unable to renew ip

First, welcome back.

 

Although this board deals with modems, they are of the dial-up variety.  I think you would have gotten a quicker response if you had placed it on the networking board.

 

To your question; many cable modems seem to have a memory for the MAC addresses of their associated computers.  If you switch from one to another you need to switch the modem off for about five minutes, turn it back on, and then boot your computer.  This allows the modem to re-learn what it is supposed to be connected to.  Also, while the computer is supposed to, and usually does, acquire the IP automatically, you can try it manually by opening a command prompt box and typing "ipconfig /release" followed by "ipconfig /renew", omitting the quotes and making certain to include a space between the command "ipconfig" and its options "/release" and "/renew".  This action performs basically the same action that the "repair" option performs.

 

Last, I don't see any mention of a router in your post.  This simplifies sharing of a modem among multiple computers by providing additional ports, and as the modem sees the MAC of the router instead of the individual computers, you normally avoid the necessity of the power cycle reset.  If you get a wireless router you can also choose a more comfortable computing location with your laptop (assuming it is wireless equipped).

 

If none of the above helps, try re-posting on the networking board.  There are quite a few users that watch that board who are much more knowledgable then me.

 

Best of luck to you