XP - turn off wireless automatically when connected to Lan (?)

[Chris2wire]

Hey guys,

Got a prob. Every laptop at my job (which is 180 or so) stays connected to our wireless even when the computer is plugged into the LAN.

I know theres a way to make windows auto-disconnect wireless when plugged in, but how?

Thanks!

 

[Brazen]

I've never heard of any way to do this, but my Dell notebook will automatically disable the wireless when plugged into a docking station

from here:

At this time, computers running Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 do not have the capability to automatically disable the wireless network adapter when the Ethernet adapter is plugged into a network and to automatically enable the wireless network adapter when the Ethernet adapter is unplugged. If you do not want simultaneous connections to both wired and wireless networks, you must manually enable and disable the connection to the wireless network, the procedure for which varies with different releases of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

 

[LouPoir]

Never heard of if - I would be interested too

 

[bsobel]

Originally posted by: Chris2wire
Hey guys,

Got a prob. Every laptop at my job (which is 180 or so) stays connected to our wireless even when the computer is plugged into the LAN.

I know theres a way to make windows auto-disconnect wireless when plugged in, but how?

Thanks!

Why is it a problem, the route metric should be higher so the lan connection will actually transfer the traffic until you disconnect.

 

[Brazen]

Originally posted by: bsobel

Originally posted by: Chris2wire
Hey guys,

Got a prob. Every laptop at my job (which is 180 or so) stays connected to our wireless even when the computer is plugged into the LAN.

I know theres a way to make windows auto-disconnect wireless when plugged in, but how?

Thanks!

Why is it a problem, the route metric should be higher so the lan connection will actually transfer the traffic until you disconnect.

theoretically yes, but I've come across some laptops that won't talk at all when a wireless and physical network are connected, or very very slowly. Most of these issues though are solved by disabling netbios on one of the adapters.

 

[John]

Have the end user take 2 seconds to disable the laptop wifi using a Fn+F(number) key, pressing/moving the wifi switch on the top or sides of the chassis, or removing the wireless card.

 

[Rilex]

SMB/CIFS does not follow card metrics (or order). This is why you'll see transfers over WLAN when the LAN is connected.

IIRC Vista has a solution to this by tying the connections together.

 

[corkyg]

It really is not a problem. My laptop has WiFi, and it is ON even when connected to a wired LAN. It causes no problems at all. It turns off with just the pressing of a button on the laptop.

Maybe you need a user procedure if it causes problems - i.e., they are always OFF unless needed for a wireless connection.

I know of no auto switch in XP that will do that.

 

[Chris2wire]

The reason Im looking for this solution is because our WAPs get bogged down having everyone connected when 75% of them are LAN connected anyways. We'd rather their machine turns off wireless when it goes LAN connected.

We can tell them to do it manually, but only 5% will actually do it...

 

[aux]

IBM (now Lenovo) has Access Connections, software that allows you to define network profiles (e.g. ethernet-only profile). Check with the laptop manufacturer(s) for similar software.