PCMCIA CardBus Not Detecting Cards Correctly

Question

Hello all, this is my first time posting, so please bear with me :)

My issue is that my CardBus controller (Texas Instruments PCI-4451) doesn’t seem to recognize PCMCIA cards correctly, making it impossible to install the correct drivers. E.g:

* It will recognize wireless cards, such as 2Wire and NetGear products, but after going through the install, I get “Error 10: The device could not start.”

* I have tried 4 different brands of 10/100 Ethernet PCMCIA cards, and all of them have spotty detection, taking 3-4 restarts to even get the “New Hardware Detected” to show. After that, drivers aren’t recognized. These same cards on a friend’s Inspiron 8200 work automatically (no manual install needed).

* PCMCIA 10/100 Ethernet products tested

- NETGEAR 10/100 Fast Ethernet FA511

- LinkSys PCM200 ver.2 Integrated CardBus PC Card

- AirLink 10/100Mbps ASOHOCB

Have you heard of such a problem? I’m hoping that the actual hardware isn’t faulty and that I can update the controller drivers or somehow configure them correctly. I believe I had some problems with PC cards before I upgraded from W2K to XP Pro. Under the Downloads section for this Service Tag, I can’t find any updates/drivers for the cardbus or the elusive Dell OS Update as mentioned:

http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=latit_modem&message.id=572&query.id=318104#M572

SYSTEM INFORMATION:

Dell Inspiron 8000 (DBVL801, Express Service Code: 29016356545)

Windows XP Professional SP2 (just upgraded) BIOS A23

Thanks a ton in advance for any assistance/direction you may be able to offer.

Ryan

bacillus · Answer

Are you trying to use more than one installed PCMCIA card at the same time?

johnallg · Answer

Did you load the chipset support for the 8000 from the Dell Download site?

skeefy1 · Answer

No, just trying one card at a time. When attempting to install the Ethernet cards, I follow this procedure (as well as most iterations of other setups):

1 - With computer off, insert PCMCIA card and plug RJ-45 cord into card.

2 - Boot up computer. Sometimes, having the card present prevents the computer from booting. It sometimes hangs at the Windows XP flash screen. A hard boot on the next attempt sometime gets it to boot.

skeefy1 · Answer

If I understand you correctly, you mean the BIOS updates? I downloaded the BIOS updates and installed them shortly prior (I'm pretty sure) to upgrading to XP. Couldn't get any Inspiron 8000 Chipset downloads (see below):

If I look up the Service Code (DBVL801) and go to Downloads->ChipSet/XP/English, the page indicates that "There is no download information for the selected system."

If there are other updates I should consider downloading, please direct me to them.

-Thanks! Ryan

Message Edited by skeefy1 on 11-03-2004 05:01 PM

skeefy1 · Answer

I saw the Win2k ones as well.  Do you think these updates are safe for XP?  Will a System Restore help out if they foul things up?  where would I find the 'Dell Diagnostics PCMCIA tests'? Ryan

johnallg · Answer

Not BIOS, but chipset - I looked and there was not one for XP like there is for W2k.  Have you tried running the Dell Diagnostics PCMCIA tests?

johnallg · Answer

If you set a restore point you should be ok.  Besides, when you try to load it, if the XP ones are there, it should report it and quit.  Your Dell Drivers and Utilities cd will boot to the Diagnostics, then follow the menus.

skeefy1 · Answer

Found my Dell System CD, ran the PCMCIA test with these results (only 1 card plugged in top slot):

PCMCIA Controller – PCMCIA Functionality Test

Socket B registers not tested because a card is installed

PCIC Socket A

Interface Type: Memory and I/O

Revision: 4h

PC Card Power: Not Active

PC Card: None Detected

Disable/Resume Resetdrv: Not Active

Automatic Power Switch: Disabled

PC Card Power: Disabled

Card status changed interrupt: Disabled

PCIC Socket B

Interface Type: Memory and I/O

Revision: 4h

PC Card Power: Not Active

PC Card: Present and Fully Seated

PC Card Condition: Busy

Disable/Resume Resetdrv: Not Active

Automatic Power Switch: Disabled

PC Card Power: Disabled

Card status changed interrupt: Disabled

So the diagnostic software indicated that the hardware was working correctly, and I verified this by comparing diagnostic results from a similar laptop (8100) which PCMCIA works fine (exactly same results).

On the 8100 machine that works, I see the PC Card's "100M" indicator LED turn on during the Windows XP splash screen, but when the PC Card is plugged into my 8000, I never get any lights/power on any cards. I checked out posts related to this "no power" problem, but nothing gets me anywhere.

I even found a Windows XP 815EG driver on the Intel site. After the XP Chipset install, still no progress.

I'm about out of ideas, so if anyone can think of other stuff to try, I'd be very appreciative.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Message Edited by skeefy1 on 11-04-2004 02:09 AM

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PCMCIA CardBus Not Detecting Cards Correctly

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