Net Tip: Remotely Change Static IP to DHCP

The occasion may arise that you may want to change a remote machine on your network from a static IP to a dynamic one (DHCP), or vice versa. Assuming you have Administrator rights, you can do so without leaving your desk through the following means:

• Run regedt32. (You could also use regedit, but for these purposes the regedt32 interface is easier.)

• Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionNetworkCards1 and record the ServiceName value. (Depending on circumstances, you may need to record from a different card.)

• Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEM
  CurrentControlSetServices[ServiceName]ParametersTCPIP
  ([ServiceName] is the name you recorded in the previous step.)

• Change the values of EnableDHCP to 1 and IPAddress And SubnetMask to 0.0.0.0.

• Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesDHCP and change the Start value to 2.

You can reverse this procedure as well, but then the remote machine will require a reboot.

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