what can it mean when...

[karatant]

...you connect to the internet and a message appears from windows saying "There is another computer with the same address as this one. Contact your IP provider or for more information see the system event log" -?
Has anyone else had that message? It's not like I get anyone elses e-mails delivered to "this computer" or anything.

[VHG]

Every computer that connects to the interent has something called an IP address (Internet Protocol address).

It is unique and is a bit like a phone number, you cant have two phones in the world with exactly the same phone number.

An IP address is in the format 62.157.31.243 (for example).

Now without getting too technical, Windows is saying that the IP address or your computer is the same as another computer on the internet.

This is not a major problem and can easily be fixed, but to be able to fix it we need some answers.

Is this a home computer?

Is it connected to a router and do you have other computers connected to this router?

Most computers are "given" a temporary IP address by their ISP when they connect to the interent, but some computers have a "fixed" IP address.

I know you may not realise this, but does your computer have a "fixed" IP address (maybe someone set it up for you, or has changed it for some reason).

Note that this problem with an IP address will not stop your emails working.

[VHG]

A little bit more info.

You dont sound very technical but I will give you some info and you, or someone else, may be able to use it.

In your Windows network settings there is a place where you either ask for an IP address or you set one yourself (fixed).

Here for example is a window showing a person asking to be "given" an IP address. At the top of the window it says "Obtain an IP address automatically"

http://www.students.ucs.ed.ac.uk/helpdesk/imag es/documents/internet%20protocol%20properties. jpg

But here is the same window where a person is setting their own IP address. See where it says "Use the following IP address"

http://www.giannistsakiris.com/wp-content/uplo ads/2007/11/internet-protocol-properties-snaps hot.png

To help you we need to know what setting you have in your Windows computer.

Are you using Vista, XP, or somethijng else ?

[rojash]

Everything VHG says is correct, but I am of the opinion that when you have a problem you start with the easy stuff and only get into the complicated stuff if you have to.

If you have a dynamic IP address and a router, then the fault almost certainly lies with your ISP.
Unplug the router
Wait 5 minutes
Plug it back in.
If the ISP had occidentally assigned the same address twice, you'll now get a new address and the problem is solved.

[ChuckFickens]

Just one point rojash

if they have a router then the router has the public IP, not the computer so the computer wouldn't report an IP clash.

karatant, to answer this we really need to know firstly how do you connect to the internet, and do you have more than one computer in the house?

[rojash]

That occurred to me after I posted Chuck, but I figured another possibility was that the punter had two machines, one with Auto IP and one with manual, and if so, restarting the router would assign a new address to the Auto one and solve the problem anyway.

[karatant]

i thank you all for responses. Wish I was so learned w/ins&outs of internet but I'm not, - the details however :-
i have a laptop, working fine, after all, use a dongle, portable. i'm with orange. Other comp. here at home is w/ virgin , fixed, desktop, fiber optic line. It's not a problem I'm having ( as I know of ! ) - just a strange message,it rarely comes up but puzzles me. As i say everything is working well so I'm prepared to ignore it using the if in doubt do nowt response.As i say I'm not looking for a fix just wondering what if any adverse effects it may have. I havent noticed any ! Maybe I'll just ignore it for now ( ? )

[ChuckFickens]

OK, you need to contact virgin to get it sorted then as they have obviously assigned you an IP address that is already in use.

Turning your modem off and on again won't help either, in my experience from when I had Virgin cable you just get the same IP back (even though they say it's dynamic I had the same one for over a year!)