VirtualAcorn Technical support:
Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter

This article explains how to disable the Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter. You should only follow the instructions in this article if you have been sent here by VirtualAcorn technical support.

The Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter is an integral part of Windows and in most cases causes no problems. It becomes activated if a user enables WiFi sharing. This allows a PC to act not just as a device on the WiFi network, but to act as another wireless hotspot. So that other WiFi devices connect to the network via the PC, rather than connecting to the the hub/router as normal.

In some rare cases the Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter can prevent VirtualAcorn products from running. The symptom being that VirtualRPC refuses to unlock despite having the correct unlock code. Turning off WiFi sharing does not disable the Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter as one might expect, instead if can only be disabled from the Windows Command Prompt.

The instructions here should only be carried out if the Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter has clearly been diagnosed as the cause of a problem.

The Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter sits next to other network connections in the Control Panel (Lan, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth etc) but cannot be removed in the normal way as it will run again the next time Windows is booted. In order to remove it the service that loads it needs to be stopped. To carry out the following you will need to be logged into Windows with an Administrator account. You will need to type in a couple of commands, these must be typed exactly as shown or the process won't work:

• Quit any running Windows applications.
• Open the Windows Command Prompt (Start menu, All programs, Accessories, Command Prompt)
• type netsh wlan stop hostednetwork
• Press Return
• type netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=disallow
• Press Return
• Close the Command prompt window

The Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter will now have been removed from the list of network connections. VirtualRPC should now run and unlock correctly.

It isn't just VirtualAcorn products that can be effected by the Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter, it can cause all sorts of odd problems on PCs where it has been activated. Search for Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter problems using your favourite search engine to see some examples.