Problem getting MAC address

[tcarp]

Start>help on my PC laptop (XP Pro) says to use the command "getmac" to get
the MAC address. A search on the net says to use "ipconfig". In both cases
a window with a black background (where you'd expect the text from these
commands would appear) pops up without any content and then disappears a
second later.

Am I wrong in assuming that these commands would display results in a window
that stays on the screen?

Tom

 

[tcarp]

NEVERMIND: Looking a little closer I just realized that I needed to enter
cmd.exe and then enter getmac.

Now my problem is that I have three MAC addresses listed.

How do you use the Transport Name to get the the specific device?

This brings up another question that may resolve why my pc takes so long to
boot:

When I look in the network connections in the control panel it lists 3
devices in the LAN and internet section and shows 2 connected (the one that's
not I assume is my cat5 wired connection (I'm on wireless right now).

I would have expected 2 devices listed: the device for a cat5 cable (which
would show disconnected) and the built-in wireless network card (which would
show connected right now). Instead, I have 2 connected.

One is a 1394 Connection and it shows connected. My net search says that's
a firewire connection. Why does it show connected?

Thanks so much

Tom

 

[Robert L. \(MS-MVP\)]

Posting the result of ipconfig /all here may help.

--
Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on
http://www.ChicagoTech.net
How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on
http://www.HowToNetworking.com

 

[tcarp]

Ran the command as ipconfig /all and the explanatory info was much better.
I guess what I learned is that Start>Help says to use getmac but the results
are cryptic unless there's a parameter that needs to be specified. Either
way, help isn't very helpful.

I find it interesting that ipconfig /all lists only 2 devices while getmac
lists three. My assumption is getmac is listing the firewire device (1394).
I still am looking for a hint here. Is it that firewire, unlike other more
conventional network devices, doesn't actually have to "connect".

Thanks

Tom