"Your IP address is incorrect, restart CU-SeeMe..."

Introduction

Here are many of the configuration issues that cause you to get the error "Your IP address is incorrect, restart CU-SeeMe..." when you try to connect to a reflector. Many times it has been found that a combination of these issues exist and no single fix presented here causes this error to occur. Please see my Network issues page also as part of the this error message's cause may be how you are connected to the Internet. This page you are on now is mostly related to dial up Internet users, the Network issues page has the fixes related to high speed Internet connections (Cable, DSL, ADSL and Satellite). The Network Issues page also covers home networks.

The "Why" the IP address is switched is pretty straightforward. CUSeeMe uses the IP Address of the network adaptor number 1 which is the last network interface installed. So, for example, if you if you installed a network adaptor card (for a home network) after you installed the Dial-up Networking Network adaptor, CU-SeeMe will use the IP address attached to that Network adapter card (the Home Network card), instead of your IP address of your Dial-up Networking adapter (ISP Internet connection). In the error on the left you can see your true internet address on the left, in this example 12.89.165.234 with the 192.168.0.1 on the right being the IP address of the last added network interface.

Tips found on the net

I present these here only because they seem to be everywhere on the net as 'the' fix. Several people have written me as to 'why don't you have the one that fixed me up posted?' Well, most of these will work for a while and then stop for no reason. Or at least a reason readily identifyable to you! Be forwarned that they all are targeted to the 'effect' and NOT the true 'cause', hence their tendancy to break easily.

AOL 4: Removing AOL 4 from Network Control Panel applet before installing AOL 5 software has been reported to fix this problem. AOL 7 is the current version and should be used as it has better support.

Connect to CUSeeMe World first: Some users have reported success by first connecting to the White Pine MPCS reflector (version 5) address mp012.cuseeme.com ---- then many other reflectors worked. Key word is many, not all. This one doesn't work all the time either.

Release All: Another user found that after adding a high speed (DSL) network connection this problem began. The dial up adapter was still present. Doing a Release All of this unused Network adapter's IP address (effectively sets the IP address to 0.0.0.0) in winipcfg on WIN95/98 fixed it. Select the proper adapter in the pull down first and then click Release All. This one doesn't work all the time either. Removing the unused dialup entries in the Network Control Panel applet is preferred though as it is the cause. Or would you rather do this 'release' each and every time you use CU-SeeMe?

Registry hack: You may see a reference to http://cu-seeme.net/bbs/messages/1104.html as the 'fix' I find it's a bit technical for many and also has been reported to not work all the time. Use at your own risk!

Error detail

This wrong IP error message will only show up when you try to connect to certain types of CU-SeeMe reflectors, one of which is the Enhanced Reflectors (E-Ref). The Enhanced Reflector (E-Ref) gives that error message when the IP address in the CU Protocol doesn't match the Network IP of the packet itself. Other reflector software is affected differently ---- White Pine MPCS 4.x server, White Pine MPCS 5.x server, Prism and Cornell 2.x + Cornell 3.x. Some work fine and others will just time out when you try to connect. The error message received by the Cornell 1.0 PC client from an Enhanced Reflector is pictured. The error text is the same for White Pine PC client also. White Pine CU-SeeMe Pro 4 and 5 will give a few different errors, all with host in them ('error finding host', 'host did not accept call', etc).

So, with that said lets look deeper into the PC's setup. In Cornell your IP (that CU-SeeMe uses) is in the lower right corner of the main window. The 192.168.0.1 to 192.168.255.254 range will not work with CU-SeeMe and the cause of it must be found and changed. The range 10.0.0.0 to 10.254.254.254 also is equally not acceptable. If the IP to the right is in the 169.254.0.0 to 169.254.255.254 range, see the IPAC section below first. Here's an example of the Cornell window where it says Your IP.

How do you see what your IP is when you don't have Cornell? In Windows 2000 and Windows XP open a DOS Command Prompt and type 'ipconfig' and then press enter. Below is the example of the wrong IP setting. Note that the top adapter (the one CU-SeeMe will use) has the Wrong IP in it (192.168.0.1).

E:\>ipconfig

Windows 2000 IP Configuration

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

        Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
        IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
        Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
        Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

PPP adapter:

        Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
        IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 12.89.165.234
        Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255
        Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 12.89.165.234

What if you have Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows ME? Click on Start, Run, type in winipcfg and click OK. Below is an example of a working OK setup. You can tell this because the PPP adapter (ISP dial up) came up as the default when this program ran.

Network adapter order --- the preferred fix

You may see some references to unbinding TCP/IP from the Network Interface Card (NIC) on the net as a fix. This unbinding hasn't always worked and many times has broken more than it fixes. Mainly because it addresses the effect and not the cause. The procedure below addresses the cause.

