Question : Problem: Dual NICs in Win XP for internet redundancy - swapping back and forth problem

I am copying my stuff from a Dell Dimension to a Vostro, both running Win XP SP2.  On the Dimension, I had 2 NICs.  NIC #1 used static IP, connected to the local Novell network, and accessed the internet through Novell's Proxy, Bordermanager.  NIC #2 was attached straight to an CAT5 cable provided by our ISP, so it was assigned an IP address via the ISP's DHCP, and was ONLY used to get on the internet.  The OLD way (on the Dimension) that it used to work was that whenever I wanted to troubleshoot or do other testing, I would switch the "Connection" settings in IE or Firefox back and forth from "direct connection" to "proxy server" (and give it the IP address of our server) and the browsers would automatically (after a refresh) switch to using the other NIC to get on the internet.  I guess this happened when the settings no longer matched what they saw on the NICs, so the browser would automatically try the other NIC to get out.  THIS WORKED FINE EVERY TIME WITH NO PROBLEMS.

NIC #1 (local network)
STATIC IP 192.168.1.26
SM 255.255.255.0
DG 192.168.1.3 (Our BorderManager server)

NIC #2
DYNAMIC DHCP 192.168.50.51
SM 255.255.255.0
DG 192.168.50.1

I configured the settings on the Vostro with its internal NIC to match the settings of NIC #1 above.  Everything works fine, and I can attach to my local network as well as access the internet via the proxy server.  I then moved NIC #2 from the Dimension to the Vostro, and set it for DHCP.  The settings all look OK.  However, when I switch the settings on IE and Firefox as mentioned above from "proxy server" to direct connection, I cannot get onto the Internet.  ONLY if I unplug the cable from NIC #1 (static, local IP) will the browser get onto the internet using NIC #2.

Also I cannot ping or tracert on the Vostro (which didn't happen on the Dimension) if both NICs are active.  ONLY when I unplug NIC #1, will those commands work.

Any ideas why I can't go back and forth on the internet using both NICs ?

Thanks very much.

Answer : Problem: Dual NICs in Win XP for internet redundancy - swapping back and forth problem

 Perfect, thats it. Now try getting pop3 mail, and try changing proxy.