Network Connectivity: Dell QuickSet Help for Microsoft Windows Vista

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# Network Connectivity

Dell™ QuickSet Help for Microsoft® Windows Vista™

Dell™ QuickSet Location Profile Manager

Dell Wi-Fi Catcher—Detecting a Wi-Fi Wireless LAN in Your Vicinity

Enabling and Disabling Wireless Network Connections

Wireless Activity Indicators

Internal Network Card (Wired) Power Management

Connectivity describes technology that allows you to connect your computer to a network of computers. Wireless technology eliminates the need for an external cable (such as an Ethernet cable) for connecting your computer to a network. Wired network cards require an external cable to connect to a network. For more information about wireless technology and wired network cards, see the device user's guide.

## Dell™ QuickSet Location Profile Manager

| NOTE: This feature may not be available on certain computers.

Location Profile Manager helps you manage network settings that correspond to your computer's physical location. It includes two categories of profile settings: Location Profile Settings and General Mobility Settings. You can use Location Profile Settings to create profiles for accessing the Internet with your computer in your office, home, or other public places with Internet services. General Mobility Settings allows you to change the way network connections are handled. The profiles consist of different network settings and equipment that you use when using your computer in different locations.

### Launching Location Profile Manager

To launch the Location Profile Manager, double-click the icon located in the taskbar, click the Networking category, and click Location Profile Manager on the QuickSet launch panel. If profiles have already been created, click Select Location Profile, and choose the desired profile to apply a profile manually.

### Profile Settings

When creating a new profile, the Location Profile Manager captures the settings (such as network and default printer) for your current location. For example, to create a profile for home use, it is recommended that you have the computer at home when you create the home-location profile so that the Location Profile Manager can capture the home settings automatically.

#### Creating Location Profiles

1. With your computer in the location for which you want to create a profile, launch the Location Profile Manager.
2. In the Location Profile Settings area, click Create.

| NOTE: The Location Profile Manager captures and displays the current settings when you create a new location profile.

1. Enter a name for the profile in the Location Profile Name field.
2. Click the Save button at the bottom of the Location Profile Manager window.

#### Modifying Profile Settings

1. To modify a location profile, double-click the icon located on the taskbar, click the Networking category, click Location Profile Manager, and click Create & Edit Profiles.
2. Select the location profile to be modified from the list of created profiles.
3. Use the tabs to access the different settings you want to modify.
4. Click the Save button at the bottom of the Location Profile Manager window.

| NOTE: An IT administrator can update the profile settings over a network. See Updating the Profile or Mobility Settings Over a Network.

#### Location Profile Settings Tabs

| NOTE: To ensure that changes are saved, click the Save button at the bottom of the Location Profile Manager window after modifying settings on any of the tabs.

##### Browser Settings

- Browser Settings: Allows you to configure your Home Page (for Microsoft® Internet Explorer® and Mozilla® FireFox® only), and to specify proxy settings.

| NOTE: Proxy settings only apply to LAN connections.

After you have made changes to this tab, click Save.

##### Printer Settings

- Printer settings for your location profile: Displays the default printer.
- Current printer settings: Displays a list of installed printers. By clicking on the desired printer from this list, you may configure it as your default printer. If printers are not currently installed, you can add a printer by clicking Add Printer. To display the newly added printer in the list of installed printers, click Refresh.

Once you have made changes to this tab, click Save.

##### Applications

- Automatically open applications: Allows you to launch application programs in the following scenarios:

- When a location profile is no longer active
- When a location profile is applied. In this case, you can specify dependency on your VPN connection.

To choose an application, click Browse or enter the full path to the application in the space provided for application path. If the application takes command line arguments, enter those in the space provided for command line parameters. Check the VPN Dependency box for each application program that requires a VPN (virtual private network) connection before launching.

This feature can be used to connect to or disconnect from a VPN client when a location profile transition occurs.

- Virtual Private Network: Displays a list of available VPN connections. VPN connections must be created before using this feature for them to appear in the list.

If you have VPN profiles listed and do not want to use them in your profile, click Add a VPN connection for current profile to remove the check mark. If you want to launch a VPN connection after coming out of standby or hibernate mode, select Launch my VPN every time my computer wakes up from Standy/Hibernate.

##### Network Connections

| NOTE: The Location Profile Manager does not configure wired or wireless settings. You must configure these settings before using this feature.

To add a Wi-Fi wireless LAN, Mobile Broadband wireless WAN, or wired network profile to your location profile, or to enable/disable an internal card with Bluetooth® wireless technology, click the Network Connections tab.

- Network Profiles: Displays the current active network profiles associated with your location profile. To add or remove a network profile, click Manage Network Profiles.

| NOTE: The Location Profile Manager does not initiate network connections. However, when a Wi-Fi, Mobile Broadband, or wired network connection is detected, the connection triggers a location profile that corresponds to the computer's current location.

