Thinkpads Forum

Just a quick question about the PCMCIA socket on the 240 series.

I have at one time or another owned the complete series from the 240 to the 240X
and, thanks to the marketplace here, I now have an i1124.
On all these models I found the PCMCIA socket to be especially finicky.
It does not seem to be plug and play, which means I can’t add (some) cards without
a bluescreen, or the laptop shutting itself off.
It will boot with a card in there but when I try to use it the laptop (sometimes) shuts down,
even with a simple memory stick (and the USB 2.0 card below). Maybe it’s a power issue?
The card I’d really like to use is a USB 2.0 32bit cardbus which allows me to plug in my
Addonics remote CD/DVD player. This card has a power input which takes power from the
1.0 USB on the other side. But even using that the laptop shuts down.

Any ideas will be appreciated.

Tim S

I guess you need to know the max power output on the CARDBUS slot. Also look inside to see if any pins are bent.

I was under the impression it was 5V. Of course it's the amperage that's important.
The pins should be OK because all cards are recognized but I'll look inside when I
get home tonight to make sure.

Tim S

PCMCIA is 5V 16bit , Cardbus is 32bit and 3.3V (has that gold looking strip on the edge with the bumps).

I used my Netgear WG511T wireless PC card and Xircom CEM56-100 ethernet/modem PC card on this i1124 all the time, and never had any issue. Never tried USB2.0 cards though.

All very confusing...... PCMCIA, Cardbus, 5v, 3.3V etc. Then there is the issue that
maybe the card or the CD/DVD isn't XP compatible...And so it goes.

Tim S

After an evening of checking the confusing PCMCIA (CardBus) standards I've come to
the conclusion that the 240 the others, can't handle the speed of USB 2.0 through the
PCMCIA socket. The card itself is the correct type and was designed fit flush to the
laptop when installed but the aligning slots were poorly cut so it wasn't making proper
contact with the pins inside, even though it looked flush from the outside. After some
light cutting it fit perfectly, but as soon as anything with USB 2.0 was used, the machine
shut down.
It turns out that the DVD player works pretty well through the USB 1.0 slot, with just a
hint of jerkiness.
I'm going to load the Mediamatic software, which has a very light footprint, and see if
it's any better.

Tim S

Hello Tim,

I happen to own a 240X and have an 'AKA' USB PCMCIA fitted.
When the 240X shuts down, it is because more power is drained from the 240X then the power supply / motherboard of the 240X can handle. The 240X protects itself this way.
If you connect anything with a mechanical drive in it (high power consumption) like a CD or DVD reader/writer, an external hard disk drive, you're likely to see your 240X shutting down.
USB sticks, card readers are often no problem. The speed of USB 2.0 is no problem. The 240X can perfectly handle it.
If you want to use an external CD/DVD or hard disk drive connect an external power supply to it and then connect it to the USB 2.0 PCMCIA card. It will work fine unless your external device is faulty and still drains power from the USB port.
Connecting an external device to both the USB 2.0 PCMCIA card and, at the same time, use the built in USB 1.0 port to drain power from, will not work. You will still ask to much from the power circuitry on the 240X's motherboard.

Hi Emeu1.
I had a feeling that power might be an issue but it's strange that the CD/DVD
works fine in the USB 1.0 slot, but not the USB 2.0 card in the PCMCIA slot.
Unfortunately I don't have a 5V power supply for the Addonics CD/DVD but
since I would use the DVD more while travelling, I wouldn't be able to plug
it in anyway.
All I'm really doing is seeing just how far I can take the 240 series. It's nice
to have the 1024 x 768 real estate on the i1124 screen though.

Tim S