Information Stored in Windows 2000 about NIC settings 1

[hglobus]

At a client site we have several Windows 200 machines, some with Auto Detect set for their Link Speed and Duplexing. The IT manager of the site had asked a firm to come in and set all of the ports on their Cisco 3600 switch to 100 Full. He did a site visit and plugged his Apple in and the machine came back saying that it got a connection at 100 Half.

Is there a place on a Windows machine that I can query using WMI or registry search to determine what speed and duplexing the NIC is using when it is set to Auto Detect?

I am sure that it has to be stored somewhere…..

Thanks.

Howard

 

[bcastner]

You are not going to like my answer.
A long time ago Microsoft, Apple, Novell and others realized that it was silly to do anything other than specify and qualify NIC drives.

There is no local registry storage for Duplex settings. Most have found autonegotiation issues with Cisco routers with Cisco routers.

See this FAQ note: faq586-4186

If there was a local client registry, or other parameter storage, and a way too change it, I would love to find it.

As a client, please see what can and cannot be done through netsh.exe:

http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...port/kb/articles/Q242/4/68.ASP&NoWebContent=1

You can force a netsh int ip reset, or depending on version an int ip reset setlog.txt
You can force an arbitrary fixed IP, then flip to DHCP with command line arguments.

But resolving Duplex issues is an autonegotiation issue with the switch, the NIC, and not the OS.

See my first paragraph comments about WinXP as client issues under Win2k domains here: faq779-4017

Best,
Bill Castner

 

[hglobus]

Bill,

Thanks for the post. I appreciate your assistance.

While I was looking at
I found that I can extract most of the information on Win32 systems. The two pieces that I am missing on this network card on these machines is their speed and duplex setting. I was hoping it, like other items from the card, gets written into the system somewhere.

Ah well, guess I'll have to keep looking.

Thanks for your assitance.

Howard

 

[hglobus]

Ooops. Here are the sites:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/scriptcenter/network/default.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/ScriptCenter/network/ScrNet11.asp

 

[bcastner]

I apologize.

I misread you original post to intend to set the speed or duplex.

As you have discovered, the best you can query from WMI is whether autonegotiation is set, and what under the driver model is the current "Speed."

I will stick with my original point, you cannot determine the acual Speed or Duplex settings under WMI or otherise; only what is possible.

You most certainly cannot set the "Speed" or "Duplex" setting for the client adapter.

If any programming needs to be done, it is to set the Cisco swith to a fixed speed and Duplex, and reasonably expect the adapter to autonegotiate the setting.

 

[hglobus]

Thank you for the clarification. I don't know if I can do what the client is looking for us to do programatically, it may have to be done by hand.

Thanks again.

Howard

 

[bcastner]

Do not miss what a netshell.exe "dump" of configuration settings would allow you to change.

A regular example of its possible use:

http://is-it-true.org/nt/nt2000/utips/utips46.shtml

An MS KB article describing how rich the Netsh scripting environment can possibly be:

http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...port/kb/articles/Q242/4/68.ASP&NoWebContent=1

 

[sophic]

If you go into device manager and select the properties of your NIC, your speed is in the advanced settings and so you can test each speed and duplex setting works (I'm using a realtek 8139 cost about £4:50 ea).

 

[hglobus]

sophie

Thanks. I can find it within the UI, I was looking to do this for 400+ machines and did not have the man hours or staff to do it. I was trying to find a programatic way to complete the task.

I apprecitate your input, though.

 

[sophic]

If globally applying this to a variety of PCs, I would use a Kixtart script at login. Search the whole of the [HKLM\SYSTEM] part of the registry for a String Value (REG_SZ)named "SpeedDuplex" and replace the value with 4 if <> 4. This would change all network cards installed.

Values are:-
0 - Auto
1 - 10Mbs Half Duplex
2 - 10Mbs Full Duplex
3 - 100Mps Half Duplex
4 - 100Mbps Full Duplex

For example I found my network card settings in:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class
{4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\0006]
"SpeedDuplex"="0"

No time to write the script for you at the moment!

Sorry,
Steve.