Chapter 15: Running Windows XP on Laptops

Using a Docking Station

Docking stations enable laptop users to avoid resource limitations that most laptops have. A docking station lets you connect to a better monitor, a real mouse, a full-sized keyboard, and possibly a network. Some docking stations give you access to additional hardware, such as a hard drive or CD-ROM drive. In addition to these resources, docking stations are convenient--by simply clicking the laptop into the docking station, you have access to these additional resources, without having to plug cables into the laptop.

Port replicators are a kind of simple docking station that contain no resources except additional ports. A port replicator can be used to give you immediate access to a full-sized screen, keyboard, mouse, printer, and network connection, without having to plug each cable in separately. Port replicators don't have hard drives or other internal resources.

Windows provides some features that are useful to users of docking stations:

• Hot docking If your hardware supports it, you can plug your laptop into its docking station without turning off the laptop and gain access to the additional resources provided by the docking station.
• Hardware profiles Enables you to create profiles so your laptop works properly, whether it's connected to the docking station or not.

Docking and Undocking

If your laptop supports hot docking, you can usually undock it by choosing Start | Eject PC. Windows automatically adjusts to the change in hardware, notifying you of open files, and loading or unloading any necessary drivers. When you're ready to dock the laptop again, simply put it in the docking station. Windows again adjusts automatically to the change in hardware. Some laptops support hot docking, but no Eject PC command appears on the Start menu.

If your laptop doesn't support hot docking (check the laptop's manual or online help to find out for sure), you need to shut down Windows and turn the laptop off before docking or undocking. You can benefit from creating two hardware profiles--one to use when the laptop is docked, and one to use when you work away from the docking station. Multiple hardware profiles can save you time. When you undock your laptop, you needn't change each hardware setting that needs to be changed; instead, you can choose the correct hardware profile when the machine boots.

Creating and Using Hardware Profiles

A hardware profile is a description of your computer's hardware resources. Creating multiple hardware profiles gives you an easy way to tell Windows to what hardware the computer is connected. If the laptop is attached to a network, you want to be able to use the network printer. If it's in a docking station, you want to be able to use the docking station hardware--extra drives or sound card--and you may want to change your screen resolution to take advantage of a regular monitor. Hardware profiles can save information about the available hardware and the drivers used by the hardware. You create one hardware profile for each hardware configuration you use.

Hardware profiles store information about printers, monitors, video controllers, disk controllers, keyboards, modems, sound cards, network cards, pointing devices, and ports.

Hardware profiles are useful when you have more than one way you commonly use a computer. Your computer might sometimes be connected to a network, and use shared drives and printers. At other times, your computer might be disconnected from the network and not have access to the network's shared resources. Or, you may have a laptop you sometimes use with and sometimes use without a docking station. Hardware profiles easily enable you to load and unload the drivers needed for the resources to which your computer has access.

Creating a New Hardware Profile

The following are the steps for creating a new hardware profile. We recommend that you first configure your hardware to get all your peripherals and network connections running. Also, it's a good idea to make a copy of your original profile in case you have trouble with the new profiles.

Follow these steps to create a new hardware profile:

1. Open the System Properties dialog box by choosing Start | Control Panel | Performance And Maintenance | System. (Or, click Start, right-click My Computer, and choose Properties.)
2. Click the Hardware tab and then the Hardware Profiles button to see the options shown in Figure 15-11.

Figure 15-11: Creating additional hardware configurations for your computer

3. Select the hardware profile that is current. (At this point you may want to use the Copy button to create a copy of the working profile.)

Making a copy of the original configuration profile is a good idea. Leave the original configuration profile as is, in case you have problems with the other profiles.

4. Click the Copy button to display the Copy Profile dialog box.
5. Type the new profile name in the To box. Use a name that is descriptive, such as "Networked," "No Network," or "Not Docked" as the name of the profile. Click OK.
6. Select the Hardware Profile that you are going to edit--in other words, the profile that will be for the computer when hardware connections are different than when you initially set the computer up.
7. Click OK to close the Hardware Profiles dialog box.
8. Click the Device Manager button on the Hardware tab of the System Properties dialog box to see the tab shown in Figure 15-12.

Figure 15-12: The Device Manager tab shows the hardware components of your computer.

9. Expand the category that you want to change in the selected profile, and look for the hardware device(s) you want to disable
10. Right-click the device and select Properties button to see the properties for the device. The dialog box you see looks like the one displayed in Figure 15-13.

Figure 15-13: Disabling hardware in the current profile in the Properties dialog box

11. At the bottom of the General tab, choose Do Not Use This Device In The Current Hardware Profile as the Device Usage setting. When Remove is selected, the hardware is removed from Device Manager.
12. Repeat steps 10 and 11 as necessary to disable or remove additional hardware from this profile.
13. Click OK.

Switching Hardware Profiles

When the computer reboots--and whenever it starts from now on--you see a menu similar to the following:

Windows cannot determine what configuration your computer

is in.

Select one of the following:

1. Original profile

2. Networked

3. No Network

Production: End of the monospace text. Jenn

The menu lists the hardware profiles you created. Pick the configuration you want to use.

Modifying and Deleting Hardware Profiles

If you decide not to use a hardware profile any more, you can delete it by selecting it on the Hardware Profile tab of the System Profiles dialog box and clicking Delete.

To reenable a hardware device in a hardware profile, start the computer using the hardware profile. Then, open the Add New Hardware icon in the Control Panel to add the drivers for this device to the hardware profile.