Disabling DHCP Through the Registry

We have a Windows 2000 server that has two Intel PRO/100+ Adapters set with two static TCP/IP addresses. After we restart the server, though, both adapters are set to a DHCP client. Does a way exist to modify the registry to disable DHCP?

There is a way, in fact. However, finding the proper registry subkey to tweak will require some detective work on your part. Open your favorite registry editor and go to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesTcpipParametersInterfaces subkey, which contains subkeys for every interface in your DHCP and TCP/IP implementation. You'll need to figure out which of those subkeys represents your Win2K system (for example, in my environment, the settings for my Win2K machine are in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesTcpipParametersInterfaces\{9500CA7D-BE90-4BEF-96E5-6A861C0AF6BE} subkey). Under that subkey, find the REG_DWORD entry EnableDHCP. Make sure the value is set to 0, which disables DHCP (this setting is the default; a value of 1 enables DHCP).

Another registry entry that might affect DHCP is DisableMediaSenseEventLog in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesTcpipParameters subkey. This REG_DWORD entry can have a data value of 0 (which enables the entry) or 1 (which disables the entry). When the entry is disabled, the system stack is unaware of the NIC's connection. Although designed for notebooks, this entry might do the trick.