Two network connections icons in Control Panel

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This was referred to in my previous, and now “solved”, thread, but is obviously not connected to the disabled file and printer share facility.

How can I remove one of the duplicated icons, and what might have caused it?

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Screen shot please.

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First two from the downstairs computer, second two from upstairs.

37761-control-panel-downstairs

37763-lan-icon-downstairs

37764-control-panel-upstairs

37762-lan-and-internet-icons-upstairs

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Your additional network connection appears to be a FireWire port. If you’ve connected a video camera or external hard drive to this computer, that’s where it came from. If it’s not interfering with actual networking among computers/printers/etc. I’d leave it alone.

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I’m not sure what you mean by “additional network connection”, perhaps you’re not sure what I mean by Network Connection icons.

By Network Connection icons, I mean these

37795-Two-icons

Both computers had those two, identical, icons in Control Panel.

The Upstairs computer’s Network Connections icons both contained two networks:

37796-Two-network-icons

The LAN is for the two computers to talk to each other, the 1394 is the Internet connection.

The Downstairs computer’s Network Connections icons both contained, and still contain, one network:

37797-Local-Area-Connection

The operating system Upstairs, XP Home, was, last night, re-installed.

Its Control Panel now contains only one Network Connections icon, inside which are both networks, LAN and 1394.

Downstairs’ Control panel continues to display the two identical Network Connections icons, both of which contain the single LAN icon.

I am guessing that your “additional network connection (FireWire port)” is the 1394 network connection? But it isn’t additional.

The additional item is the second, identical, Network Connections icon, which still appears on Downstairs.

This is apparently not uncommon, but the only remedy which I have seen suggested on several sites consists of deleting a .cpl file in the system32 and dll cache folders. It doesn’t work for me. They just reappear on the next boot.

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See if How to Remove Duplicate Icons From the Control Panel[/url] helps.

Joe

--Joe

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That’s an interesting link Joe but I’m afraid that it shows only one ncpa.cpl entry.

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Did you search for all .cpl files in C:windowssystem32?

Did you follow the link to How to remove an invalid icon from Control Panel?

Joe

--Joe

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Yes Joe, I did.

This is the list of .cpl files

37809-CPL-LIST

The path displayed when “change icon” is selected for them is different for each one

37810-change-good

and

37811-change-bad

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Did you check the registry locations specified at the end of the article?

Joe

--Joe

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Yes.

There is no Control panel in the second one

37813-regedit1

37814-regedit2

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Did you look in the “Namespace” registry locations in the section above the end of the article?

Joe

--Joe

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Neither of those links seem to work. I have tried both of them in Chrome and in IE8

The browsers display the urls in the address bar but the page remains blank.

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It was these registry locations:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER Software Microsoft Windows CurrentVersion Explorer ControlPanel NameSpace

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE Software Microsoft Windows CurrentVersion Explorer ControlPanel NameSpace

Joe

--Joe

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Control panel doesn’t appear in the first one, it does in the second

37817-regedit3

Does that help?

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The GUID for NCPA.CPL is {7007ACC7-3202-11D1-AAD2-00805FC1270E}. You can download the shell object editor program mentioned in the article at http://softadvice.informer.com/Shell_Object_Editor_Windows_7.html.

Joe

--Joe

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The GUID for NCPA.CPL is {7007ACC7-3202-11D1-AAD2-00805FC1270E}
Joe

Thank you for your continued patience Joe, but that alpha-numeric string means nothing to me, and the application says it can’t find its Help file.

I assume that it should be entered in one of the two windows in the application.

I experimented and entered that string in the upper window, created a folder as a home for whatever it wanted to download, but the subsequent windows have left me completely baffled.

I though it prudent to stop there.

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What should I do next?

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Did you download and install “Shell Object Editor”?
If so, run the program – it should show an empty list initially because it is not in “Expert Mode” by default.
Right-click in the window, select “Expert Mode”.
Do NOT change or delete any entry.
Please post the resulting screenshot.
Do NOT change or delete any entry until being advised.

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Thank you for responding, I was beginning to give up hope.

Yes I did ack, but I had no idea how to use it.

The result is below:

37892-object-editor

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Try this.
1.) Create a restore point.
2.) Copy on paper the whole line with “Network Connections”
3.) Delete the “Network Connections” line
4.) Re-boot
5.) Check Control Panel

If it looks OK you are good to go. If not, use System Restore with the last restore point you created.

Joe

--Joe

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That’s cured it Joe.

Thank you so much for the time you have spent helping me.

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You’re welcome. Glad you resolved it. Thanks for posting back.

Joe

--Joe

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