Hardware Profiles

Microsoft^® Windows NT^® 4.0 uses hardware profiles to determine which drivers to load when system hardware changes. This allows users to select from a list of known configurations. For example, a laptop computer has a different configuration for video resolution, network cards, services and devices when docked versus when undocked.

When more than one hardware profile exists in the system, users are prompted during boot to select a configuration. This contrasts with Windows^® 95 hardware profile support, where hardware profiles are dynamically chosen when a clear choice is available.

A hardware profile can be created from the Windows NT Workstation 4.0 desktop by right-clicking on the My Computer icon, selecting Properties, and then clocking a Hardware Profiles button. A Hardware Profiles button is also found on the System Control Panel.

A hardware profile is automatically created when you install Windows NT Workstation 4.0. The Hardware Profiles dialog box provides a list of existing profiles that can be updated, removed, or copied and modified to create new profiles.

Windows NT Workstation can be configured to activate a specific hardware profile at startup, or you can select from a list.