Just out of curiousity, I checked the System Info program in Windows and found that my PC didn't have a local IP address. There were only four zeroes, intermittent with full-stops. Some people insist that a PC MUST have its unique IP address, but strangely, mine doesn't. What does this mean? Since everything's working fine, I don't intend to make any changes, but I just thought that this was pretty weird. Thanks, Bette

If you look closely you will probably find a box marked to "Obtain an IP address automatically". Most home machines are configured for dynamic IP addresses, meaning that it is assigned by your ISP at the time of connection and therefore, subject to change.

And.....it depends how you connect to the internet. When you run winipcfg the ppp adapter shows up first. You have to use the drop down box to access your network card if you access the internet through a lan (dsl or cable). And it is sorta right to say that each machine needs a unique ip address. Networks generally share a single internet address (but have individual inside network addresses, they connect through a proxy server that connects to the internet.)

I have never needed to know my local IP address but... If you are using Win98 and 'really' want to know your local IP address then disconnect your modem's connection and go to Start, Run, type in winipcfg and hit OK. Then click on the 'Release All' button and then the 'Renew All' button. It will take a minute or so before it is unable to local the ISP's assigned IP and will then give you the error message stating that it could not find it and it will then input your local IP address. I can only guess that there is another way of finding it but this is the only one that I am familiar with. Then reconnect to your modem and do it all again to get your ISP reconnected. Bryan