Upgrading from Windows 95 to Windows 2000 May Leave Undesired Default Gateway

• Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional

SYMPTOMS

When you upgrade your computer from Windows 95 to Windows 2000 Professional and then try to connect to a site on a different part of the network, the connection is not made.

CAUSE

This problem occurs because the Windows 9x client has the "Obtain an IP address automatically" from the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server setting enabled and there are addresses listed in the Gateway tab. When you upgrade to Windows 2000, the Gateway tab information from the Windows 9x client is imported directly into the Windows 2000 client's TCP/IP settings and is unavailable (grayed out) when the Windows 2000 client is set to obtain addresses from a DHCP server.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem:

1. On the Windows 2000 client, click Start, point to Settings, and then click Network and Dial-up Connections.



2. Right-click Local Area Connections, and then click Properties.



3. Click TCP/IP, and then click Properties.



4. Click Advanced, and a dialog box listing IP addresses appears. If your client is set to use DHCP, then the Default Gateway section should be blank.



5. If the Default Gateway section is not blank, click any of the addresses, and then click Remove until all addresses have been deleted from this section.



6. To verify that your default gateway is set correctly, restart the client and the default gateway is renegotiated with the DHCP server.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Windows 2000.

MORE INFORMATION

Windows 9x clients, like many others, can be set to "Obtain an IP address automatically". This setting indicates that the client obtains it's IP address information from a DHCP Server. DHCP can hand out many other options such as DNS server addresses, WINS server addresses, and the default gateway. The user interface for Windows 9x clients differs slightly from Windows 2000 clients in regards to the settings for TCP/IP. Windows 9x clients have a Gatewaytab in the TCP/IP properties. This tab is used to add routes for the "Default Gateway".

If the client is set to "Obtain an IP address automatically" and the gateway section is blank, Windows 9x clients obtain their default gateway settings from the DHCP server, if one is available. However, if the Gateway tab has addresses listed and the client is set to "Obtain an IP address automatically", the client does not use the gateway setting from the DHCP server, even if there is one available.

This usually occurs when a client was originally set up with a static IP address. Sometimes the Gateway tab may be an oversight when switching a client to receive it's IP address from DHCP.

Windows 2000 clients do not have a separate tab for the Gateway. The default gateway information is now listed as part of your TCP/IP settings and is unavailable (grayed out) when the client is set to obtain an address from DHCP. When you upgrade from a Windows 9x client, which has a manually entered default gateway, but is still configured to receive it's settings from DHCP, the upgraded Windows 2000 client retains the default route from the client.

Additional query words: Win98 Win95 Win9x Server Workstation grey greyed out

Keywords : kbsetup win95 kbConfig
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbbug