You receive an error message when you use Netsh.exe to enable or disable a network adapter in Windows XP and in Windows 2000 (262265)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional
  • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
This article was previously published under Q262265

SYMPTOMS

When you use the Netshell command-line tool (Netsh.exe) to disable or enable network adapters, you may receive the following error message:
Dedicated interfaces cannot be connected, disconnected, enabled, or disabled. Cannot complete this function.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs because the Netshell tool treats network adapters as dedicated interfaces.

MORE INFORMATION

You can disable or enable dedicated interface devices by using Device Manager. If you are currently logged on with an account that does not have administrative permissions but want to disable or enable a dedicated interface device without having to log off, you can use the following command:

runas /user:Domain Name\Administrator Name "mmc devmgmt.msc"

You can use the Netshell tool to configure information such as Internet Protocol (IP) address, subnet mask, default gateway, and interface naming.

If you want to disable the interface to prevent traffic from being passed by the network adapter, you can use the Netshell tool to set a different IP address such as a private IP address or to set a default gateway, which in effect, disables the network adapter. The following example shows the syntax for this configuration:

netsh interface ip set address interface_name static ip_addresssubnet_maskdefault_gatewaymetric For more information about the Netshell tool, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

242468 How to use the Netsh.exe tool and command-line switches

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:1/6/2006
Keywords:kberrmsg kbnetwork kbprb KB262265
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