How to Find the Mac Address of a Computer That Runs Vista

Find your computer's MAC address.

The Media Access Control (MAC) address is the physical address programmed on your computer's network card. The MAC address is distinct from the IP address of a machine. The MAC address is hard-coded to the network card, and therefore it does not change. Conversely, a user's IP address can change each time the computer reboots. The MAC address works in conjunction with the IP address to route traffic from a source to a recipient computer.

Instructions

1. Click the Windows Vista "Start" button and enter "cmd" into the text box. This opens your Windows command line utility.

2. Type "ipconfig /all" into the command line and press "Enter." This displays several lines of information about your network connection settings.

3. View the lines of information labeled "Physical Address." This is your network card's MAC address. Each adapter installed on your machine displays this line of information. This means you will see a MAC address for both your wireless and hardwired network cards, if both exist on your computer.

References

• Columbia University: How to Find Your MAC and IP Addresses