WI FI question
 

What determines when your wireless laptop will not automatically assign an ip address from a router, even though the "obtain ip automatically" default is chosen both on the router setting and the laptop itself. I've fixed it by assigning it manually but it is a pain when it gets knocked off. I'd like not to have to toggle between the two and always have it automaticaly detect wireless signals. Anything else I might be missing? Thanks.

I'm not sure I am following you here.

a) Sometimes you cannot get an address from you router, so you setup a fixed address?

OR

b) You want to wander from network to network, but some of the them require a fixed address, while others give you one automatically?

It seemed my wireless devices have changed their setting with nothing done on my part. Were once they would connect automatically, I now have to manually enter all the ip data and make the connection. I'm just not sure what changed? And, yes I don't confess to be a compete networking wizard. Thanks. Also in area's that I would grab an unsecure network before, now will grab the signal but just won't assign an ip address.

maybe you have more than 1 DHCP server running?

Are you sure that someone else has not been playing with your system? Normally things like this do not change themselves.

Can you still access the router? Have you gotten into the router and verified the configuration?

The only other thing that I can think of that may cause this behavior is that if a feature was turned on that allowed only certain MAC addresses to receive IP addresses.