An office uses a DHCP server for all computers on the network. A user calls to report problems connecting to the network. You discover that the computer has been configured with a manual IP address. W

Prof. SaraMay 1, 2026

A and C are correct. When a computer is manually assigned a static IP on a DHCP-managed network, that address may already be leased to another host, creating a duplicate IP conflict that knocks the other machine offline (A), and the statically configured machine itself will very likely be misconfigured with a wrong subnet mask, gateway, or DNS, causing it to lose full network access (C).

Grace U.May 16, 2026

Good catch flagging this one, because the two answers really do follow from the same root problem: when a machine holds a static address that the DHCP server doesn't know about, the server might hand that same address to someone else, and that conflict is what creates havoc for both machines. Which part trips you up more, understanding how the address conflict causes the other user to lose connectivity, or understanding why the misconfigured PC itself might be the one cut off?

Imani T.May 6, 2026

The big thing people miss here is the IP conflict angle. If that manual address happens to fall inside the DHCP scope and the server hands the same address to someone else, you now have two machines fighting over one IP, and the other person starts dropping packets, which gets you to A. C is straightforward because if the static IP is on the wrong subnet or uses the wrong gateway, that machine is basically talking to a wall, no real network access at all. B trips people up because they think a misconfigured IP means the NIC itself breaks, but pinging your own address tests the loopback stack, not the network config, so that one does not hold up. D does not even make sense in this setup because a manually configured machine is not sending out DHCP discovers in the first place, so it cannot land on a different DHCP server. Here is what I want to ask the group though, because I see people get fuzzy on this: if the manual IP is actually outside the DHCP scope but still on the correct subnet with the correct gateway, does the machine get full connectivity or does it still have issues talking to DHCP-assigned clients on that same subnet?

Lena V.May 24, 2026

I keep coming back to B and C on this one, but B is the one that really locks in for me. When you manually assign an IP that falls outside the DHCP scope or conflicts with the subnet configuration, the machine can end up with an address that does not align with the default gateway, and a self-ping failure is one of the first signs the TCP/IP stack itself is misconfigured. The exam loves to test whether you know that a failed loopback or self-ping points to a local configuration problem, not a cable or switch problem, and a bad manual IP absolutely triggers that. C is in play too since the machine may not route at all, but B is the diagnostic indicator that tells you the problem is the IP itself. Going with B and C as my two picks here.