Troubleshooting DHCP Server

The following error conditions indicate potential problems with the DHCP server:

• The administrator can't connect for a DHCP server by using DHCP Manager. The message that appears might be "The RPC server is unavailable."
• DHCP clients cannot renew the leases for their IP addresses. The message that appears on the client computer is "The DHCP client could not renew the IP address lease."
• The DHCP Client service or Microsoft DHCP Server service might be stopped and cannot be restarted.

The first troubleshooting task is to make sure that the DHCP services are running. Open Services in Control Panel to verify that the DHCP services are running. "Started" should appear in the Status column for the DHCP Client service and "Started" should appear in the Status column for the Microsoft DHCP Server service. If the appropriate service is not started, start the service.

In rare circumstances, a DHCP server cannot start or a STOP error might occur. If the DHCP server is stopped, complete the following procedure to restart it.

To restart a DHCP server that is stopped

1. Turn off the power to the server, and then wait about one minute.

2. Turn on the power, start Windows NT Server, and then log on under an account with Administrator rights.

3. At the command prompt, type net start dhcpserver, and then press Enter.

Note

Use Event Viewer in the Administrative tools to find the possible source of problems with DHCP services.