I need (well, want) to get an internal LAN/56k combo card for my notebook.
Apparently, these jobbies are pretty much whitebox-only, but I have every confidence in my ability to not screw everything up completely.
The only problem is, I can’t figure out which brands are compatible with my notebook. The manufacturer is no help, cuz they’d like to sell me their own super special $120 card.
Am I right in my sneaking suspicion that all mini PCI ethernet/modem cards are pretty much the same, compatibility-wise? Everything on Ebay seems geared towards a specific brand of notebook, but I see nothing in the descriptions that really distinguishes one brand of card from the other.
Civilzation itself depends on your answer.
Thanks.
PCI for a notebook? I must be missing something here. Can it be PCM/CIA? My guess is they’re standard and should all work.
IF you have a PC-Card (PCMCIA) slot available use that - it will save you lots of headaches. Otherwise May I suggest a USB modem/network.
If you are talking about soldering it onto the motherboard I haghly suggest looking at my 1st 2 suggestions.
Good Luck
Nope, mini PCI.
It’s functionally identical to a full-fledged PCI card, but widdle bitty. Most current notebooks come with them pre-installed, but mine is about a year and a half old. I just have a spare bay.
Here’s one.
That was for sailor.
This is for dave:
Well, since my manufacturer is selling them with the understanding that they’d be installed by the customer without voiding the warranty, I’m not too worried. I don’t even need to crack the case; just unscrew a panel like I would to add RAM. As I understand it, the card just pops into what amounts to a SODIMM slot.
I’m just trying to figure out if I should be looking for any spec or form factor in particular, or if they’re all pretty much the same.
Be aware there are three different mini-PCI form factors, types I, II, and III. Of these, I and II have connectors that allow you to wire them up to the phone/network jacks, but III may route the connection back through the motherboard.
If it is type III and the connection is routed through the motherboard, I’m not sure that an IBM modem would work in a Dell laptop, for example, because the motherboard has to be expecting the communications signal. I just don’t know enough about type III mini-PCI cards to know if the motherboard routed I/O connection is standardized at all. It could be, I just don’t know.
doug:
Thanks for the heads up.
I popped open the panel last night, and it looks like it’ll be a matter of pulling the current modem, replacing it with the combo, and taking out hte little rubber plug that covers the ethernet jack.