Windows 7, and Vista previously, contain the ability to connect to a local network through any and all network adapters at the same time. This circumstance most often occurs on a laptop where you have both a wireless and wired network connection. Generally speaking, it makes the most sense to remain hard-wired to the network when convenient and utilize wireless when necessary. As such, it’s common to have your laptop plugged in when it’s on your desk yet still have your wireless adapter enabled and connected. However, in this situation how does Windows decide which connection to utilize – as it does not use them both in parallel.

It’s possible to define the network adapter priority within Windows 7 though the configuration is buried quite well within the depths of the Control Panel.

Access the Network and Sharing Center by opening Control Panel and searching for network sharing.

Follow the link Change adapter settings in the left hand panel.

Hit the ALT key if the Menu Bar isn’t present and select Advanced -> Advanced Settings.

Within the Adapters and Bindings tab you will see the listing of all available connections on your PC. The order of the listing is the priority ranking of the adapters. You can see below that the Wireless connection has the top-most priority which is probably not what you want in a scenario similar to what was described above. Instead, use the arrow buttons to rearrange the sequencing so that it is appropriate for your case. For me I would move the Local Area Connection so that it is above the Wireless Connection.

Finally, click OK to apply the changes.