Hi, I'm developing a Domain-Joined laptop build that can be used by staff at my company while at work, and can be used while away either offline, or via VPN. We've purchased some docks to test with the laptops for when they are at work, and the problem I am having is trying to find a way for us to test whether a laptop is docked or not, so that we can map group policy to apply based on whether the laptop is docked or not docked. I have found this registry key which everyone else on google seems to be using quite successfully: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\IDConfigDB\CurrentDockInfo\DockingState The only problem is that it is set to 1 in our build, and it does not change regardless of whether the laptop is docked or not. This is the same whether we boot it docked or whether we boot then dock. The dock works perfectly fine, I am able to disply on dual screens from the dock, the laptops get network access and work with our keyboards and mice, just the reg key doesn't seem to change. We've tested this with a few different laptops and docking stations and the results are always the same. I've updated the chipset drivers to the latest drivers but still no luck. I am hoping someone here has come across this issue and knows how to solve it, or knows some other way to detect whether the laptop is docked? We are using Acer Travelmate 8471 laptops, with Acer Easyport IV port replicators, and our OS is Windows 7 Enterprise x86 SP1 Thanks in advance!

Hi, Since you have test this issue with a few different laptops, please let us know whether all these laptops are in domain environment? Please try to leave the domain to test the issue. If this registry can be changed, you may need to double check the server settings. Regards Vincent Wang TechNet Community Support

Hi Vincent, Thankyou for your reply. Yes, the laptops are domain joined. I tried this with another laptop which was the exact same except I did not join it to the domain, however the DockingState reg key still does not change when I dock the laptop, it just remains set to 1. This stays the same regardless of whether I boot the laptop then dock or boot it while docked. Cheers, Matt

Hi Matt, Please update the BIOS and the drivers to latest version. In addition, you can contact Acer support to check whether there is any problem with this Acer Easyport IV port replicators. Regards Vincent Wang TechNet Community Support

Hey Vincent, I've updated both the drivers and the BIOS prior to coming on Technet for a solution. :) Cheers,

Hey Vincent/Anyone else having a look, I've spent the last week in Acer support, and in forums looking through Acer related stuff and haven't come across this issue for anything Acer specific. I've come across it for different model laptops, but nothing that I can link back to Acer, although it's clearly something common about the way these docks are built that windows doesn't understand/consider, although without having a deeper understanding into the docks or the way windows identifies them I can't tell what. I've got the latest BIOS, and the latest drivers for all my hardware, not just the chipset. Nothing helps. Is there any other way I can see when the dock is plugged in? Is there somewhere in the registry where I can test to see if the laptop is getting powered from the docking station port for example? Any help or ideas that I can use to find some way to test whether the docking station is connected would be helpful, I would prefer to get the dockingstate regkey working, but obviously Windows doesn't see this type of docking station, so I will need to find some other way of detecting it. Cheers,