Cannot set static IP

[TheBeholder]

Hello, experts.
I have the following problem with my NIC on Windows 2000 Professional: I set it to a fixed IP; it is connected to the router. It retains the IP, it is connected to the router using this IP, and the network works almost OK (I'll come back to this), but the NIC properties box returns back to automatic IP every time I close it (as I said, even after the re-boot the IP of the NIC remains static, but it is shown as automatic in the properties box).

I suspect that this is related to another problem (I wouldn't bother otherwise): I cannot connect from this computer to the VPN. I can connect to the same VPN form another computer on the network which has identical network settings (a different IP, apparently), connected to the same router etc. It runs Windows XP, but it shouldn't matter, I think. When I connect to the VPN from the former computer, the system either drops the call, or hangs on the 'Opening port...' box.

Thanks everyone for help.

See the configuration below, please:

Windows 2000 IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : BIG_COMPUTER
Primary DNS Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter FastNIC:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : 10/100 Mbps Fast Ethernet PCI Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0C-0C-0C-0C-0C
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.10
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.254
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.254

[j-unplugged]

what's w/ that mac address? is that the only network interface listed?

[TheBeholder]

There are other NICs - they have different MACs. I was just testing something some time ago and forgot to change the MAC to something different. It is changed now to something which looks less unusual. But I don't think that this is the source of the problem. In fact, I am sure that it isn't

[bilbus]

you cant change mac addesses ....

[crazijoe]

Originally Posted by bilbus

you cant change mac addesses ....

Actually you can change mac addresses.

But getting back to your problem. Most VPN client programs will create a virtual network connection. The IP that you are seeing is probably the IP that the VPN server or VPN appliance is handing out.

[TheBeholder]

...you can change MAC (I think, not with any NIC, but with any newer ones)

...The think is that I choose static IP, then press OK and close the TCP/IP properties. Once I open them again, the chosen static IP disappears, and connection is configured for dynamic IP. The IP does not change though, and the card continue to work with the router which is configured to have a static IP, even if I re-boot the computer.

I think I've mentionned, I have another PC on the same network; the only difference is that it runs Window XP (the former one runs Window 2000 Professional) - there are no abnormalities with configuring its NIC (it has a wireless card in fact) and it has no problems connecting to the VPN. I don't know if the problem with the NIC and the problem with the connection to the VPN are related - it's just a hunch.

When I have a free moment, I'll try to connect to the internet without a router and see if the VPN will work. This may give ideas where the problem comes from.

[crazijoe]

Originally Posted by TheBeholder

...you can change MAC (I think, not with any NIC, but with any newer ones)

Actually with any nic. I found a freeware progrmam for XP. I haven't found a NIC I couldn't change yet. I've even used it on an old 3com ISA 10Mb NIC.

http://devices.natetrue.com/macshift/

I use this program, netstumbler and a couple others on a laptop to guide people to make the right security decisions in their network.

Sorry