Compaq Notebook PC manual Network Connection for Internal Ethernet Hardware

Network Connection for Internal Ethernet Hardware

This section covers:

•Understanding Network Connection Problems

•Creating a Hardware Profile in Windows 2000

•Configuring the No Ethernet Profile

•Testing the No Ethernet Profile

•Deleting a Hardware Profile in Windows 2000

Understanding Network Connection Problems

If your Notebook is configured with an internal Ethernet controller (network card), and you have configured the Ethernet hardware in Windows, you may encounter one or both of the following situations:

•You experience delays while starting Windows or when using certain network-related software programs such as Microsoft Outlook or other e-mail programs when your Notebook is not connected to the network (the network cable is not physically plugged into your Notebook).

•You use the Notebook in both home and office situations in which you are logged into the office network directly through the Ethernet hardware and logged into a network at home (either the office network or an ISP network) through the modem. In this situation, when you are logged into the network through the modem you will not be able to map to network drives or access other network features that are typically present when your Notebook is logged into a network at the office.

These problems are associated with the functionality of Windows. If Ethernet hardware is configured in a Notebook, Windows tries to access the network through the Ethernet hardware. If a connection does not exist, then startup delays or loss of functionality can occur.

One way to overcome these situations is to use the Hardware Profile feature of Windows. This feature allows you to create two different Hardware Profiles that are selectable upon startup: one with the internal Ethernet hardware enabled and one with the internal Ethernet hardware disabled.

WINDOWS 2000 OPERATING SYSTEM MANUAL NOTEBOOK CONFIGURATION 2-15