I'm running win2kpro and can't seem to get my IP renewed. I run a game server and every so-often I need to change the IP due to the hackers that like to ping the heck out of me I tried calling the host (charter) and they (surprise) don't know how to release/renew in windows 2k. so I tried using the CMD prompt commands ipconfig /release and ipconfig /renew. They appear to work, but the IP ADDRESS stays the SAME! I even rebooted after a release (did a ipconfig just to make sure my IP was 0.0.0.0) unplugged the modem even. Once I was back up and running.. sure enough.. the IP that wouldn't DIE was back! Help?

A computer in a DHCP network will keep getting the same IP address for a set period of time depending on how long the lease is set. If you do an 'ipconfig /all' you will see at the very bottom the lease duration. You can release and renew till the cows come home and until the lease expires, you won't get a different IP address. You will have to contact your ISP about this because lease duration is controlled on the DHCP server (at their end)

I just got AT&T cable internet service and I asked the tech about their DHCP setup. He said that in general, I would keep an IP about 1 hour. He also said that many people claim to keep receiving the same dynamic IP after each renewal, in effect a 'fake' static IP. Perhaps this is what you're experiencing.

Curt is right, the lease is a predetermined time frame. typically 24 to 36 hours

The length of the lease varies greatly. On my cablemodem setup, my lease is set for 2 days, but I've had the same IP address for months. On ADSL it changed every hour or two. In a LAN environment, it's not unusual to see a lease period of several weeks.