On Fri, 3 Oct 2003 03:05:32 +0800, "KK" <nospam@singnet.com.sg> wrote:Pardon me if I have posted in the wrong NG as I don't subscribe to otherexcept this which has helps before. OK, I have a ethernet version Alcatel STHome ADSL modem connected to my onboard LAN *Realtek, system spec asPIV-2.4C@3GHz Abit IS-7E Dual Channel 512MB DDR 400 cas 2.5, Ti4200, WinTVTheatre, IBM 60GXP.Problem is everytime, I boot up, I think my ethernet Alcatel ST Home iscausing my slower full loading up of Win XP. Why, cos why I switch off mymodem, it's basically noticeable with a much faster complete load up Win XP.Heard from those network expertise that this is not DHCP enabled, what doesthis means? And how to go about enabling this so as to effectively rectifymy usual normal faster loading for Windows? Thank you.
Probably not really the right newsgroup, but I'll see what I can do.
First off, DHCP is a method of automatically getting an IP address on
a LAN. When you start your computer, if you have DHCP enabled, it
will send out a message or ten to your LAN asking for a DHCP server to
give it an address. It then waits for a reply. If your LAN has a
DHCP sever, it usually replies quite quickly (1-2 seconds max unless
there is a problem), you've got your IP address and your off to the
races.
Now, for your case though, your LAN consists of you and your DSL
modem. The DSL modem does not have a DHCP server on it, it doesn't
need one and couldn't really do anything with a DHCP server anyway
(you want to be getting an IP address from the far end, not from the
modem sitting on your desk). So, when you start up your PC, it sends
out all these DHCP requests and then waits a while for a response.
Since your PC has no way of knowing what's out there, the only way it
can figure out that there is no DHCP server is if times out and gets
no response, hence the delay.
Now, if you turn off your DSL modem, you suddenly don't have any LAN
at all. Your PC can detect this, and since there's no network,
there's no point in even trying to contact a DHCP server, so no delay.
The real solution is to prevent the PC from ever bother to try for a
DHCP server at all, since it's totally useless with your setup. There
are two ways to go about this, the easy (and better) way that might
not work and the trickier way that will definitely work. The easy way
is to simply unbind TCP/IP from your ethernet adapter altogether.
Since your internet connection is going over a PPPoE connection, you
don't actually need this. The problem is that at least some PPPoE
clients might need your ethernet adapter to be bound to TCP/IP. In
any case, it's worth a shot. To do this, go into your Network
properties and edit the properties of your ethernet adapter. In here,
just uncheck the box by TCP/IP. While you're at it, uncheck any
Microsoft Networking of File and Printer sharing that might be
checked. That's about it. If it works, great, if not, move on to the
tricker step.
For the trickier method, start from the same ethernet adapter
properties page, and then open up the TCP/IP properties page. The
first page of the TCP/IP properties should be a radio button that says
something along the lines of "Obtain an IP address automatically" or
"Use the following IP address". Right now, your PC will be set to the
first, you'll want to change it to the second option and specify your
own IP address.
The address that you enter isn't all that important, as it isn't
actually used for much, however I would recommend using "192.168.0.2"
for your IP address and "192.168.0.1" for the default gateway. The
192.168.x.x IP address range is a special "non-routable" address
designed specifically for local networks (10.x.x.x is another such
range that will work as well). What that means is that these
addresses can never actually exist as internet addresses, which is
what you want. Your Subnet Mask will be 255.255.255.0.
You'll also need to enter something for the DNS server IPs. Again,
this doesn't matter much, and you can either put in a 192.168.0.1
again, or you can enter in the real DNS servers of your ISP if you
know them. I usually use the latter if for no other reason then that
it's a nice easy way to have those addresses stored somewhere I can
look them up.
None of this will actually change your internet connection in the end,
it will just prevent DHCP time-out delay on startup. Your actual
internet connection is rather separate from the ethernet adapter
properties. The only problems you should encounter would be if you
were to switch to a different service that did use DHCP (most cable
modem service does) or if were to use a hardware firewall/gateway in
place of a software firewall (if you don't have at least a software
firewall, I'd HIGHLY recommend installing one!).
Hope it works out for you!
-------------
Tony Hill
hilla <underscore> 20 <at> yahoo <dot> ca