Dell LM and PCMCIA wireless card

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

ken.cowley@cc-consultants.co.uk wrote:
> I think this topic has been discussed before but could not find any
> solution so here goes (again sorry).
>
> I have an old Dell LM 133 running Win 98 SE (fully patched up to date
> with MS fixes) and running the latest version of the BIOS from Dell.
>
> I have recently purchased a wireless PCMCIA card (not card bus).
> Whenever I plug this card into the machine the OS will not recognise
> the fact that it is there. The card manager still informs me that the
> slot is empty.
>
> I have tried this card in a newer laptop running XP and it works fine.
> I have tried other cards in the LM and they work fine. Anybody out
> there got a suggestion as to where to go from here. Don't want to
> upgrade the OS, as I don't think this machine could take XP and as it
> is only used for email it does not need it.
>
> Thanks in advance

Win9x has no built-in support for wireless cards (or for any pcmcia
card, for that matter). Consequently, you must first install the
appropriate driver according to the vendor's instructions. Usually this
means that the driver is installed before the card is inserted so the
Plug and Play has a driver to install. The card should have come with a
Win9x driver if it is compatible with Win9x.

Q

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

This would seem to contradict the manufacturers instructions. These
state that during the installation of the software you will be prompted
to insert the card then the Plug and Plus OS will take over.

However the OS makes no attempt to recognise the fact that the card has
been plugged into any slot. The card in question is a 3Com 3CRPAG175
which is supposed to be Win 98 SE compatible.

So I'm at a complete loss here.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

ken.cowley@cc-consultants.co.uk wrote:
> This would seem to contradict the manufacturers instructions. These
> state that during the installation of the software you will be
> prompted to insert the card then the Plug and Plus OS will take over.
>
> However the OS makes no attempt to recognise the fact that the card
> has been plugged into any slot. The card in question is a 3Com
> 3CRPAG175 which is supposed to be Win 98 SE compatible.
>
> So I'm at a complete loss here.

The "old" laptop PCMCIA slot is likely (given the age and P1 processor)
not 32-bit PC Card compatible and that card is a 32-bit PC Card.
Quoting from the spec sheet:
a.. Computer slot type: Type II or III 32-bit or PC Card (3.3 V)
Check the specifications of the PCMCIA slot. The card may be Win99SE
compatible, but the laptop is not 32 bit PC Card compatible.

Q

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

One of the first things I checked, these are the spec taken from Dell

PCI PCMCIA controller Cirrus Logic CL-PD6730, 2.01-compatible
PC Card connectors 2 (for 2 type I or type II cards or one type III
card)
Cards supported 3.3- and 5-V
PC Card connector size 68 pins
Data width (maximum) 32 bits

Even put in a service call to 3Com and they confirm that the card
"should" work.
Strange thing is that even if I try to manually add new hardware when I
select the
..INF file the list of devices comes up blank. It's been a while since
I've played with
Win 98 but this does not sound right to me.

Thanks for the help

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

ken.cowley@cc-consultants.co.uk wrote:
> One of the first things I checked, these are the spec taken from Dell
>
> PCI PCMCIA controller Cirrus Logic CL-PD6730, 2.01-compatible
> PC Card connectors 2 (for 2 type I or type II cards or one type III
> card)
> Cards supported 3.3- and 5-V
> PC Card connector size 68 pins
> Data width (maximum) 32 bits
>
> Even put in a service call to 3Com and they confirm that the card
> "should" work.
> Strange thing is that even if I try to manually add new hardware when
> I select the
> .INF file the list of devices comes up blank. It's been a while since
> I've played with
> Win 98 but this does not sound right to me.
>
> Thanks for the help

There are three parts to this problem, assuming that the slot is truly
32-bit compatible. First is socket services that is BIOS level card
detection. Check BIOS setup for any settings that might affect
insertion detection of the card. Second is card services that manages
the system resources for the card. Third is the card driver. If all
other cards are detected - indicating that socket services is fine,
there is no problem in device manager for the Cirrus Logic
installation - indicating that card services is OK, you've tried to
install the driver manually, and failed, this points to the card itself
as the problem. FWIW, I have an P133 Toshiba that is "cardbus
compatible" and I have never been able to install any 32bit card in it.

You might boot to safe mode and check that there are no phantom card
devices or any other anomalies. You could also remove the entire card
system in safe mode and have the OS reinstall the pcmcia drivers on the
next boot. All in all I am suspicious that the card is simply not
compatible for whatever reason, the card is faulty, or ??

Q