Expansion card for laptop. PCMCIA (PC Card) technology - expanding the functionality of the laptop. Important facts about installing expansion cards

An expansion port refers to any connector on the motherboard that contains a port for installing additional computer functionality, such as a video card, network card, or sound card. The card plugs directly into the port, so the motherboard has direct access to the hardware. Since there are a limited number of slots on every computer, it is important to open the computer before purchasing and check.

Some older systems require the use of a riser card to add additional cards. Modern PCs are also equipped with the ability to increase functionality, and contain functions built directly into the computer, eliminating the need for a number of expansion cards.

Various types of expansion slots

There have been several types of connectors over the years, including , AMR, CNR, ISA, EISA, and VESA, but the most popular is PCIe. Although some new desktop computers still have PCI and AGP slots, PCIe has replaced all the older technologies.

ePCIe or External PCI Express is another way to increase external functionality. This requires a special type of cable that exits the motherboard at the back of the computer, where it connects to the ePCIe device.

These expansion ports are used to add various hardware components to the PC, such as a new video card, network or sound card, modem, etc.

Slots have so-called data stripes, which are signal pairs. Used to send and receive data. Each pair has two wires, making the strip a total of four wires. The strip can transmit packets of 8 bits at a time in either direction.

Since a PCIe slot can have 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, or 32 lanes, they are written with an "x" such as "x16" to indicate that the slot operates with 16 lanes. The number of tracks is directly related to the speed of the slot, which is why video cards are built to use the x16 format

Important facts about installing expansion cards

The card can be connected to a slot with a higher number, but not with a lower one. For example, a x1 device will fit on any port (operation continues at its speed, but not the speed of the connector), a x16 device will not physically fit into a x1, x2, x4 or x8 slot

When installing the card, before removing the computer case, turn off the PC and unplug the power cord from the back of the power supply. The connectors are usually located in the code corner for the RAM dies, but this is not always the case.

If the port has not been used before, a metal bracket will be installed on the back of the PC. Remove it, usually by unscrewing the bracket to gain access to the expansion card. For example, if you are installing a video card, opening it allows you to connect to the card using a video cable (such as VGA or DVI).

When installing the card, make sure to hold the edge of the metal plate and not the gold connectors. Once the gold connectors are properly aligned with the expansion slot, press firmly into the slot, making sure that the edge where the cable connections are located is easily accessible from the back of the computer case.

You can remove an existing card by holding the edge of the metal plate and pushing away from the motherboard in a straight, vertical position. However, some cards have a small "clip" that holds it in place, in which case you need to hold the "clip" down before pulling it out.

Are there places to install additional expansion cards?

Regardless of whether there are open ports, one depends on the other. Because not all computers have the same hardware installed. However, without opening the PC and checking manually, there are computer programs that can identify which slots are available and which are in use.

For example, Speccy is one free system information tool that can do just that. Look in the "Motherboard" section and you will find a list of slots found. Read the "Port Usage" line to ensure the connector is accessible and in use.

Another way is to check the motherboard manufacturer. If you know the model, you can find out how many expansion cards can be installed. Install directly from the manufacturer, or by viewing the user manual (which is available as a free PDF file from the manufacturer's website).

Another method you can use to check the available slots on your motherboard is to see which holes are not being used on the back of your PC. If there are two more staples, there are likely two connectors open. This method, however, is not as reliable as checking the motherboard itself, since nothing is visible behind the unpressed staples.

Do laptops have expansion slots?

Laptops do not have expansion ports like desktop computers. The laptop instead has a small slot on the side that uses either a PC Card (PCMCIA) or for newer ExpressCard systems.

These ports can be used similar to a desktop expansion slot, such as for sound cards, wireless network adapters, TV tuners, additional storage, etc.

The search module is not installed.

PCMCIA (PC Card) technology - expanding the functionality of the laptop

Andrey Irkhin

Any modern laptop has one or two slots for connecting expansion cards of the PCMCIA standard, also called PC Cards. This technology for expanding the capabilities of laptops and connecting external devices to them is the most advantageous, since, with the very small size and weight of the PC Card itself, the laptop is not overloaded with additional built-in controllers, and replacing the cards allows you to easily and simply configure the computer for specific user tasks.

The abbreviation PCMCIA stands for Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (its official website is http://www.pcmcia.org). The specification adopted by this association was immediately supported by such giants of the computer industry as AT&T, IBM, Intel, NCR and Toshiba.

PCMCIA worked on the specification in collaboration with JEIDA (Japan Electronic Industry Development Association). By the way, in 2000, JEIDA merged with EIAJ (Electronic Industries Association of Japan) and transformed into JEITA (Japan Electronic and Information Technology Industries Association). Its official website is located at http://www.jeita.or.jp.

