NetSetMan Support

emjay

Member

Registered: 2016-09-07

Posts: 2

NetSetMan using USB to Ethernet Adapter

HI all - my new ASUS laptop only comes with a USB to Ethernet adapter. When I open NetSetMan it does not appear in the list of adapters availablce to configure .

Can anyone suggest how to make it visible so I can confgiure using NetSetMan?

Appreciate any suggestions.

Cheers

NetSetMan Support

Administrator

Registered: 2005-08-06

Posts: 1,878

Re: NetSetMan using USB to Ethernet Adapter

The list of network adapters is initially filled with the NICs that are available (=connected and enabled) at the first program start. If you add or change NICs at a later point of time, then you need to update this list manually. You can do this using the "Manage network adapters" dialog that you can find at the Refresh button, located right besides the NICs list.
Click here for more details:
www.netsetman.com/en/help?hf=en#hf_nics

emjay

Member

Registered: 2016-09-07

Posts: 2

Re: NetSetMan using USB to Ethernet Adapter

Thats for the reply - that is exactly what solves my problem. I guess I should read the manual....

Cheers

pvajdic

Member

Registered: 2013-03-30

Posts: 19

Re: NetSetMan using USB to Ethernet Adapter

Not to open another topic on similar matter...I'm also using USB to LAN adapter on my Dell XPS13. My problem is that network adapter name changes almost every time I plug it in (into same USB port) from Ethernet to Ethernet 2 or Ethernet 3. This makes NetSetMan unable to activate it for my LAN profile and deactivate it for my WiFi profile. I tried to rename it to something custom like "WiredCon" but it didn't help because adapter name also changes.

Anyway to fix this?

Thank you.

NetSetMan Support

Administrator

Registered: 2005-08-06

Posts: 1,878

Re: NetSetMan using USB to Ethernet Adapter

The adapter name actually doesn't matter, because we identify the adapter by a unique ID it receives from the operating system. You can check that "GUID" for example in the tooltip of that NIC in NetSetMan's Network Adapter Management (or by looking in the settings.ini file where your configuration is stored). This ID stays the same even if you disconnect and connect an external device, regardless of the name you give it.

Having said that, the name should actually remain the same as well when you unplug and reconnect the device. If there's always a new name, it appears that your Windows isn't recognizing the device as a known device, so that the GUID is probably a new one as well. This is actually a problem regardless of NetSetMan, because the device is basically installed again every time you plug it in. In result, you'll end up with hundreds of inactive NICs soon. It is either a problem of the NIC hardware or some configuration problem in Windows that you need to focus first.

pvajdic

Member

Registered: 2013-03-30

Posts: 19

Re: NetSetMan using USB to Ethernet Adapter

Indeed I do have 2,3 network devices in my Device Manager. Windows 10 Enterprise is installed brand new (as laptop is new also). I've checked drivers store for LAN and there are only two drivers for this NIC, one from Microsoft and one from Realtek (which I installed myself from Dell site).
After few more tests I noticed that name changes in 3 variations

Ethernet 1
Ethernet 2
Ethernet 3

Each time I plug it in it will get one of those names. It doesn't get new names, ie Ethernet 4, 5....If I change Ethernet 2 to WiredCon that it will rotate between

Ethernet 1
WiredCon
Ethernet 3

I'm thinking to remove all drivers related to it from drivers store and leave only one (MS or Realtek).

Thank you for your answer.

NetSetMan Support

Administrator

Registered: 2005-08-06

Posts: 1,878

Re: NetSetMan using USB to Ethernet Adapter

This rotation is weird. In case your driver clean-up doesn't resolve this problem, you could ask the vendor of this external NIC device for support. Maybe they can explain this behavior and how to avoid it.