Unable to Bind Protocols to More Than 5 Network Adapters (217744)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
  • Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
  • Microsoft Windows 98
  • Microsoft Windows 95
This article was previously published under Q217744

SYMPTOMS

When you try to add a network adapter to your computer, you may receive the following error message
Your system allows only number instances of protocol
where number is the number of network adapters you have installed plus 1, and protocol is the protocol you are trying to add. Also, if you succeed in adding a network adapter, no network protocols may be bound to the adapter.

CAUSE

This issue can occur because the MaxInstance entry in the Nettrans.inf file limits the number of instances of a protocol that you can install.

RESOLUTION

To work around this issue, edit the Nettrans.inf file in the Windows\Inf folder:
  1. Use any text editor (such as Wordpad) to view the Nettrans.inf file in the Windows\Inf folder.
  2. Increase the MaxInstance entry for the appropriate protocol. Note that the maximum number for this entry is 8 in Windows 95/98/98SE and 10 in Windows Millennium.
  3. Save the changes to the Nettrans.inf file, and then quit Notepad.

MORE INFORMATION

This behavior is more likely to occur with a laptop computer that is used in more than one network environment. Note that creating an additional hardware profile does not resolve this issue. The default parameter for the MaxInstance entry in the original release of Windows 95 is 8 for all protocols. The default parameter for the MaxInstance entry in Windows 95 OSR 2-2.5 is 8 for NetBEUI, and 4 for IPX/SPX and TCP/IP. The MaxInstance entry for Windows 98 is 8 for NetBEUI, 4 for IPX/SPX and 6 for TCP/IP, WinME - 8 For NetBEUI, 4 for IPX and 10 for IP.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:12/20/2004
Keywords:kbenv kberrmsg kbHardware kbnetwork kbprb KB217744
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.