Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with PCMCIA

PC card reader broken - Can anything be done?

likedoomsday — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 13:51:16 -0800

My (secondhand) Sony Vaio PCG-V505DC2 laptop's PC Card slot isn't recognizing any cards put in it (I've tried three, all of which I know work). I know it's not a driver problem because all of the cards worked until recently, when they started working only intermittently before stopping working at all. Can this be fixed in any kind of cost-effective way, preferably by myself? When they're plugged in, nothing happens; the "power" light on the ones that have them doesn't activate.

I'm not terribly afraid of opening the laptop and doing some very basic fiddling, but I'm not good enough at soldering to do anything really involved. Sony wanted something on the order of $150 just to look at it, which is out of the question. Is there anything that can be done?

The laptop is running Windows XP Professional, has a 2.0 GHz processor, 40 GB hard drive, 512 MB RAM, though I doubt it's particularly relevant.

USB 2.0 PCMCIA cards, Mac G4 Laptop

sdis — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 06:23:46 -0800

USB 2.0 PCMCIA cards on a Mac G4 Aluminum Laptop: Does the card brand matter? I'd like to run 2 scanners, an iPod Nano and a WD External harddrive (which currently doesn't get enough power to run from my built in USB 1 port [1Ghz G4 Aluminum Laptop])

Can I just buy a cheapie card? How well does OS X 10.4.10 handle random PCMCIA USB cards? (This is also complicated by the fact that I'm in Austria, so I can't just go to Newegg)

Also, what's my best option for powering this harddrive? (or phrased differently, what are the pros and cons of the following options?)
-I can get a €10 double USB cable, a €15-35 powered hub, or one of the external-power PCMCIA cards (I see a Belkin one for €35). Unpowered PCMCIA cards seem to range from €10-31. I am planning on moving back to the states in a couple of years, but I guess I'm also planning on getting a new laptop sometime around then, so I suppose 220V-only stuff isn't the end of the world.

Drivers for OrangeUSB USB 2 PCMCIA?

wheat — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 18:55:19 -0800

Where can I find drivers for an OrangeUSB USB 2 PCMCIA card? I own an Orange Micro OrangeUSB PCMCIA card. It has four USB 2 ports (they also made a FireWire version and a combo version). I used to use it with an old Windows 2000 laptop that only had USB 1 ports, so I could hook up a USB 2 hard drive. It's powered by an adapter, which I also have. I'd like to use it with my current, WinXP laptop, but I don't have drivers for it. The CD that came with the card just links to the now defunct orangemicro.com site (I tried exploring the disc, but the drivers aren't on it). The Wayback Machine shows the last "real" version of the site was archived on May 12, 2005. I can find links to the drivers, but they are not in the archive, and I haven't had any luck turning them up with Google.

If no one can point me to the drivers, would anyone care to suggest a decent replacement/alternative? Right now I'm using the two USB 2 ports on my laptop for an external hard drive and a Line6 TonePort audio interface. I also have a USB-powered MIDI controller I'd like to use (and maybe more stuff down the road).

Coal-burning wifi

sonofsamiam — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 06:54:16 -0800

I have an old laptop and want wireless on it. Are there any wifi cards that fit the OLD pcmcia I/II slots? All the wifi cards I can find are Cardbus-era, which won't even fit in the slot. I don't have USB on this thing either, so that's not an option.

USB2.0 PCMCIA for scanner

forallmankind — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 10:23:31 -0800

USB2.0 PCMCIA card recommendations - I would like to run a USB powered CanoScan LiDE 60 scanner on an X22 Thinkpad. I have read mixed reviews of cards on NewEgg - does anyone have any recommendations?

pcmcia usb card- it don't work

MrC — Sun, 11 Jun 2006 22:36:20 -0800

My PCMCIA USB card is crap I bought a cheap Pcmcia usb 2.0 card to use on my laptop, however it is virtually useless. It won't recognize USB memory sticks, or digital cameras, either with or without the card's external power supply. The main reason I bought it was to use these devices. Is it the card which isn't working or does the computer see pcmcia usbs as a hub? Is it worth trying another (and more expensive brand)?

What do you put in your PC card slot?

Nikolai — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 22:59:30 -0800

What do you put in your PC card slot? Nowadays, many laptops come with stuff like Wi-Fi and flash card readers built-in (as mine does), and it seems like every peripheral is connected through USB. Eight years ago my modem lived in the PC card slot. But is there anything cool and/or useful I can do with it today?

Is my USB broadcast going to be bogus?

russmail — Mon, 19 Dec 2005 22:17:01 -0800

And on the subject of USB, I just bought parents a webcam for Christmas - the idea being that I buy one too and then we can see each other during our weekly chat. The problem I've just realized is that my Thinkpad (X22) isn't USB 2.0, so is that going to make the broadcast from my end unbearably slow? Yeah, I could buy a USB 2.0 PCMCIA card, but I only have one slot and that's where my wireless card lives.

So is this bad, and is there any way I could possibly make it better?

Need Netopia pcmcia utility

warbaby — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 10:29:22 -0800

Netopia SWL-2300N wifi card drivers? I got the card on ebay. It came with no drivers. I found and installed the drivers from BellSouth (QuietWiFi), but the utility that shows you the available connections and allows you to select one is missing. Please hope me. I'm running Win2K on an ancient Gateway Solo (beggars can't be choosers.) This is my first wifi time, so be gentle with me.

USB 2.0/PCMCIA Adapters?

ruwan — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 14:21:13 -0800

I've got an older laptop, and would like to connect a couple of USB 2.0 devices to it (the laptop only has USB 1.0 ports). Is there some kind of USB 2.0/PCMCIA adapter? Ideally, it would plug into my PCMCIA socket, and have a cable leading out to a large USB 2.0 hub (with 6-8 USB ports). Does such a thing exist?

PCMCIA storage card in Tucson AZ

jruckman — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 16:04:31 -0800

I need to purchase a PCMCIA storage card (ATA format) from a store located in or very near Tucson AZ. Any ideas?

80211.g Cards and Linux

mendel — Sun, 16 Jan 2005 15:48:53 -0800

802.11g cards that work well in Linux. What has worked for you (and under what kernel)? Is there any advantage in getting a card with a native driver instead of using ndiswrapper? Do they speak successfully to both G and B access points? Even better if the card is available in both PCMCIA and PCI.

PCMCIA 802.11b (or g) WiFi adapter for a PC laptop that doesn't protrude beyond the PC card slot?

mrbill — Sun, 12 Dec 2004 20:18:32 -0800

One of the things I like most about my iBook is that the wireless adapter is internal and doesn't protrude from the system. Does anyone know of a PCMCIA 802.11b (or g) WiFi adapter for a PC laptop that doesn't protrude beyond the PC card slot?

Software ethics PCMIA

Sinner — Sun, 11 Apr 2004 09:11:26 -0800

I frequently use a certain piece of software, obtained 100% legally. It offers two usage options: 1. register a maximum of one(?) machine and use it sans CD, 2. use it with the CD in the drive on as many machines as you'd like. I use the latter method on three of my four machines, however, I also have one laptop with only one PCMCIA slot. To use the program without registering requires not using my PCMCIA wireless ethernet card. I don't remember exactly what steps are required to trick the software into thinking a local (hard drive) copy is a CD. I also am not sure just how illegal this would be. Advice? Thoughts?