Internet connection - Self-Assigned IP Address - HELP!?

[James]

Hi,

We've been having a problem with our internet for a few weeks now, and I was wondering if anyone could help me out.

Basically, my parents have rented half of our house out, and now a couple live at one end - but we still share the same internet connection.

The router is located directly in the middle of the house in our office. Because the house is large and has thick walls, we use D-Link Powerline adapters - so that we can get internet connection though the electrical system of the house - I then connect my laptop to the adapter via an Ethernet Cable.

I can gain Wi-Fi signal in my room, however, when i try to load up a YouTube video or a page with a lot of pictures, the internet immediately disconnects and the router loses connection for around 4 minutes...does anybody know why this is?

Because of this problem, we've tended to stick with the D-Links, which have worked fine until now!

For the past 2 weeks, I've been plugging my Ethernet cable into my laptop, and I can't get online. My computer (I use Mac) says I'm connected, however, I have a Self-Assigned IP address...Can anyone help me to understand why i'm getting this?

I'm thinking the reason behind it is something to do with the fact that the couple just bought a Netgear Extender, and for some reason, this is causing a problem on my end? The extender is connected to the electrics of the house again, and enables them to get Wi-Fi in their sitting room. It is also interesting to note that when they are using their internet, i seem to be getting the Self-Assigned IP message, and later in the evening when they've gone to bed, I can connect fine. So I think this is the reason, but I don't see why it would affect my connection?

Another thing, sorry for the essay...when I lose Wi-Fi connection, I get the message that another computer is using my IP address - so it disconnects me, what's that all about?

If anyone has any advice, that would be great. I really don't want to have to pay an engineer to sort it out for me! However, if someone can think of a permanent solution to the problem, i'd be happy to hear it, even if it requires me to invest a little money - I know that schools, uni's etc. have great Wi-Fi systems set up over large areas so perhaps installing a proper system is needed?

[Ahv]

Log into the router and make sure the DHCP pool is big enough to support how ever many devices you have. Also if you assign static IPs on the devices and use two identical ips then you with get that IP conflict message. Best thing to do is set all devices to receive an IP automatically.

[Fred]

Tell the others to stop messing up your system. If they have assigned an IP address to the router they are disrupting the network. Block their connection to the router by Mac address if they do not stop messing with you. since it is your connection you have every right to insist they do NOT connect other devices without getting a qualified engineer to make sure they do not affect your service. you should NEVER use ANY static IP addresses on ANY machine on a network as it can cause duplicated IP addresses.