I recently cleaned up my computer office and in the process I shut down my computer, unplugged my power cables and networking cables, then plugged it all back in. Now I cannot get to the internet with my computer. Usually when Windows makes the connection it will give me the Automatic Private Address of 169.254.240.135, but on some attempts I managed to get my usual 192.168.0.2 after restarting my comp or restarting my router. My computer will even say I am connected at 192.168.0.2 and have been assigned by DHCP, but when I log into my router from another computer, it is not displayed under Connected Devices. Usually when I first log in with the 'Other' comp, my problem comp IS attached, but as soon as I refresh the router it is no longer attached. Is my router disconnecting my comp, or does my comp have the problem? I am out of ideas to fix this. Between connecting with different IP's and sometimes by DHCP and sometimes not, there seem to be too many inconsistencies. (PS I have typical settings of everything being assigned an IP automatically, and my gateway IP is 192.168.0.1 - To my knowledge, I did not change any settings while unplugging/plugging everything back in.)

Try to use another cable and another port at the router and check, whether the problem persists.

Are both PCs running XP? If not, this might help.

Thanks for the responses. I shut down the computer, hooked up a different ethernet cable from the computer to the router, and used a different router port (Port 4). I turned my computer on, and it connected at the same Automatic Private Address. Both my computers are running Windows XP. Any other hints/ideas on solving this would be appreciated.

Try the following, one computer at a time. Start / Run / CMD ipconfig /release ipconfig /renew