How to Find Your Computer's MAC Address & IP Configuration

by C. Taylor
An Ethernet card contains a uniquely identifiable MAC address.

An Ethernet card contains a uniquely identifiable MAC address.

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A Media Access Control (MAC) address uniquely identifies your network adapter on the network. Your Internet Protocol (IP) address identifies your computer on the network. Whereas IP addresses can potentially change every time your reconnect your computer, the MAC address is normally hardwired onto the network hardware and remains static. You can use Windows' "Command Prompt" to locate your IP and MAC configuration.

Step 1

Click the "Start" orb.

Step 2

Type "cmd.exe" (without quotes) in the "Run" dialog box and press "Enter" to open the "Command Prompt."

Step 3

Type "ipconfig /all" (without quotes) in the "Command Prompt" window and press "Enter."

Step 4

Look for the "adapter" section near the top. This might be labeled "Ethernet adapter" or "Network adapter."

Step 5

Find "Physical Address" in this section and follow the dotted lines to a series of numbers and letters with the format "00-00-00-00-00-00." This is your MAC address.

Step 6

Find "IP Address" or "IPv4 Address" in this section and follow the dotted lines to a numeric code that looks like "000.000.000.00." There will be four sections of numbers, but the number of digits in each section vary. This is your IP address.

About the Author

C. Taylor has been a professional writer since 2009. He has written for online publications and the "Journal of Asian Martial Arts." Taylor specializes in martial arts, traveling, sciences and computer repair. He received a Master of Science in wildlife biology from Clemson University and a Bachelor of Arts in biological sciences from the College of Charleston.

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