one pesky ghost adapter

So im out on a ghost hunt looking for this network adapter ghost. It has a static ip address attached to it and i want it back.

I checked high and low in the registry, i ran the network reset on windows 10 and still did not remove the network adapter, i reset ARP and its tables even deleting the whole thing, and does not show at all in device manager even when i used the command prompt to have it show hidden devices and then selected "show hidden devices" in device manager.

Yet every time i try to assign a static IP to my new NIC, it says "the ip address you have entered for this network adapter is already assigned to 'intel gigabit CT desktop adapter #2'

Its not here anymore. in fact, its actually sitting in my test bed as i type this.

What else can i do?

Wouldn't it be in your DHCP reservation? Check your Router/DHCP server.

More thoughts.

If you assigned the static IP from properties on your local machine, your DHCP is only maintaining a lease and leases are generally for an hour but no longer than a day. Depending on your DHCP server, it could even be kept for a month but most default to one hour.

If you reserved the IP on the DHCP server, then it is done so with the MAC of the NIC. You should be able to look it up via the IP or the MAC so you shouldn't have to install the old card to get the MAC.

Rename it to the old. Then rename it back once it seats.

When uninstalling hardware, if you didn't uninstall the drivers beforehand, you can get "ghost" devices left behind in Windows. Happens all the time with USB devices, but usually isn't a problem unless they cause some kind of conflict, like devices not being recognized properly or at all, or in your case, resources being used or taken up by a ghost device.

In Windows 10, when looking at the system devices in Device Manager, you do have the option of showing all devices, including those not currently attached/found (Show Hidden Devices). Check there and see if your old network adapter is showing up, and Uninstall Device.

If that doesn't work, you may have a Network & Sharing conflict. These are instructions for Windows 7, as I have not had this issue in W10, but the procedure will most likely be the same.

You'll want to goto Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center. In the list of Active Network you should see only 1 listed, but it might be listed as Home Network 2. You should be able to click on the Icon to view the found/available networks via the Merge or Delete network locations option at the bottom. After clicking that link, you'll see the list, and there may be more then 1 network listed. The previous entry/entries are what was setup from your previous network setup. Just merge all the unused networks into your current setup and this should remove all the previous network information. You'll need to reboot to ensure all takes effect.