JSI Tip 2399. Traveling with your Windows 2000 laptop - Hardware Profiles.

Windows 2000 supports hardware profiles, which can be used to start your computer with or without specified hardware.

I use the following connectivity configurations:

   Office - Docked configured with:       The NIC on my docking station enabled.       The PC Card NIC disabled.       The internal modem enabled, though I usually connect via DSL on my server.   Anywhere - PC Card configured with:       The NIC on my docking station disabled.       The PC Card NIC enabled, for LAN connections elsewhere in or out of the office.       The internal modem enabled.   Mobile configured with:       The NIC on my docking station disabled.       The PC Card NIC disabled.       The internal modem enabled.

To create the extra profiles:

1. Control Panel / System / Hardware / Hardware Profiles to check Select the first profile listed if I don't selected a profile in n seconds.

2. Copy the selected profile. Name the profile and press OK.

3. Select the new profile and press Properties. Check This is a portable computer (if available) and check Always include this profile as an option when Windows starts.

4. Repeat step 2 and 3 for the additional profile.

When you start Windows 2000, and select or default the boot instance, you will find that you have a Hardware Profile/Configuration Recovery Menu with your 3 profiles. These currently all have the same hardware configuration. If you choose Mobile:

1. Control Panel / System / Hardware.

2. Press Device Manager and and double-click Network adapters.

3. Double-click your NIC (from the docking station), which has a green icon.

4. In Device Usage, select Do not use this device in the current hardware profile (disable).

5. Press OK.

6. Notice that the green icon has become a red X.

Shutdown and restart, choosing the Anywhere - PC Card profile. Repeats the above steps to disable the docking station NIC.

Shutdown and undock your computer. Insert the PC CARD NIC and boot the Anywhere - PC Card profile. Add this new hardware.

NOTE: You may need to disable the PC CARD NIC in your other profiles.

NOTE: If you didn't disable the docking station NIC it would take forever in the Preparing network connections portion of startup.

NOTE: Prior to implementing this tip, I suggest that you implement tip 2240 - How do I use my Windows 2000 domain profile on my laptop, while traveling?

NOTE: If you choose a different sequence of implementation, you may receive some startup errors the first time you use a new hardware profile. Ignore them and configure your devices appropriately.