Hardware Profiles in Windows XP

To create a hardware profile

You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group in order to complete this procedure. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may also prevent you from completing this procedure.

Open System in Control Panel.
On the Hardware tab, click Hardware Profiles.
Under Available hardware profiles, click Profile 1 (Current), and then click Copy.
Type a name for the new hardware profile, and then click OK.
You can customize your new profile by enabling or disabling devices for that profile in Device Manager.

Notes

To open System, click Start, click Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance, and then click System.
The profile named Profile 1 (Current) provides a model for you to create new hardware profiles. It will not appear in the list of available hardware profiles shown during startup.


To specify the default hardware profile for startup

You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group in order to complete this procedure. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may also prevent you from completing this procedure.

Open System in Control Panel.
On the Hardware tab, click Hardware Profiles.
Under Available hardware profiles, use the arrow buttons to move the hardware profile you want to use as the default into the top position in the list. During startup, Windows will load only the device drivers for hardware devices that are enabled in the profile you select.
Under Hardware profiles selection, click one of the options that specifies how long Windows waits before automatically loading the default hardware profile.

Notes

To open System, click Start, click Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance, and then click System.
If you want the default hardware profile to load automatically without showing you the list during startup, enter a 0 in seconds under Hardware profiles selection. If you decide later to select a different hardware profile, press the SPACEBAR during startup and choose a profile from the list.


To copy, rename, or delete a hardware profile

You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group in order to complete this procedure. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may also prevent you from completing this procedure.

Open System in Control Panel.
On the Hardware tab, click Hardware Profiles.
Under Available hardware profiles, click the existing hardware profile you want, and do one of the following. Click:
Copy to open the Copy Profile dialog box, and type a new name for the copy.
Rename to open the Rename Profile dialog box, and type a new name for the selected profile.
Delete to remove the selected profile.

Note

To open System, click Start, click Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance, and then click System.