Thinkpads Forum

I'm trying to understand what cards will work in my 770/ED and which will not so I can look around for some wireless cards, etc.

I been told it is a 16-bit PCMCIA cardbus slot, but what "type" is it ?

Would this eBay card work (eBay 5794372017) ?


Thanks for the Nubie help...

While I can't speak about the 770 specifically, nearly all laptops have a PC Card slot that will accept (2) type II cards, or (2) type I cards, or (1) type III card. The 'type' refers to the thickness of the card. A type III card is the thickest, and there is only room for (1) in the slot. A type I card is the thinnest, and a type II in the middle. Virtually all cards you see on the market are type II cards, and most all of them should work.

Some of the newest cards however are 3-volt, while the older cards are 5-volt. Some cards I believe can adapt to this change, while others will not work. In fact you can burn up a 3-volt card in a 5-volt slot.

Also some cards are 32 bit and and won't work in a 16 bit slot (I think).

The card you are looking at on e-bay should work without a problem. I do think you ought to consider getting a 802.1 bg card that works on g as well as b. G is much faster ( 54 Mbs vs 11 Mbs).

Finally here is a thread I ran across on this forum that you might like to read:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... rd+cardbus

ive got a linksys 802.11b/g card, earlier edition in my 770 that works fine with no issues whatsoever, and im about to test a netgear 802.11b on it, but dont anticipate any problems (famous last words) as it works fine on my 600 and they are very similiar machines, at least in the way they "think" from what ive learned so far..

According to the 770 users guide; "The PC Card slots support the following type of cards: PCMCIA (Type I, Type II, and Type III), Cardbus, and Zoomed Video (ZV) card."

But, I have a US Robotics 5410 802.11g wireless pc card that I cannot get to work. It requires a Cardbus Type II slot. Now, I'm not sure what that means, but evidently the 770s don't have a Type II Cardbus slot, because my USR won't work and neither would a friends D-Link 802.11b card that I borrowed.

Neil wrote:According to the 770 users guide; "The PC Card slots support the following type of cards: PCMCIA (Type I, Type II, and Type III), Cardbus, and Zoomed Video (ZV) card."

But, I have a US Robotics 5410 802.11g wireless pc card that I cannot get to work. It requires a Cardbus Type II slot. Now, I'm not sure what that means, but evidently the 770s don't have a Type II Cardbus slot, because my USR won't work and neither would a friends D-Link 802.11b card that I borrowed.

The USR 5410 requires a 32-bit cardbus slot. The OP indicated that the 770 has a 16-bit cardbus slot. I'm pretty sure that is your problem.

I'm pretty sure that's the problem also. But, I would like to know for sure. Since the first time I tried the USR pc card, it linked up with my router and acted like it was going to work. But the transfer rate was really slow. It has never been able to establish a connection again. Whereas with a usb adapter I'm fine.

32-bit Xircom 56k\Ethernet combo Type III card works excellent in my 770X

Greg St.L

While I didn't find any more definitive information in regards to your question, I did find some links you may find informative:

ThinkPad Component Matrix
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Considerations for Windows 98 across ThinkPad systems - ThinkPad General
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Overview - ThinkPad 770ED

Considerations - ThinkPad 770E/ED

Product information - ThinkPad 770ED
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Overview - ThinkPad 770X

Other Considerations - ThinkPad 770X

Product Information - ThinkPad 770X

CardBus means 32 bit. There is no such thing as 16-bit CardBus.

PC Card and PCMCIA means 16 bit.

The 770ED has CardBus slots.

As GomJabbar wrote, type I, II and III refer to the THICKNESS of the card. If the card fits in the slot, it should work.

Is your BIOS at the latest level?

whizkid is right concerning CardBus. I shouldn't have used it above when quoting from the OP. I looked it up just now, and I see that a 32-bit Cardbus card will not even plug in to a 16-bit slot. Well, I learned something new. Following link clears this up nicely. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardbus

If someone tells you it's a 16 bit PCMCIA Cardbuss slot they are talking through thier hat.

PCMCIA slots can be 16/32 or I suspect (But can not confirm) 64 bits

CARDBUSS is 32 bit, always 32 bit, never 16 (Again I don't know if 64 is possble) You can use a PCMCIA 16 bit card in a 32 bit Cardbuss slot but the true Cardbuss cards have "Bumps" on the connector to prevent them from going into a 16 bit slot. Works as advertised too in my expierence.

If you wish to be sure what your machine has, using a different computer go to www.ibm.com and follow the support links, have your laptop upside down beside you cause you need the info on the label, You can find out there

In fact, you can likely download a couple of PDF files that will tell you more than you ever wanted to know about YOUR computer (The owners and service manuals)

OK guys, thanks for all the replies. You have helped with my education on this cardbus subject. I now know mine is not a hardware compatibility issue.

I took my pc card to my brother's office today, and we tried it in a laptop there that had a different wireless pc card installed, and working, and could not get my USR card to work there either. So I'm going to be getting a RMA for it.

So what I've learned is the 770 series does support 32-bit Cardbus cards, and it uses a 3.3V power rail. Thanks all!