Anyone notice this when using their PC Card slot?

[keroppi]

I have a T41p (2373 GEU). I've noticed that whenever I copy files from my compact flash card using a CF to PCMCIA adapter my cpu utilization jumps to 100% for the entire duration of the file transfer. I've talked to a t40 owner and he's noticed the same thing.

Also has anyone successfully used a firewire to pc card adapter? I just got on. When I plug the card in Windows detects it fine but when I try to use it Windows won't recognize anything I plug into it. The card works fine in my wife's dell.

[dkrizic]

Hi!

You have an older type of PC Card that uses only 8bit or 16bit and the cpu needs to poll the data.

Use a CardBus PC Card for reading you Compact Flash cards. Those use 32bit and run much faster. For example Lexar offers such a card. You can differ a CardBus by the gold layer on the interface.

[lfeagan]

Ah ha! I was just noticing the same thing this evening on my T42p. I will have to find that Lexar one as I do this a lot.

[keroppi]

Are you sure about that? This didn't happen on my old Dell, Acer or Toshiba (all of which have PC card slots). The high utilization also causes the transfer to go super slow compared to the others.

Hi!

You have an older type of PC Card that uses only 8bit or 16bit and the cpu needs to poll the data.

Use a CardBus PC Card for reading you Compact Flash cards. Those use 32bit and run much faster. For example Lexar offers such a card. You can differ a CardBus by the gold layer on the interface.

[dkrizic]

Well, I made the experience that non-cardbus PC-Cards create high CPU utilization whereas cardbus PC-Cards do not. Fact is that every transfer creates some CPU utilization.

But I prefer USB 2.0 adapters to read my CompactFlash-Cards. This simply works better.