- Wi-Fi Wireless LAN Profiles: Add or remove available Wi-Fi wireless LAN profiles. The available Wi-Fi wireless LAN profiles are displayed in the area called Wi-Fi wireless profiles currently existing in your location profile.
- Mobile Broadband Wireless WAN Profiles: Add or remove available Mobile Broadband wireless profiles. The available Mobile Broadband wireless profiles are displayed in the area called Mobile Broadband wireless profiles currently existing in your location profile if the Dell Mobile Broadband Card Utility is running. If you do not see any available profiles, run the Mobile Broadband Card Utility by clicking Start® Programs® Dell Wireless® Dell Mobile Broadband Card Utility.

| NOTE: A Mobile Broadband wireless network connection may not be available on certain computers.

- Wired Profiles: Add a wired profile to your location profile. To add a wired profile, click Add a wired Profile to your location profile. A check mark next to a wired profile indicates it has been added. Enter the default gateway of the wired network associated with your location profile.

- Wi-Fi Wireless Manager: Configure your Wi-Fi wireless LAN networks, using Windows Network Center. To access the utility that manages your wireless adapter, click Wi-Fi Wireless Manager.

##### Summary

This tab displays all the information configured on each tab for the selected profile.

### General Mobility Settings

General mobility settings are global settings that affect profiles and connections that are active. To access the general mobility settings, click the Modify Settings button.

| NOTE: If you do not have the QuickSet Location Profile Manager, you can access the Mobility Center by doing one of the following:

- Click the Start button and select Mobility Center from the Start menu
- Right-click the Battery icon un the system tray, and select Mobility Center from the pop-up menu.
- Double-click the Mobility Center icon in the Control Panel

- Adapter Switching: To help you manage computer performance and conserve battery power, this setting lets you specify whether to enable or disable a Wi-Fi wireless LAN and/or Mobile Broadband wireless WAN connection when QuickSet detects a wired network connection.
- Wi-Fi Wireless Manager: Displays the utility that is managing the Wi-Fi wireless LAN adapter.
- Profiles Switching: Displays the created profiles and allows you to specify how each profile can be applied. Profile switching can be done either automatically or manually.

- Automatic: When QuickSet encounters a wired or wireless connection, it locates a profile with matching connection settings and automatically applies the associated location profile.
- Manual: Manually select and apply a profile. QuickSet will not apply the location profile automatically.

### Administrator Settings

The Location Profile Manager contains advanced features for system administrators. These features include adding additional application programs to the Profile Settings section, locking profiles, and importing or exporting created profiles.

To access the administrator features:

1. Click File.
2. Point to Administrator Settings.
3. Click Advanced Mode.

#### Advanced Mode

Advanced Mode enables a system administrator to specify settings in the Profile Settings section even if the settings are not applicable to the system. In this mode, a system administrator can type settings directly in the edit boxes.

#### Import/Export

A system administrator can export profile settings from one computer to another computer. To import or export a profile, click File, and then select Import or Export.

#### Updating the Profile or Mobility Settings Over a Network

A system administrator can update the profile or mobility settings over a network as follows:

1. Export the location profile settings by selecting File® Administrator Settings® Export option. Save the file as lp.xml.
2. Copy the exported file to the QuickSet installation folder located at C:\Program Files\Dell\QuickSet.
3. Close and restart the QuickSet application, the new settings display in the Location Profile Manager.

| NOTE: QuickSet assumes any profiles in the QuickSet installation folder are global profiles. Global profiles are displayed along with user created local profiles in the Location Profile Manager. However, global profiles override local profile settings and can only be edited or deleted by a system administrator.

## Dell Wi-Fi Catcher—Detecting a Wi-Fi Wireless LAN in Your Vicinity

| NOTE: This feature may not be available on certain computers.

If your Dell computer has a wireless switch on one side, you can use the switch's Dell Wi-Fi Catcher feature to scan specifically for Wi-Fi wireless local area networks (LAN) in your vicinity. To scan for Wi-Fi wireless LAN, slide and hold the switch in the "momentary" position for a few seconds. The Wi-Fi Catcher feature functions regardless of whether your computer is turned on or off, in hibernate mode, or in standby mode, as long as the switch is configured through QuickSet or the BIOS (system setup program) to control Wi-Fi network connections. Because the Wi-Fi Catcher scan feature is not configured for use when your computer is shipped to you, you must first use QuickSet to configure the switch to control Wi-Fi network connections.

To enable the Wi-Fi Catcher feature through QuickSet:

1. Double-click the icon in the taskbar.
2. In the QuickSet launch panel, click the Networking category and click Wi-Fi Catcher and Radio Control.
3. Click Enable Wi-Fi Catcher so that a check mark is displayed in the check box, and click OK.

### Wi-Fi Catcher Status Indicator

An LED located near the wireless switch (on the side of your computer) indicates the progress and results of the scan for Wi-Fi network connections. The following table defines the LED status.

Blinking green | Search for Wi-Fi network connection is in progress
Solid green | Found Wi-Fi network connection with a strong signal strength
Solid yellow | Found Wi-Fi network connection with a weak signal strength
LED without light | No network connection detected

## Enabling and Disabling Wireless Network Connections

| NOTE: This feature may not be available on certain computers.

