broken wireless plug in? - 390x

[thrillerx3]

my laptop recently slid off of a seat and hit the ground, in the process, the port (not sure what to call this) where you plug in your wireless card has broken. the row that i plug in to has approximately four bent prongs (the bronze things sticking out), and i am unable to get my card all the way in. does anyone have an idea how i could fix this? i've tried going in with a thin screw driver and a flashlight but i'm always unable to move them. is there a way to get this section out, as it is inside of the laptop and difficult to reach?

hopefully this is the right place and enough information is supplied

edit: possibly my pci adapter? i'm not sure though!

[rkawakami]

Welcome to thinkpads.com!

The port you are talking about is the PCMCIA (aka, PC Card) slot. There's two rows of pins for each card that goes into a slot. The good news is that this PCMCIA card cage is replaceable. You will need the Hardware Maintenance Manual for the system which is available here:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... IGR-4BYJF6

It is an Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) file so you will need a program such as Acrobat Reader or Foxit Reader. Follow the instructions starting on page 74 of the manual to remove the PCMCIA slots. Replacements look to be available on eBay for about $15 (to US addresses; probably a little bit more to Canada). Search for 05K5476 and you should find these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0388222021
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0033186629
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0237586648

Alternately, you could post a "wanted" ad here in the Marketplace and see if any members have this spare part for less $$$.

edit: And now that I think of it, if you have the PCMCIA card cage removed from the system, you might even be able to straighten out the bent pins using a pair of needle-nosed pliers.