Enabling or disabling a network card is a relatively easy process and the steps for doing so vary depending on the operating system being used.
In Windows 10, the first step is to open the Network and Sharing Centre, which can be found in the Control Panel (or by typing ‘Network’ into the search bar at the bottom left-hand corner of the screen). Once in the Network and Sharing Centre, click on Change Adapter Settings. Here, a list of network connections will appear and the network adapter that is to be enabled or disabled can be identified. With the network adapter selected, right click and select Enable, if it is currently disabled, or Disable, if it is currently enabled.
If running Windows 7, the steps are largely similar. Again, open the Network and Sharing Centre, either through the Control Panel or by searching for it in the search bar. Then, choose Change Adapter Settings and identify the network adapter that needs to be enabled/disabled. Right click on the adapter and select either Disable/Enable from the menu that appears.
On macOS, the process is slightly different. To enable or disable a network card, open System Preferences and click on Network. Select the adapter that is to be changed and then click on the gear icon in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. From the menu that appears, click on Make Service Active/Inactive.
Finally, enabling or disabling a network card on Linux depends on the distro that is being used. In Ubuntu, open the Network Connections window either through the Settings menu or by typing ‘nm-connection-editor’ into the search bar. The network adapter can be identified and enabled/disabled by right clicking and selecting either Activate or Deactivate. Other distros may have slightly different steps, but the process is generally very similar.
In conclusion, enabling or disabling a network card is a relatively simple process that varies depending on the operating system being used. However, with the steps outlined above, it should not take long to achieve the desired result.