A hardware profile is very useful for portable computers such as laptops. A hardware profile is actually a group of instructions that commands Windows what devices to deploy as you start your computer or what settings to make use for in every device.
As a default, all the device on your computer is enabled in the hardware profile called “Profile 1”. However, there's no need to stick to this one profile. You can actually set up more and make this feature of hardware profiles more significant to you.
Configuring Hardware Profiles
The more hardware profiles you have, the more you can assign a custom profile as soon as you start the computer.
From the term “portable”, portable computers are supposed to be convenient that you can use it various locations. Thus, with hardware profiles, computers especially laptops can change the devices to use depending on its locations and purpose. Take for instance if you're traveling. Chances are you'd be staying at a hotel where it's not necessary to use your network adapter or your CD-ROM except your modem for dial-up connection. Thus, configuring hardware profiles makes sense after all. Why put devices into use when you're hardly using them at all?
Setting Up Hardware Profiles
Before you follow the steps below, make sure that you've logged in as an administrator or as a member of a group of Administrators. Or else, you won't be able to complete the procedure.
1. Go to Start and click on the Control Panel. Proceed to Performance and Maintenance then access System by clicking on it.
2. Left-click on Hardware Profiles in the Hardware tab.
3. Prompted by the Available hardware profiles box, click your mouse on Docked Profile or Undocked Profile. Next, click Copy.
4. Think of a name to put on the new hardware profile and type it in the box before you click OK.
5. On the new profile, click on Properties and tick on the check box that says “This is a portable computer”. Choose the best description for the new profile.
6. Select “Always include this profile when Window starts”.
Using Hardware Profiles for Laptop Computers
After setting up new hardware profiles, restart your computer. Then select the new profile. The new profile is a duplicate of the previous or default profile, however, you can customize the new one by enabling certain devices as well as disabling other ones depending on the profile's purpose. Doing so you must use the Device Manager.
To go to the Device Manager, follow the steps below:
1. Go to Start, proceed to Control Panel, click on Performance and Maintenance and then click on System.
2. Click on the Hardware tab and then the Device Manager as well.
3. Go ahead and start enabling and disabling devices.
Specifying the Default Hardware Profile to Use
To make a hardware profile a default every time you start the computer, do the following:
1. Using the arrow buttons, move a certain profile you want to make as default to the topmost position on the Available hardware profiles box.
2. Choose how long you want Windows to wait before it loads the default hardware profile. You will see this under the Hardware profiles selection.
Setting Up Hardware Profiles for Laptop Computers 
