VLAN tagging on PRO 1000 MT adapter

[BCobl1]

I have a VM (VMWare virtual machine) on which I installed Windows 7. The default Network Adapters are Intel(R) PRO 1000 MT for which I'm trying to configure VLAN tagging. I downloaded the latest version of PROWinx64.exe and when I run it, it eventually throws the error, "No Intel adapters present..."

Despite the adapters appearing in the Device Manager

When I try to update the drivers, Windows tells me, "The best driver software for your device is already installed."

[SYeo3]

Dear Imatinkerer,

Thank you for contacting Intel.

You are getting the error message because our latest driver pack doesn't support the Intel® PRO/1000 MT Server Adapter. This adapter model uses the driver available in MS Windows* 7 (In-box driver). Please refer to website below for more information on adapters with Windows 7 driver support:

http://www.intel.com/support/network/sb/cs-030613.htm Network Connectivity — Is My Intel® Ethernet Adapter Supported in Microsoft Windows 7*?

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Sandy

[BCobl1]

The link provided above proposes the following solution (copy and pasted from Intel's web page):

Intel® Ethernet Adapters can have full support, in-box only support, or both, for Microsoft Windows 7*.

1 In-box only

• In-box means the drivers are supplied with Microsoft Windows.
• Driver and software updates are not available for adapters that are in-box only.
• Intel® PROSet for Windows Device Manager and Advanced Network Services (ANS) driver for teaming and VLANS are not included with in-box support.
• You might be able to add an adapter with in-box support to a team using multi-vendor teaming (MVT). See the http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=N&DwnldID=11848 user guide for MVT considerations.

2 Full support

• These adapters have updated drivers, Intel PROSet for Windows Device Manager, and Advanced Network Services (teaming and VLAN) software available in http://downloadcenter.intel.com/ Download Center.
• To detect and update drivers for Wired Networking, use http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/detect/network Intel® Driver Update Utility.
• Manually download the latest http://downloadcenter.intel.com/SearchResult.aspx?keyword=PROWin32.exe&OSVersion=Windows+7* Intel® Ethernet Software and Drivers.

The Download Center is a generic area wherein I must search for the driver for the product. (going in circles)

The Intel Driver Update Utility yielded the message,

The Manual Download takes me to a page where I can get PROWIN32 (not helpful).

Is there a simple, direct instruction on getting "Full Support" for these Ethernet Adapters?