Error message: "Unable to obtain a serrver assigned IP address..."

[jkipper]

Originally Posted by Tex Murphy

This may not sound like a good "fix" - but, reseting it to factory default will clear out all of the entries - and error message.

I had to do a Factory reset on my x51v as well. I did go in and change one of my network card settings to use my work laptop as a pass through to get my ax on the internet... Even after I changed all the settings back to the original config... The error did not go away. Then since the Remote N-DIS Host is the "Fake NIC" used for the pc to recognize the ax for a usb connection... I lost the ability to Sync. It was not fun. Had to soft reset every time I wanted to sync. After the Hard Reset though... Everything works like a champ... First Hard Reset I had to do on the Ax since I've had it...

[fishboy]

Here is additional information I found that seems to support what Gelo and Virge discovered:

"The device is set for DHCP, but it's actually supposed to be the DHCP
server, not a client, in this connection. Somehow, you've changed that
setting for the USB connection from static IP address (where you fix the
address for the device), to server assigned IP address, where it goes
looking for a DHCP server. This connection might be called something like
Remote-NDIS Host in the Network Adapters control panel applet. The IP
should be set to 169.254.2.1 and the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0. Leave
the default gateway blank.

Paul G. Tobey"

I made this change and it appears to have solved my problem with this message.

[virge]

Originally Posted by Gelo

Hi virge,

I take it that your computer is not connected to the internet all the time? Because if it is your PDA should be able to access internet using ActiveSync. Just make sure that in the ActiveSync -> File -> Connections Settings you have "This computer is connected to:" set to "The Internet".

I've tried to use the same IP address I assigned to my PDA for my Wi-Fi connection ie 10.0.0.51. I did notice that it tends to get 169.254.2.1 assigned when using "Use server-assigned IP address". You will also notice that in the network connections the network interface gets IP address of 169.254.2.2.

I've now tried 169.254.2.1 and it seems to be working much better.

Thanks for that.

Oleg

Hi Oleg

It's all working now and I didn't touch a thing! I can now access the Internet from the cradle. I guess I was just being hasty (i.e. incompetent :-). Regarding the Active Sync settings, it's set to "Automatic". I don't really get this business of the two options that I keep seeing - Connects to The Internet or Connects to Work. If i set my wireless networking set up to "Work" I don't see my home network shares and I certainly can't connect to the Internet with that setting... have you any idea how I set my PDA up to be able see both the Internet and my home network? This is the main area of the Axim that I haven't got to grips with yet.

Thanks for your help
Virge

[Gelo]

Hi guys,

I have finally figured this one out. The error message comes up if in the registry key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Comm\RNDISFN1\Parms\TcpIp

subkey EnableDHCP is set to 1. All that needs to be done to fix it is to set it to 0. My settings for other keys is below.

Thanks.

Oleg

[jornor]

It works!!!
Thanks a lot

[Mikexim]

Originally Posted by jornor

It works!!!
Thanks a lot

thanks

[ksong12]

I used to get the same thing with my x50v. It hasn't show up...... yet on my x51v.

[gc9n]

i have the same problem with my QTEK S200....

unable to obtain a server-assigned IP address.
try again later or enter an ip address in network settings in active synch...


AND WORKED FOR ME too..!!!!

[compu_d00d]

hi, allow me to clear this one up....

...what microsoft has done, imho, is programmer-lazy. you see, microsoft (and other vendors) wrote their tcp/ip stack such that, whenever an adapter is configured to "obtain address from the server" (which is achieved via "dhcp -- 'd'ynamic 'h'ost 'c'onfiguration 'p'rotocol), it sends out a request for a new IP address, and waits....waits.....waits.... if it "times out" (ie, has waited for a predetermined amount of time without getting a response), it "self-assigns" an IP, usually in the 169.x.y.z range... this range is set aside by the IANA ('i'nternet 'a'ssigned 'n'umbers 'a'uthority) for just that purpose.

so, it turns out that *any* microsoft adapter set to obtain its ip address "from host" or "dynamically" will self-assign the ip: 169.254.2.1, if it times-out while waiting for an ip...

