One of the nice things about laptops is that they are mobile so you can easily move them between different networks. If the networks have different settings, you can create multiple hardware profiles. You may use a modem on your home network and a network adapter when connected at the office. A hardware profile will tell Windows which devices to use when your computer starts up. You can create a hardware profile using the steps outlined below:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and click Control Panel. In Windows XP, click Start and click Control Panel.

2. Double click the System applet.
3. From the Hardware tab, click the Hardware Profiles button.
4. Under the list of available hardware profile, select Docked Profile or Undocked Profile and click Copy.
5. Type in a new name for the profile and click OK.
6. Click OK.

When you reboot your system, Windows will prompt you to select which hardware profile you want to use.