Follow these steps to quickly find the Internet Protocol (IP) and Media Access Control (MAC) address of a computer running Microsoft Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Windows NT.
For other types of computers and network gadgets, see: What Is My IP Address?
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: seconds
Here's How:
- Click the Start menu button on the Windows taskbar.
- Click 'Run...' on this menu.
- Type 'cmd' in the text box that appears. A command prompt window launches on the desktop.
- In this command window, type 'ipconfig /all'. Details are shown for each of the computer's network adapters. Computers installed with VPN software or emulation software will possess one or more virtual adapters.
- The 'IP Address' field states the current IP address for that network adapter.
- The 'Physical Address' field states the MAC address for that adapter.
Tips:
- Take care to read the IP address from the correct adapter. Virtual adapters generally show a private address rather than an actual Internet address.
- Virtual adapters possess software-emulated MAC addresses and not the actual physical address of the network interface card.
What You Need:
- Microsoft Windows XP / 2000 / NT
