Remove 2nd & 3rd instances of NIC card

[Kevin]

I have been moving my NIC card around in my system and now
have an un-tidy trail of multiple / sequential-numbered
instances of the same device in Device Manager.

I would like to eliminate the #2 (& #3 / multiple
instances of device / network components) from the device
description in Device Manager (View > Show hidden devices).

The questionable entries I have are:

.... Adapter #2 (note: there's no un-numbered listing of
this device)
.... Adapter #2 - Packet Scheduler Miniport (note: there's
no un-numbered listing of this network component)
.... Adapter #3 - Packet Scheduler Miniport
WAN Miniport (NetBEUI, Dial In)
WAN Miniport (NetBEUI, Dial In) #2
WAN Miniport (NetBEUI, Dial In) #3
WAN Miniport (NetBEUI, Dial Out)
WAN Miniport (NetBEUI, Dial Out) #2
WAN Miniport (NetBEUI, Dial Out) #3

I have tried deleting this device and allowing XP to re-
enumerate it, but, it still winds up showing up as above.
XP will not allow me to delete network components (other
than the primary Adapter device listing) - error message
is: " ... may be required to boot-up the computer.".
FYI - These components aren't required to boot my system.

I've also tried deleting these network components in Safe
Mode, but, I get a similar error message.

I've even tried searching the Registry for the device /
network component descriptions, but, the keys found will
not delete, and, as I'm not as familiar with the XP
Registry as I am with Win 98's, I decided not go further
in the Registry at this juncture.

I've tried MS' KB with various search parameters and have
come up empty handed.

Anyone been here done this?

 

[Star Fleet Admiral Q]

Here's the 2 ways I know to completely eliminate unwanted Ghost NIC(s):

Install the NIC back into the slot it was in - go into device manager
and delete it, power off, do not reboot until you've moved the NIC to the
next slot, repeat as many times as necessary. On final power off, put the
NIC in the slot you want it to be in before powering up - if should be good
from there, otherwise,
Format and clean install.

 

[Kevin]

Star Fleet Admiral Q ...
Thank you for taking the time to respond to my
housekeeping dilema - I will likely format and clean
install once I have finished spelunking around (trying
different combinations of hardware devices) in the PC du
jour. Maybe I'll test your option 1 while I'm at it, it
sounds logical and if it works as described, I'd like to
familiarize myself with the process.
Regards, Kevin