Wireless PCI adapter not working in old motherboard

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Guest

I just got a MSI PC60G PCI wireless adapter, and I'm trying to get it
to work in an old ASUS P5A motherboard.

I tested the PCI adapter in a new system, and when I turned the system
on, the adapter's power light turned on immediately.

But when I put the adapter into the old ASUS P5A system, it didn't
work. I tried all 5 of the PCI 2.1 slots, and the power light on the
adapter never turned on.

According to MSI, the adapter is compliant with PCI 2.2. But a few
retailer sites say it is also compliant with PCI 2.1 (not sure where
they got that info). I've gotten PCI 2.2 devices before and used them
in PCI 2.1 slots without any problems, but maybe this one really does
need a PCI 2.2 slot? Is there any hope of getting it to work in the
ASUS P5A system, or should I return it and look for something that
specifically says it supports PCI 2.2?
 
I just got a MSI PC60G PCI wireless adapter, and I'm trying to get it
to work in an old ASUS P5A motherboard.

I tested the PCI adapter in a new system, and when I turned the system
on, the adapter's power light turned on immediately.

But when I put the adapter into the old ASUS P5A system, it didn't
work. I tried all 5 of the PCI 2.1 slots, and the power light on the
adapter never turned on.

According to MSI, the adapter is compliant with PCI 2.2. But a few
retailer sites say it is also compliant with PCI 2.1 (not sure where
they got that info). I've gotten PCI 2.2 devices before and used them
in PCI 2.1 slots without any problems, but maybe this one really does
need a PCI 2.2 slot? Is there any hope of getting it to work in the
ASUS P5A system, or should I return it and look for something that
specifically says it supports PCI 2.2?
Click to expand...

Comparing a 440BX reference schematic (circa April 1998 with PCI 2.1
compatible Southbridge PIIX4e), to the PCI22.pdf spec, shows
three pins different.

3.3VAUX pin A14 Standby power source, part of PME# and "wake on LAN"
type functionality. Added to PCI22.
SDONE pin A41 (deleted from PCI22, now reserved/no connect)
SBO# pin A40 (deleted from PCI22, now reserved/no connect)

SBO/SDONE, when I look for them, mention something to do with
cache coherency. That likely doesn't affect the device power LED.
But the 3.3VAUX might have something to do with it. On the older
computer bus, that pin could be disconnected and floating. Although
I don't see drawing significant power from that pin, as being the
best thing to do.

OK, I found a copy of PCI21 for download, and PME# is another difference.
It is funny that the Intel schematic had PME# on the connector, but
not 3.3VAUX. So I don't know where that puts the schematic I've
got, in terms of claimed compliance.

PME# pin A19 Added to PCI22 for "wake on" functions

I wasn't able to find a reference schematic or datasheet for
the RT2561 MAC chip, so cannot check to see what it needs from
the PCI bus. And even if that was available, there might be
some options as to how they could hook it up. For example,
maybe they could hook it to a local source of 3.3V, instead
of using 3.3VAUX for example. I don't know whether it makes
sense to do stuff like "Wake on LAN" with a WiFi card or not.

http://c1.neweggimages.com/NeweggImage/productimage/33-158-017-03.jpg

Paul
 
I just tried it in a Abit KT7-RAID board, which also has PCI 2.1
slots, and the power light turned on. Weird.
 
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