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Some new Dell computers running Windows XP are pre-configured with a
network bridge, which basically shares a single network connection between
two different network devices on your computer (allowing your computer to
essentially act as a router). This is a problem for anyone at UMCP who
needs to register and connect to the dorm network or the roaming and
wireless networks because the network bridge essentially takes the place
of the network card and creates a false MAC address (usually
0203:8a00:0011). If you try to register your network card using this
incorrect MAC address, you will be unable to connect to the network after
you complete the registration process.
To correct this problem, you should remove the network bridge before you
register your computer for the dorm/roaming/wireless network. The steps
for doing this in Windows XP are as follows:
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Click on Start, then choose All
Programs, then Accessories, then
Communications, and then Network
Connections.
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You will see you various network connections. One of the
connections will be called Network Bridge. Right-click
on the Network Bridge and choose Delete
from the menu that appears. You may be asked to confirm this
decision: do so.
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Once the network bridge has been removed, you will be able to find
out the real MAC address of your network card:
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Click on the Start button and choose
Run from the menu.
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In the dialog box that appears, type the word
"command" (without the quotation marks) and hit the Enter key.
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In the command window that appears, type "ipconfig
/all | more" (again, without the quotation marks) and hit the Enter key.
- Scroll through the information that is displayed and
look for the Physical Address for your network
card. That is the MAC address of your network card.
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