Thinkpads Forum

Is anyone successfully using a 2.0 USB adapter card in a 770Z? The card appears to install correctly under WinXP Pro but devices installed in the card are not recognized or powered up.

I am not sure about this but you may need a 16-bit card for such an old laptop.

tdlpad wrote:Is anyone successfully using a 2.0 USB adapter card in a 770Z?

Should work fine, though I haven't actually tried my generic (TomMade) CardBus 2.0 USB adapter in my 770Z.

pianowizard wrote:I am not sure about this but you may need a 16-bit card for such an old laptop.

Any regular CardBus card should work fine. The 770Z uses the same PCMCIA controller as the 600E, and both should be compatible with 32bit CardBus specs.

Phil.

Note that PCCard USB ports usually supply less power than built-in ports. I have an external 2.5" USB hard disk that runs fine from the internal port, but needs an additional power cord when connected to the PCCard USB.

Thanks for the replies. Maybe the problem is not enough power. I don't have the usb power cable to try but will get one. I tried a wireless mouse and a memory stick which I wouldn't think require much power but maybe they do.

Indeed, mice and flash memory shouldn't require much power. Printers, scanners etc usually come with their own power brick. External 2.5" hard disks are usually just on the edge, and often come with two USB cables for this reason.

Just wanted to report back that it WAS a problem with not enough power from the pcmcia slot. I fashioned a USB power cable to supply the card and it works fine now.