Internet Explorer launch may be delayed when using SoftAP on Windows 7

Symptoms

If you launch Internet Explorer immediately after SoftAP is enabled and Automatically Detect Settings option is enabled in Internet Explorer (default option), you may experience a delay before the home page loads and Internet Explorer becomes responsive.

Cause

This issue can occur if DHCP doesn't get properly disabled on the SoftAP interface, resulting in a delay as a DHCP address is queried by the interface.

Resolution

To avoid this issue, perform one of the following actions:

• Disable WPAD proxy configuration in Internet Explorer by opening Internet Options, clicking the Connections tab, clicking the LAN Settings button, and clearing the Automatically Detect Settings check box.

• Manually disable DHCP on the SoftAP interface using http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc962477.aspx as a reference.

To identify the GUID for the SoftAP adapter you will use in the second option, you can use WMI via wbemtest.exe:

1. Click Start, Run (if the Run option isn't visible, you can use the shortcut of Windows Key + R), wbemtest

2. Click Connect

3. Click Connect

4. Click Query

5. select GUID from Win32_NetworkAdapter where NetConnectionID='adapter name' where 'adapter name' is the SoftAP adapter (commonly Wireless Network Connection 2)

6. Click Apply

7. Double-click the result that appears and scroll down until you see the GUID of the interface