savedomains wrote:

>
> Can some one please help me understand what really happens when I
> disable a device (say, my network adapter under network connections or
> do not use this device from device manager). I understand that the
> device will be disabled(I can not use) until I go back and enable it. I
> want to know what the OS does in the background. Is this any different
> for what bus (USB, PCI...etc) a device is connected to?
>
> I googled quite a bit and did not find any clear answer, everything I
> found shows how to do it not what happens in the background. If this
> info is published some where, please send me a link.

When you disable a device in Windows you're telling Windows to ignore it.
The big difference is that you haven't uninstalled it. As an example: Let's
say you wanted to disable a network adapter (NIC) because you only use
wireless but didn't want to remove it permanently (by disabling it in the
BIOS for onboard or physically removing a PCI card). If you *uninstall* it,
Windows is just going to find the NIC again and you'll wind up having
multiple instances of the same thing. So you *disable* it instead.

I don't exactly know what you mean by "what happens in the background". That
sounds like a question for your computer teacher or maybe a programmers'
newsgroup.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