Why is my NIC labeled "Local Area Connection 2" or why am I getting the message "IP address you have entered for this network adapter is already assigned to another adapter"?

Say you notice that your network adapter is labeled "Local Area Connection 2" or you get a message that says "The IP address you have entered for this network adapter is already assigned to another adapter" when attempting to assign a static IP address.

This happens because you have a previous 'removed' network adapter that hasn't been removed in Windows.  This may be a little confusing, especially on virtualized machines.  Each NIC has a unique MAC address, so whenever a new one is installed a new adapter is created in Windows.  Removing the old ones is actually pretty simple.

 - Go to your Command Prompt.  (In 2008 and above, you need to right click on the command prompt icon and run as administrator)

 - From the command prompe, type
SET DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1
and hit Enter.

 - Then (again from the command prmopt) type
START DEVMGMT.MSC
and hit Enter.

 - Device manager will start, in device manager click the View menu and select "Show hidden devices".

 - Now under Network Adapters you will see the old network adapter and can remove it.