PC Card Type I have the following dimensions: 54 mm wide and 85.6 mm long. The modules must have a thickness of 3.3 mm. All PC Cards are equipped with a 68-pin connector (developed by Fujitsu) with a double-row arrangement of contacts (the distance between contacts in a row and between rows is 1.27 mm). As a rule, the PC Card Type I standard uses non-volatile flash memory cards with a typical capacity of 128 MB to 2 GB or more today. They are an electronic analogue of floppy disks and hard drives; they can be partitioned and formatted. By recording the most important and confidential information on a flash card, you can always carry it with you. Some advanced sound cards like the Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Notebook are also made in the same PC Card Type I standard, which can partially eliminate the lack of wide multimedia capabilities of some laptops.

PC Card Type II has the same dimensions as Type I: 54 mm wide and 85.6 mm long. But modules that fit Type II dimensions must have a different thickness - 5 mm in the middle and 3.3 mm at the edges. Starting with the second version of the PCMCIA specification, a thickening is also provided in the middle part of the board - the so-called “substrate area”. The width of this section is 48 mm and the length is 75 mm. The PC Card Type II standard includes fax modem cards, local network adapters, SCSI adapters for connecting external peripherals, FireWire (IEEE-1394a) adapters, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS navigation receivers and many others.

Also, in accordance with the PCMCIA 2.0 standard, Type I and II boards can be produced with a length increased by 50 mm (that is, the board length is 135 mm). Accordingly, this allows you to place more components, but the board will protrude 51 mm from the slot.

Type III PC Cards are 10.5mm thick and are not suitable for use in Type I and II module slots. This type of module requires so-called “double-height slots”. By the way, the thickness of the Type III module at the edges is also 3.3 mm. According to the PC Card Type III standard, hard drives are mainly produced in the 1.3-inch form factor, which are used when the capacity of removable flash cards becomes insufficient. Such a hard drive has a number of advantages: firstly, a simple setup procedure after installing it in a PCMCIA slot, and secondly, if you need to store large amounts of important and confidential information on a laptop, then a hard drive made in the PC Card standard will be optimal decision.

But these hard drives should not be confused with Hitachi Microdrive (developed by IBM) and the like, which are produced in the Compact Flash Type 2 standard and are connected to the laptop using a PC Card Type II adapter. The PCMCIA adapter for connecting a Hitachi Microdrive to a laptop is much more complex than the one used to connect Compact Flash Type 1 cards.

Typically, regular laptop models have two Type II slots or one Type III slot. Ultraportable and thin models usually have one Type II slot. If the laptop is equipped with a Type III PCMCIA slot, then Type I and Type II modules can also be used with it. But there are also models like RoverBook Partner E415, E417 (actually produced by ECS) and E510, which are completely deprived of PC Card slots. :)

PC Cards have what is called "symmetrical geometry". That is, the user, which happens all the time, can accidentally insert the board into the slot upside down. But this is not a problem, since any incorrectly inserted board simply will not work. As a result, neither the computer nor the board itself will be damaged or fail...

PC Cards require an appropriate controller, which is usually not built into desktop PCs due to cost and because desktop systems can connect any necessary peripherals via USB or PCI. A computer that supports the PCMCIA standard can theoretically have from one to 255 PCMCIA adapters, and each adapter can support up to 16 ports. Thus, the second version of the standard allowed the use of up to 4080 PC Cards!

Currently, any company specializing in the sale of laptop computers offers PCMCIA standard cards that allow you to get fax-modem communications and access to local area networks (LANs) such as Ethernet.

Almost all offered fax modems made in the PC Card standard (except for some not very new and used models sold on the secondary market) have similar characteristics and support the most modern protocols for data transmission, compression and correction. Some models allow you to connect a telephone cable without a special line adapter to the RJ45 connector, which is located directly on the card body, which eliminates the need for additional cables. There are also special cables that allow you to connect a PC Card modem to a cell phone.

Combination PC Card options are also available, which combine a fax modem and a local network adapter. This is very convenient, since only one PC Card Type II slot is occupied. As for the network cards themselves, today network adapters are produced that allow you to connect computers to most local networks. But mainly Ethernet adapters are offered with the ability to connect to a network made using twisted pair or thin coaxial cable.

There is also one very important note to make regarding compatibility... Laptop manufacturers provide two levels of management for PC Card devices. At the lower level, this is carried out using PCMCIA slot controller maintenance programs. To access the card and distribute laptop resources, there are special drivers targeted at a specific type of PC Card device (flash memory, hard drive, fax modem, network card, etc.). As a rule, laptop manufacturers are trying to create universal software for PC Card class devices that could support management of cards from different manufacturers, while focusing on existing PCMCIA standards.