A "solution" for the wrong ip error that works most times is pretty straight forward. If you are not familiar with the Network Control Panel applet in Windows 95/98 or Windows ME, then it may seem a bit confusing. Here is a typical step by step procedure that assumes a LAN NIC was the last Network Adapter added to the PC.

Win 95/98/Me

Take your time, read thru this once or twice before you begin. Make sure you take notes of the LAN card's IP address, Subnetmask anf Default gateway if you have a home network also.

1) Go to the START menu. 2) Select Settings. 3) Select Control Panel.

4) Locate and double click on Network.

5) Highlight the Network Adaptor (LAN card) TCP/IP. Select Properties. Write Down the IP address, Subnetmask and Default gateway address if present. This is VERY important if you have a home network.

6) Highlight the Network Adaptor (LAN card).

7) Write down the description and brand of the Network Adapter. Click on Remove.
8) Highlight the Dial-Up Adaptor.
9) Click on Remove.
10) Click on Add...
11) Click on Adaptor.
12) Locate your LAN card in the list or install the LAN card driver from floppy disk or CD.
13) Click on OK.
14) Click on Add...
15) Click on Adaptor.
16) Locate and Click on Microsoft.
17) Locate and Click on Dial-up Adaptor.
18) Click on Add...
19) Click on OK.
20) Click on OK.

You will be prompted to Restart your computer. Do so. Then the next time you connect to the Internet, you should have the correct IP address if this configuration was the root cause of the error.

Windows 2000 and XP

This procedure involves disabling the Local Area Connection during the time of starting CU-SeeMe. It may affect others on your home network while it's disabled during this short time.

Procedure

• Click on Start, Settings, Control Panel
• Double click on Network and Dialup connections.
• Right click on the icon for the 'Local Area Connection'
• select disable.
• Start CU-SeeMe.
• Re-enable the network connection.

Simple? Go for it! Dragging and Dropping the 'Local Area Connection' icon to the desktop will create a shortcut to this and eliminate the first three steps. If you don't use the NIC leave it disabled.

IPAC

If the second (right) IP in the error message is in the range of 169.254.0.0-169.254.255.255 do the fix in this IPAC section FIRST.

This section is only for those having the error where the second (right) IP is in the range 169.254.0.0 to 169.254.255.254 Windows 95 OSR 2.x and Windows 98 have a new feature called IPAC (IP Auto Configuration). It's called APIPA (Automatic Private IP Addressing) in Windows 2000. This being enabled will only cause the error if "Obtain an IP address automatically" is selected on the IP Address tab in the TCP/IP Properties dialog box for the network card (not dial up ISP connection). If you have a STATIC IP configured on this network interface card this section on IPAC/APIPA isn't applicable. When the installed Network Interface Card is not being used (not plugged in) it attempts to find a DHCP server. If it can't find one... the IP Auto Configuration feature kicks in and assigns it a random Class B IP address using the subnet 169.254.0.0 to 169.254.255.254 (MS owns this block of IP's). The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) has reserved 169.254.0.0-169.254.255.255 for Automatic Private IP Addressing. As a result, IPAC/APIPA provides an address that is guaranteed not to conflict with routable addresses, and guaranteed not to work with CU-SeeMe!

Here is what the IP in Cornell looks like.

And this is what the Ipconfig /all report looks like. Notice the "Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . . . : Yes" line.

E:\>ipconfig /all

Windows 2000 IP Configuration

        Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : deskpro
        Primary DNS Suffix  . . . . . . . :
        Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
        IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
        WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

        Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
        Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Compaq NC3161 Fast Ethernet NIC
        Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-08-C7-63-47-F3
        DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
        Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
        IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 169.254.136.194
        Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
        Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
        DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255
        DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . :
        Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, February 20, 2002 2:10:37 PM
        Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Monday, January 18, 2038 10:14:07 PM


PPP adapter AT&T Connection Service:

        Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
        Description . . . . . . . . . . . : WAN (PPP/SLIP) Interface
        Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-53-45-00-00-00
        DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
        IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 12.89.167.199
        Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255
        Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 12.89.167.199
        DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 204.127.129.4
                                            12.102.244.4

WIN 95/98/ME procedure

And there is also an ipac_on.inf file there if for whatever reason you'd want to turn the service back on....use same steps.

Windows 2000

For more info on this see article number Q220874 in Microsoft Knowledge Base. The title returned doesn't mention Windows 2000 but the body text does.

This effectively turns off the IP Auto Configuration and it should get rid of the problem if this was the root cause of the wrong IP error message. This fix may not eliminate the need to remove all network interfaces and re-install them. Some users have found this fix to work for a while and then failed once the network card was used (it had been disconnected before?).

Registry Hack

There is a useful thread about addressing this problem at: http://cu-seeme.net/bbs/messages/1104.html This has worked for some people, I cannot guarantee that it will work for everyone. Another version of the same can be found here.

Comments? Send them to Hoople <hoople_ny@hotmail.com>