When You Disconnect and Reconnect Your Primary Network Adapter, the Secondary Adapter No Longer Works

If you have two network adapters on your computer and both have persistent network connections, and then you disconnect the primary network adapter to permit the network to enable the secondary route as the primary route, you may experience problems. Specifically, when you reconnect the primary connection, you cannot connect through the secondary network adapter.

This issue occurs when you have two static IP addresses with the same IP destination and mask. When you disconnect the primary network adapter, both the primary route to the primary network adapter and the associated route to the secondary network adapter are removed from the Routing table. The network then creates a new primary route to the secondary network adapter. When you reconnect the primary network adapter, the network removes the route to the secondary network adapter, and then it re-creates the route to the primary network adapter. However, because both network adapters share the same IP destination and mask, only the primary route is created. The associated route to the secondary network adapter is not created.

Hotfix Information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites are required.

Restart Requirement

You must restart your computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix Replacement Information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File Information

The English version of this fix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.