If you are stuck with an IP of 0.0.0.0 with Windows XP/2000 this document may be of use. AN IP of 0.0.0.0 usually indicates that there is a fault with the local DHCP client (locally on your computer). So if you are stuck with this IP even after following all the usual checks it is worth checking the condition of the local DHCP client.

Go into the Control Panel and double click on Administrative tools.

Note that if you do not have the same amount of options as above when you enter the Control Panel simply choose “switch to classic view” from the options on the left of the control panel screen.

Now double click on Services

 In the services menu you should be able to identify the DHCP client in the list of services. In the example below the status of the client is also circled. In this case the DHCP client is running. Very often if you have an IP of 0.0.0.0 the client will be stopped. To see some more properties of the DHCP client double click it.

On this screen you should ensure that the Start-up type is set to Automatic. If the service is stopped simply click on Start, this will restart the DHCP client. Click OK.

You can check the status of the DHCP client by following the steps again. Now that it is running you can check the IP information again. If the client was stopped and you have re-started it, you should now have a proper IP address. It may be wise to restart the computer to see does the client start up successfully.