Releasing a DHCP-Assigned IP Address at Shutdown in Windows NT 3.x, 4 (271455)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.1
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.5
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.1
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.5
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.51 (all service packs)
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0
This article was previously published under Q271455

SUMMARY

There may be situations in which you want to have the IP address that was assigned to your computer by Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) automatically released when you shut down your Windows NT-based computer.

There is no built-in functionality in Windows NT 3.x or 4.0 to automatically perform this task.

MORE INFORMATION

For mobile users with laptop computers, Microsoft recommends using a hardware profile to eliminate any conflicts with the DHCP-assigned address that is bound to the local network adapter and the new DHCP-assigned address on the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) NDISWAN adapter for remote dial-up clients.

However, there may be some situations in which a hardware profile may not accomplish this result (for example, if you have a docking-type laptop computer). When you are in the office, the DHCP-assigned address for the corporate network is bound to the network adapter in the docking station. When you travel to remote corporate sites, you may still want to have the ability to plug the laptop computer into a corporate Ethernet network connection. This requires an additional PC Card network adapter to be installed in the laptop computer. Rather than simply installing the PC Card network adapter, you can install a network adapter and modem combination PC Card. In this case, it may be difficult to configure a hardware profile that eliminates the PC Card network adapter that does not also eliminate the PC Card modem from the profile. In these types of situations, you need to release the DHCP-assigned IP address that is bound to the network adapter instead of eliminating the network adapter as a whole by using a hardware profile.

In Microsoft Windows 95 and Microsoft Windows 98, there is a registry setting that you can use to release the IP address at shutdown. The registry value is named ReleaseLeaseOnShutdown. No such functionality exists for Windows NT. One possible method for releasing the IP address is to use the ipconfig /release command in a batch file, followed by the shutdown.exe command. Shutdown.exe is a Windows NT 4.0 Resource Kit utility. For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

158388 Useful Resource Kit Utilities for Domain Administrators

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:5/14/2003
Keywords:kbinfo kbnetwork KB271455
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