Saturday, August 10, 2013

Error message when you try to set an IP address on a network adapter

This error often occurs when cloning/copying virtual machines. You may have come across this error:

The IP address XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX you have entered for this network adapter is already assigned to another adapter Name of adapter. Name of adapter is hidden from the network and Dial-up Connections folder because it is not physically in the computer or is a legacy adapter that is not working. If the same address is assigned to both adapters and they become active, only one of them will use this address. This may result in incorrect system configuration. Do you want to enter a different IP address for this adapter in the list of IP addresses in the advanced dialog box?

There's a simple fix to this and requires following these steps from the command prompt.
  1. Type set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1, and then press Enter.
  2. Type Start DEVMGMT.MSC, and then press Enter.
  3. Click View, and then click Show Hidden Devices.
  4. Expand the Network Adapters tree.
  5. Right-click the dimmed network adapter, and then click Uninstall.

Here's the link to Microsoft's site for this error, Microsoft KB 269155