How to Fix a PC Stuck on “Acquiring Network Address” or “Renewing Your IP Address”

I recently ran into a problem with a wireless network card getting stuck while acquiring a network address. I would get constant messages like “Acquiring Network Address” or “Renewing Your IP Address”. But it would seem to get continually search for, but never acquire a network address or renew the IP address.

I did all the basic stuff like updating the wireless card driver, unplugging and plugging stuff back in, right clicking and selecting Repair in Windows XP and click Diagnose and Repair in Vista. But until I performed the steps below nothing worked.

Here’s the procedure that finally fixed it for me.

1. Unplug the cable/DSL modem.
2. Unplug the wireless router.
3. Wait 60 seconds, then plug in the modem.
4. When the modem is completely online, plug in the wireless router.
5. On the PC, open a command prompt.
   1. On Windows Vista, click the Windows Orb, type “cmd.exe”. When “cmd.exe” appears under Programs, right click it and select “Run as administrator”.
   2. On Windows XP, click Start, Run, type cmd, click Ok.
6. Once you have a command prompt, first type “ipconfig /flushdns”.
7. Next, type “ipconfig /release”.
8. Then, type “ipconfig /renew”.

Now I can connect to my secure wireless network with no problems. No more “Acquiring Network Address” or “Renewing Your IP Address” for me.

Your setup may differ, but the process should be similar. If you find any other solutions please post them in the comments below.