Changing your computer IP Address on your Home Network

There are several reasons why you may need to set your own IP Address, rather than have a random or Dynamic one chosen for you. First you will need to be logged into your computer as an Administrator. (the main identity which allows you to change settings.)

1. Go to the Start Menu in the bottom left corner and choose control panel from the menu.
2. Click on the Network Connections icon once to make it blue. Then right click on it and a menu will appear.
3. Choose properties from the menu. The dialog box below will appear.

1. Make Internet Protocol blue and then press the Properties Button.
2. The dialog box below will appear.

By default, obtain an IP address automatically will be selected on your computer. To change or set your own Ip address choose the Use the following IP address option.
Now the only way I can explain (in simple terms) how to enter all of these numbers is to follow my example.
I chose to make my IP Address 10.0.0.1 (You can also use this number as your first computer Ip address and your second would be 10.0.0.2 and the third 10.0.0.3 and so on.)
Make your subnet mask the same as mine. This number should be the same on all of your computer on your network.
The default gateway is my Modems IP Address. I found the modems Ip Address in the manual it came with. You can also find it by typing the model number and make of your modem into google. For Example type D-Link 540 IP address. This number will be the same for all the computers on your network as they are all connected to the same modem…
If you have a router connected to your modem then the routers IP address will be the default gateway. If my routers number was 192.168.0.1 then this would be the default gateway and I would choose an IP number following this sequence like 192.168.0.2 for my computer. Then 192.168.0.3 for the next computer and so on.