Multiple Networks

[Kooldino]

A friend of mine has a laptop that he needs to use on two networks. He runs win XP.

I could have sworn that there was a way to save multiple different profiles so you can easily switch between them.

If so, how do you do it?

If not, are there any 3rd party programs that do so?

[Claymonkey]

Yep it's pretty easy to set up. In network neighborhood go to the NIC in question. Right click ->properties->click TCP-IP ->properties. You will have two tabs here. In the first tab set up the primary network. In the Alternate Configuration tab enter the data for the second network. If I remember correctly it automagically senses if the primary will work and if not uses the alternate.

[Kooldino]

That's what I thought, BUT here on my work machine, I only have the first (General) tab. I don't have the alternate tab.

Could it be that because I run a static IP here that option is gone?

[Fat Tone]

<snip> shuddup Tone!

[Rob(QG)]

You only get the alternate tab if the general tab is set to use DHCP.

Also it takes longer to log in when the DHCP server is not available and then 60 seconds after log in to decide that DHCP isn't going to work and switch to using the alternate config. Anything that expects networking to work right after login won't be happy (eg Steam).

Hopefully he can use DHCP on one of the networks.

[High_Jumbllama]

I have the same problem here. A rep's notebook has a 10/100 rj45 connection using DHCP, a builtin wirelss connection and a firewire network connection. I was told to get this working an hour before I left one day. I wasted 20 minutes trying to figure out why the laptop did not see the freaking physical connection and gave him a temporary static I.P. and reset his settings before I left. I could set up a small number of DHCP addresses and let him go to town but then he'd be inside my network.

[Jammrock]

SP2 borked the alternate network configuration option big time. If you're on a corporate netwrok, policy may disable alt. config to prevent people from building backplane networks, as well.

More than likely SP2 borked it, though.

Before I blew up my laptop install, I had installed WinXP SP1 and then upgraded to SP2 afterwards. With the rebuild I installed a slipstreamed SP2 install. Alt network config has not wroked even once, and I've tried my best to get it working.

PS - http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;285038

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;283676

Jammrock

[Wulfman]

if he is using a ibm-laptop he could use the "ibm access connections" tool, which lets you store multiple profiles (network, printer, homepage,..)

mfg
wulfman

[Kooldino]

Well, putting him in DHCP WORKS, but the problem is this:

At work, there is a DHCP server that will assign him an address.

However, at work, he needs to have a specific IP address, which is NOT the same address that the DHCP server gives him.

At home, he also has DHCP, and his IP doesn't matter, so long as he gets one.

So the problem (at work) is that if we set it for DHCP and put a static in as a secondary, it will never use the secondary because it will use the DHCP address that it picks up.

So, we're putting his PC behind a router that he has lying around, and that's going to be his DHCP server. He can run DHCP all the time.

[Rob(QG)]

The other option would be to set up a reservation on the DHCP server at work, so it always gave him the right IP address. Then you should be able to just use DHCP and have no need for 2 different network settings.

Of course if it is the gateway or DNS settings that are the important differences at work, then your solution looks to be the only chance

[Wombat]

The other option would be to set up a reservation on the DHCP server at work, so it always gave him the right IP address.

Except that it sounds like the IP he needs is not in a range the DHCP server is authorized to admin.

The router is a reasonable hack. I probably would have gone for a NIC at work.

[Kooldino]

@ Wombat - Bingo.

He has a NIC at both work and home though...