[Sabrina]

I keep getting a pop up balloon message from my system tray saying that I have an IP address conflict with another system on the network.

Huh???

[(JD)]

Good question... wondering.. did you recently change who you pay for internet service (that's your IP) maybe your computer has both on it now? IDK... I wait with you to find out.

[Perna]

Your IP is your computer's or network router's address; are you at work or do you log in wirelessly or on someone else's network?

If no, call your service provider (the people you get on the Internet with, whoever you pay the money to) and tell them you have an IP conflict and they'll help you solve it; they assign your number when you get on the Internet. They can make sure your computer and they are happy with one another and each other's settings.

If you are on a network (more than just your computer), talk to your computer person (at work, in the library or whoever set up your wireless network) If you're using your neighbor's for "free" or one that is just "there" and they don't know about it; it's messing up who's on when because it knows about you even if its owner doesn't.

Computers come equiped already with a ip computer chip in them with a number of the computer. then when you log on to the internet more numbers are added - your state and city routing numbers. Every computer has their own number but sometimes if you are in a public place where there are many computers reciving the same state and city routing number like the local library has 40 computers all hooked up getting the same internet access. though the computers numbers part of the IP address is different the state and city parts of the IP address is the same so in fast reading of those numbers the internet access notifies the computers system (windows XP for example) that there is a conflict going on. At the library they deal with this conflict with shutting the computers down and rebooting the computers back up again so that when a patron logs into the internet the internet will recognize the computers individual numbers within the IP numbers.

[Sabrina]

This is my home pc - nobody else uses it.

I phoned my Service Provider - they casually said, "oh thaat - don't worry about it".

Apparantly they are doing some configurations or something.

It is annoying though as the message refuses to disappear.

[(JD)]

Do you have a system restore? If so, you can try making the current spot a restore point, then going back to a point before the issue reared it's head.