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Latitude D600 wireless question...
Our company uses Latitude D600 laptops with Windows 2000 Professional SP4. Our model includes the Intel PRO/Wireless LAN 2100 3a Mini PCI Adapter with the Intel PROSet software. The other integrated network adapter is a Broadcom 570x Gigabit Integrated Controller.
Does anyone know of a way,or if it is even possible, to automatically disable the wired adapter (Broadcom 570x in our case) when the wireless radio is enabled?
Thanks for the help!
Message Edited by DanS5265 on 11-05-2004 12:20 PM
Message Edited by DanS5265 on 11-05-2004 12:21 PM
Manh
146 Posts
99
0
Posted November 8th, 2004 20:00
This has to do with what is known as enumeration in Windows. Whatever driver gets loaded first, is the one that becomes the primary network transport. Once its initialized, the device automatically uses the primary, unless it has no connectivity then it falls back to some other network device. Since the Wireless has to wait until you get visual in Windows, it will never become the primary device.. Hard/embedded devices will always take precendence. Therefore, you will simply have to manually disable the internal network card.. or just leave it. Lets say you have your machine connected.. and you undock and take it. At that point, network card will complain "network cable unplugged". Your wireless is therefore always enable (as long as it has connectivity). Now, when you lose that hard wired connection, it will take a few seconds, but Windows will automatically utilize backup NICs to establish connection, and the Wireless will kick in. There really isn't a way to tell Windows to disable once device when another is present... Windows was designed for failover rather than preferable treatment... Otherwise it would constantly poll devices for connection.. and your connectivity would be all over the place. Besides, what you are trying to do, is unique. Nobody ever needs an alternate connection.. its just not good practice.. When you are docked, it uses hard wire. When you shutdown, undock and are mobile, you use wireless.. but its a different profile. Hard wire is enabled in dock, and wireless is disabled. Hard wire is disable UNdock, and wireless is enable.. and the settings are saved between hardware profiles.