Dell provides you with an easy way to control (disable/enable) your computer's wireless devices. This feature is useful, for example, while on board an airplane, where wireless antennae are banned. It can also be useful when you want to temporarily disable wireless network connections to conserve battery power when your computer is not connected to an electrical outlet.

Depending on your type of computer, you have one of two ways to enable or disable some or all wireless network connections that your computer detects in your vicinity:

- Press the <Fn><F2> key combination to toggle the network connections On or Off.

| NOTE: If your computer is configured to display wireless activity indicators, an indicator is displayed momentarily to show you whether the network connection is active or inactive.

- Place the wireless switch, located on the side of certain computers, in the "On" or "Off" position.

| NOTE: If your computer does not have a switch, you can use the <Fn><F2> key combination to activate/deactivate all wireless network connections that you configure through QuickSet or the BIOS to be controlled by <Fn><F2>. Your computer has either the switch or the <Fn><F2> functionality, but not both.

| NOTE: The Wi-Fi indicator dialog box displays when your computer is on and the wireless switch is activated.

However, you must first use QuickSet to configure which of the following types of wireless networks you want the switch or the key combination to control:

- Wi-Fi wireless (wireless LAN) network connection
- Mobile Broadband wireless (cellular) network connection
- Internal card with Bluetooth® wireless technology

To set which type of wireless network connections will be controlled (made active or inactive) by the wireless switch (or for some computers, by the <Fn><F2> key combination):

1. Double-click the icon in the taskbar.
2. If your computer has a wireless switch, go to step 3. If your computer does not have a wireless switch, skip to step 5.
3. In the QuickSet launch panel, click the Networking category and click Wi-Fi Catcher and Radio Control. (If your computer does not have a wireless switch, skip to step 5.)
4. Click the Advanced Settings button.

The Advanced Configuration window is displayed.

1. Click the Radio Control Options tab.
2. Click the check boxes to select or deselect the network types you want to be controllable with either the <Fn><F2> key combination or the wireless switch (if your computer has one).

Any network connections not being controlled by the key combination or the switch, per your specification in the preceding step, can be permanently enabled or disabled:

1. Click the drop-down arrow (for only those types of networks that you do not select to be controlled by the switch or key combination), and select either Enable or Disable to permanently enable or disable the network connection.
2. Click OK.

## Wireless Activity Indicators

When you use the wireless switch or the <Fn><F2> key combination to enable or disable wireless network connections, wireless activity indicators appear in the taskbar (lower-right corner of your screen) to show whether the wireless network cards installed in your computer are enabled or disabled.

| NOTE: You can click the icon, click Hotkey Popups, and select or deselect Wireless Activity Indicator Off to turn on or off the option to have wireless activity indicators are displayed when you use the wireless switch or the <Fn><F2> key combination to enable or disable wireless network connections.

WiFi wireless LAN connection, active/inactive indicators | Bluetooth™ wireless technology network connection, active/inactive indicators | Mobile Broadband (cellular) wireless WAN connection, active/inactive indicators

| NOTE: By default, the wireless activity indicators are displayed in the lower-right corner of your screen. You can click and drag the indicators to a new location, and the indicators subsequently always appear at the new location.

## Internal Network Card (Wired) Power Management

| NOTE: The features described in this section apply only to wired network cards, such as the one shown above, and not to wireless network devices.

### Overview

The Internal Network Card Power Management application program puts the internal (wired) network card into low-power mode when you deactivate your network card, thereby improving battery operating time.

### Internal Network Card Activity Settings

You can manage the power used by your internal network card by selecting one of the following options:

- Always deactivate on battery option automatically deactivates your network card whenever your computer is operating on battery power.
- Always activate on battery option ensures that your network card remains active and your network connection remains live even while your computer is operating on battery power.

### Notification Messages

The Internal Network Card Power Management program notifies you when your network card has been activated or deactivated. You can configure the program to stop notifications by clicking the Disable notification messages check box.

### Is NIC On/Off?

You can check the activation status of your network card from this section of the Internal Network Card Power Management screen.

| NOTE: Your network card will always be active when your computer is connected to an AC power outlet, or whenever the network link is active.

### Re-enabling the Internal Network Card

If your network card activation status is off, you can reactivate the network card by doing one of the following:

- Connect your computer to the AC adapter
- Click the icon in the taskbar, click the Networking category, and select Internal Network Card
- Use the Device Manager

| NOTE: If the Device Manager does not list a network card, connect your computer to an electrical outlet. If the network card still does not appear in the Device Manager, contact your system administrator.

To enable your network card through the Device Manager, using Windows® XP:

1. Click the Start button and right-click My Computer.
2. Click Properties.
3. Click the Hardware tab and click Device Manager.
4. Right-click the type of device that you want to enable, and click Enable from the drop-down menu.

QuickSet installs a service (named Internal Network Card Power Management) to manage the power usage of your wired internal network card. For more information on internal network card power management, click Help in the Internal Network Card Power Management window.

For further information about how to use the Internal Network Card Power Management application program to conserve power when your computer is running on battery power, see Enabling and Disabling Wireless Network Connections.

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