...so, what the clever programmers at microsoft did, knowing this fact, is design the activeSync software running on the host pc to give *itself* the ip address 169.254.2.2; then, when the pocketPC is connected (with its adapter in the 'default' mode of 'dynamically-assigned ip'), it will eventually time-out, self-assign the ip 169.254.2.1, and then, voila! it will 'see' the activeSync system, configured at 169.254.2.2...

...now the activeSync software is 'clever', in that it uses a "virtual adapter" to allow itself to have an ip address *INDEPENDENT* of the ip address of the internet connection in use by the host PC on which it runs... this way, even *if* the host pc is not actively connected to the internet, an "intranet" connection, between the activesync software and the pocketpc device being sync'd, can exist...

...of course, if you tell the activesync software that 'this computer connects to the internet', what it'll do is forward all traffic on its virtual 169.254.2.2 adapter to the 'real' internet adapter, thereby allowing the pocketpc-activesync connection to be 'proxied' to the actual internet connection... pretty clever, eh?

the LAZY part is that, the programmers take advantage of the fact that all microsoft adapter set to configure via DHCP will self-assign the same ip, after a suitable timeout (by the way, this is why this solution will work if you sync between computers, *assuming* each computer's activesync software is left to default params of 169.254.2.2, *and* that the pocketpc device in question is left to auto-configure via dhcp)

the Right Way would have been to make a 'mini dhcp server' inside of the activesync software itself; this would allow a *much* faster ip-acquisition (and thus network communication) time for the pocketpc-activesync connection, speeding up the sync itself (because the syncing occurs through the same pocketpc-activesync intranet connection)


whew... sorry, that was rather long-winded, but i wanted everyone to understand really what's going on...


...oh, one final thing: because of the default behavior of activesync, the pocketpc will still popup an alert about 'could not find server...', because it does that whenever it has to self-assign an ip; however, the internet (and sync) connection will still work, as others have noted here....

any other questions/thoughts (microsoft engineers, are you listening? hehe), please post 'em, i'll do my best to answer!

compu_d00d.

[Axim_X51v]

I just connected to my wireless network with my Axim and then viewed the IP the router gave it. Then I assigned the Remote-NDIS that IP, Subnet, and the routers IP as the gateway.

The problem went away - for now anyway. Since my router is suppose to be assigning the IP with DHCP and not giving the Axim a static IP, the problem might reappear on a router reset.

[papi]

Originally Posted by Gelo

Hi guys,

I have finally figured this one out. The error message comes up if in the registry key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Comm\RNDISFN1\Parms\TcpIp

subkey EnableDHCP is set to 1. All that needs to be done to fix it is to set it to 0. My settings for other keys is below.

Thanks.

Oleg

Where can I find this ?????

[sel_smr]

papi,

You have to use a software that edit the registry like Resco File Explorer or so.

Thanks, Gelo! Your sugestion resolved the problem.

[frW]

I've seen a lot of solutions around here but i dont know if they work. I had the same problem as you and after a while i needed to hard reset so i did. I still had the problem though BUT the error message was wrong. I could still use internet, wich was really wierd..

And after a while i had to hard reset again and today, i got no problem at all :P

[deedub]

This is the exact problem that I'm having "Unable to obtain a server-assigned IP address." Am I correct from what I've read above that no one really knows what the problem is here and we should just live with it? I also connect to 2 PCs and it does it why synching on both. And I agree with Tarheel about not changing the settings. Each time I do I seem to get another set of problems.

[edge777]

Ok guys, a couple of people HAVE given the solution. A ton of the responses and posts were incredibly detailed, and not helpful at all (thanks though). My Axim was doing this. It was doing this at work, and at home. Both computers WERE connected to the Internet, and even with the error message, the Axim would access the Internet via ActiveSync.

HERE IS THE SOLUTION - VERY SIMPLE!!!!!

1. Remove the Axim X51V from the cradle.
2. Edit the X51V registry (Resco or PHM will work fine, as will others).
3. Look for the registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Comm\RNDISFN1\Parms\TcpIp
Modify "EnableDHCP" from 1 to 0.
4. Quit the registry editor and soft reset the X51V.

THAT'S IT. IT'S THAT SIMPLE!!!!