How to Find an Available Static IP Address on Your Network

An IP address is a four-part number that uniquely identifies your computer to the other machines on your network. A static IP (in contrast to a dynamic IP) is unchanging --- the machine will always be assigned the same IP address. When assigning a static IP to your computer, you must first find an available address. Assigning an IP that is already taken by another computer can cause all kinds of problems.

Things You'll Need

• Computer network

Instructions

1. Go to one of the other computers on your home network. Open up the "Start" menu, then click on the "Run" button. From there, type in the letters "cmd" in the textbox and press "Enter". This will open up a DOS prompt.

2. Type the letters "ipconfig" at the DOS prompt, and press "Enter". This will display that machine's network IP address, listed under the heading "IPv4 Address" near the top of the page. Write down the IP address.

3. Repeat the process on the other computers attached to your home network. Note those IP addresses also. This will provide you with the unavailable IP addresses on your network --- any address other those is available as a static IP address for your computer.

References

• Microsoft: IP Config Commands