Windows XP service pack 3
my PC has two network cards. One for general internet access (first port)
and another (second port) for data collection from another device. I have
to collect data on the second port, I can't do it on the first port. The
second port ip settings are just ip address and subnet mask, it has no 
default gateway or dns settings. Problem is my PC sometimes 'chooses' the
second network port and I don't get any internet access. Is there a way to 
configure the pc so that it only chooses the first network port for general
internet and network and ignores the other one? Thanks for any help.

tg wrote:
> Windows XP service pack 3
> my PC has two network cards. One for general internet access (first port)
> and another (second port) for data collection from another device. I have
> to collect data on the second port, I can't do it on the first port. The
> second port ip settings are just ip address and subnet mask, it has no 
> default gateway or dns settings. Problem is my PC sometimes 'chooses' the
> second network port and I don't get any internet access. Is there a way to 
> configure the pc so that it only chooses the first network port for general
> internet and network and ignores the other one? Thanks for any help.
> 
> 
> 

You can have quite fine control if you use the command-line "route" 
command.  Start by doing a "route print" and then consider "route add".

Phil, London

tg wrote:
> Windows XP service pack 3
> my PC has two network cards. One for general internet access (first port)
> and another (second port) for data collection from another device. I have
> to collect data on the second port, I can't do it on the first port. The
> second port ip settings are just ip address and subnet mask, it has no 
> default gateway or dns settings. Problem is my PC sometimes 'chooses' the
> second network port and I don't get any internet access. Is there a way to 
> configure the pc so that it only chooses the first network port for general
> internet and network and ignores the other one? Thanks for any help.

Sounds like something is either occasionally breaking or there is a 
configuration problem - it should "just work". A few questions:

Do you have a personal firewall installed on the computer, and if so 
have you checked that it isn't causing the problem?

When the Internet is not working, can your computer still talk to the 
device attached to the second port, and can you ping an Internet-based 
numeric address (eg www.google.co.uk, 209.85.229.99)?

What IP address and subnet mask have you specified for the second 
network interface?

If the first network interface is configured manually, what IP address, 
subnet mask, gateway address, and DNS server address(es) are set? If by 
DHCP, how is that configured?

It would be interesting to see output from "ipconfig /all" and "route 
print" both when you do and don't have Internet access.

Alex

Hi
In general this configuration is used to choose the preferred NIC.
http://www.ezlan.net/metrics.html
However, you really want to do is to put the second NIC and what ever it 
connects to on a different subnet.
Jack (MS, MVP-Networking).


"tg"  wrote in message 
news:4aaa49a8$1$2543$da0feed9@news.zen.co.uk...
> Windows XP service pack 3
> my PC has two network cards. One for general internet access (first port)
> and another (second port) for data collection from another device. I have
> to collect data on the second port, I can't do it on the first port. The
> second port ip settings are just ip address and subnet mask, it has no 
> default gateway or dns settings. Problem is my PC sometimes 'chooses' the
> second network port and I don't get any internet access. Is there a way to 
> configure the pc so that it only chooses the first network port for 
> general
> internet and network and ignores the other one? Thanks for any help.
>
>
>

On Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:59:05 +0100, "tg" 
wrote:

> Windows XP service pack 3
> my PC has two network cards. One for general internet access (first port)
> and another (second port) for data collection from another device. I have
> to collect data on the second port, I can't do it on the first port. The
> second port ip settings are just ip address and subnet mask, it has no 
> default gateway or dns settings. Problem is my PC sometimes 'chooses' the
> second network port and I don't get any internet access. Is there a way to 
> configure the pc so that it only chooses the first network port for general
> internet and network and ignores the other one? Thanks for any help.

Both interfaces should be present.  What do you mean by the PC choosing
one?  What are you seeing, other than a loss of connectivity, that leads
you to believe the issue is from something wrong between the interfaces
being chosen?  Could you give the IP settings of the interfaces and when
this next happens, could you run from a command prompt: route print and
copy the output into a post here.  Do you know how to copy the contents of
a command prompt window and paste it into a windows window?

Tony

"tg"  wrote in message
news:4aaa49a8$1$2543$da0feed9@news.zen.co.uk...

thanks for all the response here. I managed to resolve the issue by
purchasing a 2 port network card and installing that. Even that didn't work
at first because the card self-installed microsoft's own (crappy old) 
drivers from 2001 but I managed to find some updated drivers for it and now 
all is peachy with both nic's working properly and internet access too.