How to Create a Hardware Profile

By default, Windows creates one hardware profile named Profile 1 during installation.
To create an additional hardware profile, perform the following steps:

1. From the Start menu, select Control Panel.

2. In the Control Panel window, select Performance And Maintenance.

3. In the Performance And Maintenance window, select System.

4. In the System Properties dialog box, on the Hardware tab, click the Hardware Profiles button.

5. In the Hardware Profiles dialog box, select Profile 1 (Current), and then click the Copy button. You cannot create a new profile directly; you must copy an existing profile and then modify the copy.

6. In the Copy Profile dialog box, type a name for the new profile, and then click OK.

7. In the Hardware Profiles dialog box, select the new profile you just named, and then click the Properties button.

8. In the Properties dialog box for the profile, you can configure two options:
- Select the This Is A Portable Computer check box if the computer is a portable computer that uses a docking station (and if that docking station is one that Windows XP supports). When a supported docking station is used, Windows XP can determine whether a portable computer is docked or undocked, and then apply the correct profile automatically. If you do not use a docking station (or just prefer to set up and control your own profiles), leave this optioned selected.

- Select the Always Include This Profile As An Option When Windows Starts check box if you want the profile to appear on the boot menu as a selectable profile.

9. In the Properties dialog box for the profile, click OK to return to the Hardware Profiles dialog box.

10. Click OK to return to the System Properties dialog box, and then click OK again to return to Windows.