ok so my mama dukes got a cable modem like a month or so ago in the family room.. i got my own desktop in my room but i havent used it for the internet in like a lomg time i only used it for editing videos, burning coping cds, dvds and whatnot.. anyway i needed to update some information so i treied to hook my moms cable modem to my computer and it didnt work

... i called comcast and the guy said that i had a TCP/IP network problem and that the modem wasnt able to read my ip adress cuz it starts with 169. whatever that means.. anyway i called the manufactuer (gateway) and they said im out of warrenty and i need to pay 100 and some dollars for tech support to change my ip so that the modem could read it.. not gonna happen simply cuz im broke.. anybody know how to rig it to work or at least instruct me in the right direction.. all help is greatly appreciated