Cardbus wifi modem

[liamkincaid25]

I have been fighting with a compaq armada 4120 for some time now.I need to add a wirless wifi card to use it with my home network I bought a DYNEX model dx-wgnbc pcmcia card. When I insert the card into the laptop it is not "seeing" by it (this card has a metal strip on the side that goes into the laptop ...I think it is called cardbus). I read the specs of this old laptop and it says it is 32 bit.The card goes all the way inside the slot without effort. If I used a different pcmcia card without the metal strip the laptop sees it inmediately.I am not sure if the card is compatible with the system or not.I am running win98se.Does anyone has any idea how to check for this? The manual from compaq left me a little bit confused.I tried checking the specs of the pcmcia card but those are difficult to find.Thank you to all of you and happy new year!

[Paul Komski]

Which OS?

Any problem devices in Device Manger?

Is the PCMCIA slot enabled in the BIOS? Seems to be since another card is apparently recognised. What is that card used for?

Personally I have found such add-on cards more difficult to use than WiFi USB dongles.

Specs etc for your cardbus (http://www.dynexproducts.com/p-436-dynex-80211g-wireless-g-wireless-notebook-card.aspx).
Specs etc for your PC (http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Home.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=321957&prodSeriesId=96224&lang=en&cc=us).

The PC accepts: Accept one Type III, or two Type II, or two Type I PC Cards.

To install wireless networking on a Windows 98, Windows 2000, or
Windows ME computer:
Caution: Do not insert the notebook or desktop card until instructed to do
so.
1 Install the access point. For more information, see the access point
documentation.
2 Turn on your computer.
3 Insert the included CD in the optical drive.
4 If the installation program does not start automatically, use
Windows Explorer to browse the CD and locate the file named
setup.exe, then double-click setup.exe to start installing the
software.
5 Follow the on-screen instructions to install the software.
6 If you are installing a desktop card, turn off your computer, install
the card, then turn on your computer again. The Found New
Hardware Wizard opens.

;)

[liamkincaid25]

OS= win98se , since it sees the other pcmcia card I assume it is enable , device manager does not sees the card either. When insert on pcmcia card the laptop beeps.When insert this DYNEX the laptop does not. When I look in control panel and look for pcmcia it says both slots are empty. When I insert a known working pcmcia card it dsiplay the slot as occupied. I want to use the card with the wireless network at home(it is for my kid his big brother has a wireless laptop and he wants one too ....but I am not going to give 600 dollars for it lol he just want so surf the internet from his room (lazy bastard lol))

[Paul Komski]

Did you pay attention to the setup instructions: "Caution: Do not insert the notebook or desktop card until instructed to do so."

If it's not related to that then perhaps the card is faulty.

USB and PCMCIA device installation are both two areas where the sequence of events relating to installing drivers can be critical and if got wrong at the outset can be hard to cure. You could possibly install the software on another laptop and then attach the cardbus. If again non-detected I would suspect the card itself.

[liamkincaid25]

Did you pay attention to the setup instructions: "Caution: Do not insert the notebook or desktop card until instructed to do so."

If it's not related to that then perhaps the card is faulty.

USB and PCMCIA device installation are both two areas where the sequence of events relating to installing drivers can be critical and if got wrong at the outset can be hard to cure. You could possibly install the software on another laptop and then attach the cardbus. If again non-detected I would suspect the card itself.

Yes I did not insert the card until I ran the setup. I did the same thing using another laptop (same model armada 4120). I never got the instruction to insert the card. The set up ran then asked for a reboot and that was it. As I was theorizing in another thread I was thinking that maybe cpu speed has something to do with it this laptop has a speed of only 120mhz.

[Paul Komski]

Pity there's no USB unless you have USB on a PCMCIA card of course. If so you might consider an RMA of the card and try a USB Dongle (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Description=usb+wireless+adapter).

[liamkincaid25]

Pity there's no USB unless you have USB on a PCMCIA card of course. If so you might consider an RMA of the card and try a USB Dongle (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Description=usb+wireless+adapter).

No such luck for a RMA it is a card I bought one year ago and was stored I found it again and trying to make it work.I will try it in a more "modern" laptop to see if it works. Do you think a pcmcia card with usb and using a usb wifi dongle will work in this laptop? ...........help out in this the midget stands behind my back and looks over my shoulder and keep asking "dad when my laptop is going to be ready?" lol

[liamkincaid25]

I just remembered that I have 2 pcmcia modem exactly the same model and brand the only difference is that one has the metal band on the part that goes into the laptop (cardbus?). The one without the metal strip is recognized inmediately by the laptop , the other one does not shows on it( and the Dynex wireless card I have also has this metal strip) .Do anyone knows why is this?

[liamkincaid25]

Do you know if the cpu speed (120 mhz) will allow to use a usb pcmcia card? ( I have look tons of it but the ones that post a cpu speed says at least 200 mhz is needed)