Error message when you try to set an IP address on a network adapter

A network adapter with the same IP address is in the registry but is hidden in Device Manager. This can occur when you move a network card from one PCI slot to another PCI slot.

Method 1

1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd.exe, and then press ENTER.
2. Type set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1, and then press ENTER.
3. Type Start DEVMGMT.MSC, and then press ENTER.
4. Click View, and then click Show Hidden Devices.
5. Expand the Network Adapters tree.
6. Right-click the dimmed network adapter, and then click Uninstall.

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Method 2

The DevCon utility is a command-line utility that acts as an alternative to Device Manager. When you use DevCon, you can enable, disable, restart, update, remove, and query individual devices or groups of devices. To use DevCon, follow these steps:

1. Download the DevCon tool by clicking the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   311272 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/311272/ ) The DevCon command-line utility functions as an alternative to Device Manager
2. Unpack the 32-bit or 64-bit DevCon tool binary to a local folder.
3. Click Start, click Run, then type cmd and press ENTER.
4. Type CD:\path_to_binaries to navigate to the devcon.exe is located.
5. Use the following syntax to find installed network adapters:
   devcon findall =net or
   devcon listclass net
   Note In the output of the previous commands, there is a line for the ghosted network adapter that is similar to the following:
   PCI\VEN_10B7&DEV_9200&SUBSYS_00D81028&REV_78\4&19FD8D60&0&58F0: 3Com 3C920 Integrated Fast Ethernet Controller (3C905C-TX Compatible)
6. Remove the ghosted device by typing the following syntax:
   devcon -r remove "@PCI\VEN_10B7&DEV_9200&SUBSYS_00D81028&REV_78\4&19FD8D60&0&58F0"

thanks Microsoft