PCMCIA Woes...

[antonye]

I've got a very old AST 910N (486 DX4/75) laptop running Windows 95, that has two PCMCIA card slots in it: 2x Type II or 1x Type III.

I recently got hold of a 3Com 10/100 (3CXFE575CT X-Jack) network adapter so that I can hook this into my home network and pull files off other machines instead of using LapLink.

The problem is that I appear to have all the right drivers installed (I'm not sure exactly what system devices I need installed) but the Control Panel only recognises one card slot rather than two.

As I've never used laptop cards before, I don't know what I'm doing wrong as the card is just not being recognised at all.

The other problem is that this laptop has no CD-ROM drive, otherwise I'd be tempted to stick a later version of Windows on it.

Anyone give me some pointers as to what System Devices I must ensure are installed and also how to go about checking that the card/slots are being recognised properly?

Thanks!!

[Lowland]

The drivers for the pcmcia cards can be in several parts
Under Control Panel >System >Device Manager, you need to see if socket services are installed for each slot. Typically, something like Texas Card Services
If not (sounds like not) install another set; use the existing drivers for the slot that is recognised.
Then you need the card drivers installed. But once the socket is recognised, plug and play should do this.

Good luck

[cyberhh]

That laptop does not support cardbus adapters (32-bit) you need an older 16 bit pcmcia card.

[antonye]

Awww damnit! There's me thinking something screwy was going on and it was just incompatible hardware!

Thanks for your help - good job I didn't pay for that card!

[d0cman]

I'm surprised you got the card to fit!

Sockets that are not cardbus compatible will generally not allow a cardbus card to be inserted all the way (unless you buy the special AST rubber mallet)

[antonye]

Originally posted by D0cman:
I'm surprised you got the card to fit!

I did wonder why it was a bit tight ...



Anyway, to cut a long story short, I now have a 16-bit 3Com card in there. Slotted it in (it went straight in ) and switched on ... "Windows has found some new hardware...." Yippee!

Now all I've got to do is find the card to RJ45 adapter and we'll be rockin'

[cyberhh]

Ebay - you can probably find a new card with adapter for under $20 - the dongle can be very hard to find and expensive if you do find it.

[Archer]

You could try a bit of deft work with a soldering iron and an odd spare RJ45 lead if you dont mind it being connected to the card constantly as it only needs 4 connections.

[antonye]

Thanks for your ideas.

I'll just keep my eyes open at work as they use the same cards or when I'm next at the local computer fair as I'm sure that one will turn up sooner or later.