Currently, there are many manufacturers producing various expansion cards of the PCMCIA standard. But not all of them turn out to be compatible with a specific laptop model... Software interfaces may turn out to be incompatible - then the problem can be solved using the drivers supplied with this card. But if there is incompatibility at the hardware level, the card will never be able to work with a specific laptop model. Therefore, before purchasing a PC Card device, you should carefully read the recommendations for using cards for a particular laptop. This useful compatibility information can be found in the user manual, or on the Internet - on the website of the laptop or expansion card manufacturer.

By the way, relatively recently the release of specifications for the ExpressCard Version 1.0 standard for laptops and desktop PCs was announced (see information on the official website - http://www.expresscard.org). Previously, the ExpressCard form factor was known to the public under the working name NewCard. The ExpressCard standard was developed by a collaboration of OEMs, card and component developers, including Dell, HP, IBM, Intel, Lexar Media, Microsoft, SCM Microsystems and Texas Instruments. The development was based on close collaboration between working groups of the following organizations: PCMCIA, USB Implementers Forum (USB IF) and Peripheral Component Interconnect-Special Interest Group (PCI-SIG). Thus, ExpressCard technology also supports serial data transfer specifications: USB 2.0 and PCI Express (PCI-E).

The ExpressCard Version 1.0 standard provides two form factors that differ in width: ExpressCard/34 (34 mm) and ExpressCard/54 (54 mm). In both cases, the module length is 75 mm and the thickness is 5 mm. Each module has 26 contacts (let me remind you that PCMCIA had 68). Approximate heat dissipation is 1.3 W. Host systems will be supplied with slots for both versions of cards. The release of a wide version of ExpressCard/54 is due to the fact that there are wide devices on the market for the CardBus connector, for example, Compact Flash cards and 1.8-inch hard drives.

Anyone interested in learning more about the new standard can consult the following official documents: http://www.expresscard.org/files/ExpressCardBrochure.pdf (1.87 MB) and http://www.expresscard.org/files /ExpressCardWP.pdf (255 KB).

The article uses a number of information materials from the official websites of PCMCIA and ExpressCard, as well as Compulent and Kompunity.

The first expansion cards for laptops were in PCMCIA format with an interface based on a 16-bit “truncated” version of the IDE, which in later versions was replaced by a more productive 32-bit PC Card/CardBus format.

Physically, both versions of these boards were identical and fully compatible with each other.

Today, peripheral devices in the CardBus format are the most common.
Since 2005, the widespread introduction of the PCI-Express serial bus began in laptops.

This trend has not bypassed expansion cards: a new type of expansion card has appeared in modern laptops - ExpressCard, based, naturally, on the PCI-Express interface.

ExpressCards are somewhat more compact than CardBus cards and come in two types - ExpressCard/54 and ExpressCard/34.
Their length is 75 mm, and their width is 54 mm and 34 mm, respectively.

In addition to their smaller dimensions, ExpressCards provide data transfer speeds of up to 250 Mbit/s, which is significantly superior to CardBus (132 Mbit/s).

AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition 19.9.2 Optional Driver

The new AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition 19.9.2 Optional driver improves performance in Borderlands 3 and adds support for Radeon Image Sharpening technology.

Windows 10 Cumulative Update 1903 KB4515384 (Added)

On September 10, 2019, Microsoft released a cumulative update for Windows 10 version 1903 - KB4515384 with a number of security improvements and a fix for a bug that broke Windows Search and caused high CPU usage.

Driver Game Ready GeForce 436.30 WHQL

NVIDIA has released a Game Ready GeForce 436.30 WHQL driver package, which is designed for optimization in the games: Gears 5, Borderlands 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, FIFA 20, The Surge 2 and Code Vein" fixes a number of bugs seen in previous releases and expands the list of G-Sync Compatible displays.

AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 19.9.1 Edition Driver

The first September release of AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 19.9.1 Edition graphics drivers is optimized for Gears 5.

Laptop for beginners. Mobile, accessible, convenient Kovalevsky Anatoly Yurievich

PC CARD (PCMCIA) and Express Card

PCMCIA(Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, PC Card, PC-cards, CardBus, JEIDA). Since the abbreviation itself is dissonant to the ear, and the decoding is even more so, a joke appeared: PCMCIA - People Can’t Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms - People cannot remember stupid computer abbreviations. Therefore, a shorter name was invented - PC Card... which did not catch on, because everyone was already accustomed to PCMCIA. As a result, such adapters are sometimes called PCMCIA Card, which is incorrect. Just as it didn’t work out with the name, it didn’t work out with the connector itself, although you will find it in any laptop.

