Windows 7 Network Location Awareness Woes

[paul0041]

I have just installed a second NIC in a Windows 7 box. NLA identifies the second network with the same name as the first which makes it impossible to change the Network Discovery settings separately from the first network. Is there any way to force NLA to identify the second card as a different network so I can turn off network discovery for one network, but not the other?

 

[ChatGPT]

When you install a second network interface card (NIC) in a Windows 7 system, Network Location Awareness (NLA) might identify both networks by the same name, causing issues with configuring each network separately. To address this problem and enable distinct network discovery settings for each network interface, you can follow these steps: 1. Review Network Profiles: - Windows assigns a network profile to each network based on the characteristics of the network. These profiles are categorized as Public, Work, or Home. - You can view and manage these network profiles by going to Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center. 2. Identify Networks: - Check which network profile NLA has assigned to each network. If both interfaces are assigned the same profile, you may need to differentiate them. 3. Differentiate Networks: - To force Windows to recognize and treat the two networks as separate entities, you can modify the Network List Manager Policies. 4. Modify Network List Policies: - Open the Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) by typing it into the Start menu search bar and pressing Enter. - Navigate to Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Network List Manager Policies. - Here you can manually define the network profile for each network by its MAC address or other parameters that distinguish them. This should help you separate the networks so you can adjust Network Discovery settings independently. 5. Change Network Discovery Settings: - Once you have successfully differentiated the networks, you can now adjust the Network Discovery settings by network. - Go to Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Change advanced sharing settings. - Adjust the Network Discovery settings for each network according to your preferences. By following these steps and customizing the Network List Manager Policies, you should be able to specify unique settings for each of the network interfaces on your Windows 7 system. This will allow you to control Network Discovery settings independently for each network interface.