Managing Hardware Profiles

In most cases, your hardware configuration will remain relatively static. You might add the odd new device or remove a device, but these are permanent changes. Windows XP merely updates its current hardware configuration to compensate.

In some situations, however, you might need to switch between hardware configurations regularly. A good example is a notebook computer with a docking station. When the computer is undocked, it uses its built-in keyboard, mouse, and display; when the computer is docked, however, it uses a separate keyboard, mouse, and display. To make it easier to switch between these different configurations, Windows XP lets you set up a hardware profile for each setup. It then becomes a simple matter of your selecting the profile you want to use at startup; Windows XP handles the hard part of loading the appropriate drivers.

Note

Generally speaking, you don’t need to bother with hardware profiles if your computer has a Plug and Play BIOS and you’re using Plug and Play devices. Plug and Play detects any new Plug and Play– compliant hardware configuration automatically and adjusts accordingly. For example, Plug and Play supports hot docking of a notebook computer: While the machine is running, you can insert it into, or remove it from, the docking station, and Plug and Play handles the switch without breaking a sweat. Hardware profiles are useful when you have configurations that require major hardware changes and so you don’t want to wait for the Plug and Play process to redetect each changed device.

Before creating a new hardware profile, install the drivers you need for all the hardware you’ll be using. If the hardware isn’t currently attached, that’s fine; just be sure to specify the appropriate devices by hand in the Add New Hardware Wizard. The important thing is to make sure that all the drivers you need are installed.

After that’s done, open the System Properties dialog box as described earlier and select the Hardware tab. Click the Hardware Profiles button to open the Hardware Profiles dialog box. On most systems, you see a single profile named Profile 1. This profile includes all the installed device drivers. The idea is that you create a new profile by making a copy of this configuration, and then you tell Windows XP which devices to include in that new profile.

To make a copy of the profile, click the Copy button, enter a name for the new profile in the Copy Profile dialog box, and click OK. (If you want to rename a profile, select the profile, click Rename, enter the new name in the Rename Profile dialog box, and click OK.)

Now that you have multiple profiles in place, you need to tell Windows XP which devices go with which profile. Follow these steps:

1. If you want to work with the new profile, restart your computer and select the profile from the menu that appears at startup.

2. Open Device Manager and find the device you want to work with.

3. Select the device’s property sheet.

4. In the General tab’s Device Usage list, choose one of the following options (you’ll see one or more of the following three choices, depending on the device):

   • Use this Device (Enable) Select this option to include the device in the profile.

   • Do Not Use This Device In the Current Hardware Profile (Disable) If you choose this option, Windows XP disables the device only in the current hardware profile.

   • Do Not Use This Device In Any Hardware Profiles (Disable) If you choose this option, Windows XP disables the device in every hardware profile.

5. Click OK.