Initially, the connector was created to be able to connect additional modules in the same way as modules are connected to the PCI bus in a desktop PC. Thus, you can connect any device at high speed - USB, any memory card reader, HDD, TV/FM tuner, Enternet port, LTP port, COM port, IDE, SATA, eSATA, SCSI interface, IEEE port 1394, S-video, DVI port, RS-232, GPS, etc. Developed at a time when there were no high-speed connections, but now there are USB and FireWire. Therefore, in fact, it lost its meaning, especially due to the much higher cost. Those who have a desktop PC should keep in mind that the AT-WR PCI 2411 adapter is available, which can be installed in a desktop PC, so that the purchased hardware will not go to waste.

There are four types of PCMCIA (all 68-pin connector, 85.6 mm long, 54 mm wide).

Type I – 3.3 mm height, 16-bit data exchange, are almost never seen now (they work only as memory cards, to emphasize the difference from flash drives, they are called “linear”). Analogue of the ISA bus, operating voltage 3.3/5.0 V. PCMCIA 2.0 standard.

Type II – 5.0 mm height, 32-bit data exchange, the most common option. Analogue of the PCI bus, operating voltage 3.3 V. Type I cards can be connected to Type II, but not vice versa (this is prevented by a special metal shield with eight bulges). PCMCIA standard starting from 3.0.

Type III – 10.5 mm high, 32-bit data exchange, designed in such a way that two Type II cards can be inserted in its place. Analogue of the PCI bus, operating voltage 3.3 V. PCMCIA standard, starting from 4.0.

Type IV – 16.0 mm height, 32-bit data transfer, discontinued.

In parallel with PCMCIA, Japan was implementing its own standard, JEIDA. Since 1991, JEIDA 4.1 and PCMCIA 2.0 specifications have been released and are fully compatible. Further standardization resulted in the introduction of advanced plug&play functions, power management and many other improvements. For this version, the name CardBus was introduced (PCMCIA 5.0 and JEIDA 4.2 specifications), as a result, modern cards are now often called PCMCIA CardBus.

It should be kept in mind that PCMCIA is not an extension of RAM - a misconception arose due to the external similarity of some older RAM modules and PCMCIA cards. If the contact pads are not 68, but 108, then this is a Small-PCI (SPCI) card: similar in size to PCMCIA, divided into two types - Style A and B, can be directly connected to the PCI bus, but does not support hot plugging. SPCI is extremely rare in laptops.

The compartment should be protected from dust by at least a plastic plug, or better yet, a lid - try not to lose it. During operation, the card can become very hot (up to 55–60 °C) - be careful when removing it. When connecting the antenna, be sure to provide grounding.

When disassembling, keep in mind that the PCMCIA connectors are connected as a single module. Most of the screws that hold them in place are located on the bottom of the laptop, sometimes under the covers of other compartments, or in the worst case, inside the case. After removing all the bolts, the compartment is removed as a single block.

PCMCIA cards support hot swapping, that is, the adapter can be removed/inserted into the slot without rebooting the OS (this is ensured by the fact that hardware resources are initially reserved, regardless of whether the device is connected or not). The exception is cases of incorrectly written drivers that are not able to implement the Plug&Play procedure. If this happens, let's try to figure out why. Let's look at the diagram:

Adapter > Enabler Module > Card Services Driver > Socket Services > Connector > Windows

From the presented chain it is clear that Windows does not have direct access to the hardware component of the card. If there are PCMCIA connectors not only in the laptop, but also in the docking station, several Socket Services drivers (there may be several) interact with one Card Services (only one). The Enabler module receives parameters from Card Services and configures the adapter and Plug&Play (be sure to install the latest PCMCIA drivers from the laptop manufacturer and PCMCIA drivers from the card manufacturer). Sometimes, especially in OSs before Windows XP, an entry about loading the necessary drivers in config.sys and autoexec.bat is necessary. Make sure Socket Services loads before Card Services.

ExpressCard makes it possible to connect additional modules in the same way as modules are connected to the PCI Express bus in a desktop PC. The main advantages are the speed of the PCI Express bus is approximately 2 times higher, expanded support for energy saving, driver support at the OS level. It is not backward compatible with the PCMCIA connector and is being marketed as its replacement.

Available in two versions. Each of them is divided into a regular version (fitting entirely into the connector) and Extended (protruding significantly from it).

SW (Single Wide), also known as ExpressCard-34 - single width, 34x75x5 mm, 32-bit data exchange, operating voltage 3.3 V.

DW (Double Wide), also known as ExpressCard-54 – double width, 54x75x5 mm, 32-bit data exchange, operating voltage 3.3 V.