for some reason my son's new Vista laptop changes MAC addresses
occasionally. Is there a way to 'set' that address to keep it
static? Everytime the MAC changes, he can't get onto our home network
until the new address is added to our router setup. TIA

wrote:
for some reason my son's new Vista laptop changes MAC addresses
occasionally. Is there a way to 'set' that address to keep it
static? Everytime the MAC changes, he can't get onto our home network
until the new address is added to our router setup. TIA

Do you *really* mean MAC address? A MAC address is hard coded into the
NIC. Or do you mean IP address? Is the laptop set to use DHCP? What kind
of router do you have? Is your router a DHCP server? Does the router
limit the range of accepted IP addresses? Does you son take his laptop
to some other network where it is assigned a different IP address?

Tim

I had a similar case, but don't remember the fix. Try to upgrade the NIC driver or router firmware. Please post back with the result.

Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on http://www.ChicagoTech.net
How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on http://www.HowToNetworking.com
wrote in message oups.com...
for some reason my son's new Vista laptop changes MAC addresses
occasionally. Is there a way to 'set' that address to keep it
static? Everytime the MAC changes, he can't get onto our home network
until the new address is added to our router setup. TIA