Name                    (redacted)
Comment                      (redacted)
User's comment
Country code                 000 (System Default)
Account active               Yes
Account expires              Never

(redacted)

Local Group Memberships      *Administrators       *HomeUsers
Global Group memberships     *None

To be fair on the most recent IP change, I haven't tried rebooting just yet. I'll try the reboot to see if it actually did take. If the IP did take, I'll call it done.

--IJ.

Still no dice. Still wants a reboot, and it "shows" as being DHCP, even though it's static. Does the same even if I'm logged in as administrator. However, the other issues I was having owing to a SERIOUSLY hosed Winsock catalog are gone. I'll continue to look at that other article as well.

--IJ.