560 pcmcia slot question for wireless networking

Older ThinkPads.. from the 600, the 7xx, the iSeries, 300, 500, the Transnote and, of course, the 701
Post Reply
Message
Author
figueroa4
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2007 9:15 am
Location: Houston, TX

560 pcmcia slot question for wireless networking

#1 Post by figueroa4 » Fri Jul 20, 2007 12:26 pm

Hi all! I have a 560 that I am wanting to update as much as possible. For those of you who don't know this pc has pretty much nothing on it. No floppy, cd, usb, modem. Only Win95 and two pcmcia slots. I might have updated it to 98se, it hasn't been turned on in a while so I'm not sure right now.

I was thinking the pcmcia slots are type 1 since I have a belkin wireless g card from another laptop and it doesn't fit. But after reading some posts on here I am wondering if I am wrong about it being type 1 and maybe it's type 2 but not a cardbus (whatever that means). Anyway, I saw some references to 16-bit and recommendations for NetGear MA401.

I found a NetGear MA401 card but in the specs it says type 2, so I thought I better ask and know for sure before I buy. Will this work in my 560? I think it's just a plain 560, not E, X, etc. It is model number 2640 10U if that helps any.
wanting to "upgrade" my thinkpad 560

tomh009
Moderator Emeritus
Moderator Emeritus
Posts: 3021
Joined: Wed Feb 23, 2005 3:30 pm
Location: Kitchener, ON

Re: 560 pcmcia slot question for wireless networking

#2 Post by tomh009 » Fri Jul 20, 2007 12:34 pm

CardBus cards (easily identified by the gold edge above the connector) are 32-bit and will not work. You'll need a conventional 16-bit PCMCIA card.
X220 (4287-2W5, Windows 8 Pro) / X31 (2672-CXU, XP Pro) / X61s (7668-CTO, Windows 8 Pro)

figueroa4
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2007 9:15 am
Location: Houston, TX

#3 Post by figueroa4 » Fri Jul 20, 2007 12:40 pm

So would my pcmcia slots be type 2 but not cardbus or are they type 1? (If you know.)
wanting to "upgrade" my thinkpad 560

tomh009
Moderator Emeritus
Moderator Emeritus
Posts: 3021
Joined: Wed Feb 23, 2005 3:30 pm
Location: Kitchener, ON

#4 Post by tomh009 » Fri Jul 20, 2007 12:43 pm

You have two Type II slots, or you can put in a single Type III card. CardBus will not work, though.
X220 (4287-2W5, Windows 8 Pro) / X31 (2672-CXU, XP Pro) / X61s (7668-CTO, Windows 8 Pro)

figueroa4
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2007 9:15 am
Location: Houston, TX

#5 Post by figueroa4 » Fri Jul 20, 2007 12:44 pm

Ok, thanks! I was getting a little confused with all the types and cardbus etc.
wanting to "upgrade" my thinkpad 560

Robbyrobot
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 573
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2007 7:46 am
Location: Berlin, Germany

#6 Post by Robbyrobot » Sat Jul 21, 2007 2:05 am

Ok, thanks! I was getting a little confused with all the types and cardbus etc.
"Cardbus" = 32 Bit Card has nothing to do with the type of card. You can have type 1,2,3 cards with 16 Bit and 32 Bit ("Cardbus") cards.

Your confusion is natural and widespread, since the term "cardbus" is often incorrectly used for any PCMCIA card.

figueroa4
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2007 9:15 am
Location: Houston, TX

#7 Post by figueroa4 » Sat Jul 21, 2007 9:38 am

Anyone happen to know if anyone makes a type II 16-bit card with usb ports? It would be great if I could add usb to this pc.
wanting to "upgrade" my thinkpad 560

tomh009
Moderator Emeritus
Moderator Emeritus
Posts: 3021
Joined: Wed Feb 23, 2005 3:30 pm
Location: Kitchener, ON

#8 Post by tomh009 » Sat Jul 21, 2007 12:49 pm

I don't believe 16-bit PCMCIA cards exist for USB 2.0.

Would you be happy with USB 1.1? If you would, you might be able to do that with a PCMCIA-to-CF adapter and a Ratoc CFU1U USB 1.1 card.
X220 (4287-2W5, Windows 8 Pro) / X31 (2672-CXU, XP Pro) / X61s (7668-CTO, Windows 8 Pro)

figueroa4
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2007 9:15 am
Location: Houston, TX

#9 Post by figueroa4 » Sat Jul 21, 2007 1:05 pm

The $120 price tag for that is a little too much for me seeing that there is nothing that I'm really NEEDING it for. Thanks for the info though.
wanting to "upgrade" my thinkpad 560

figueroa4
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2007 9:15 am
Location: Houston, TX

#10 Post by figueroa4 » Sat Jul 21, 2007 1:15 pm

Also, i just went and booted it up to see what Win version I had on it (95) and I went into the Control Panel | System | Properties and next to PCMCIA it has 32-bit. I'm wondering why would it say that if it is 16-bit?
wanting to "upgrade" my thinkpad 560

tomh009
Moderator Emeritus
Moderator Emeritus
Posts: 3021
Joined: Wed Feb 23, 2005 3:30 pm
Location: Kitchener, ON

#11 Post by tomh009 » Sat Jul 21, 2007 2:28 pm

Hmmm ... Windows 95 is a long time ago for me to remember! It could be that it's simply a 32-bit driver and Win95 indicates that.

I don't believe CardBus cards fit, and the published specs say the same, but I don't have an actual 560 available to try it out.
X220 (4287-2W5, Windows 8 Pro) / X31 (2672-CXU, XP Pro) / X61s (7668-CTO, Windows 8 Pro)

Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “ThinkPad Legacy Hardware”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests