PCMCIA card removal

  • Thread starter Thread starter Peter Olcott
  • Start date Start date
Peter Olcott said:
Can a laptop card be removed or inserted when the unit is turned on?
Click to expand...
When you first `fit` a wireless card, you first install the
software, then you are asked to insert the card.
So I would say, yes you can.
 
Can a laptop card be removed or inserted when the unit is
turned on?
Click to expand...
Sure it can ... If you don't mind taking the chance of completely
ruining your laptop past all possibility of repair.

I have nightmares about such things.
 
Frank McCoy said:
Sure it can ... If you don't mind taking the chance of
completely
ruining your laptop past all possibility of repair.

I have nightmares about such things.

--
_____
/ ' / T
,-/-, __ __. ____ /_
(_/ / (_(_/|_/ / <_/ <_
Click to expand...

Several techs have said that all PCMCIA cards have been hot
swappable since PCMCIA 2.0.
 
Peter Olcott said:
Can a laptop card be removed or inserted when the unit is turned on?
Click to expand...

There should be a tray icon that looks lick a card.
Click it and select safely remove hardware.
A window will pop up select the card and press the stop button.
When it stops remove card.

Robert
 
I already inserted and removed the card several, times
without powering down and want to see if I might have
damaged the hardware.
 
AIUI these cards are designed to be hot swappable.

note : PC Card is the new name for PCMCIA

http://www.pcmcia.org/developerqa.htm

Question:
We have the PC Card Standard Release 7.0. I have not been able to
ascertain the conditions under which a PC Card (PC Card only -- not
CardBus) may be inserted and removed. Most who are familiar with
PCMCIA in general believe that PC Cards are "hot pluggable" -- they
may be inserted into a system in which power is applied. I cannot find
a verification or description that this is acceptable. Nor can I find
specifications of how this is accomplished to guarantee that a PC Card
is not damaged by hot plugging. Is this specified in Release 7?

Answer:
PC Cards are "hot swappable" meaning they can be swapped (inserted and
removed) when the system is powered on and running. The PC Card
Specification states that the host system must detect that a card has
been removed and power-down the socket (referred to as a "cold"
socket). When a card is inserted into the socket, its presence is
detected and the voltage sense pins (VS1# and VS2#) examined (the
voltage sense pins determine the power-on voltage of the card). If the
card's power-on voltage is supported, the socket is powered-up and the
interface enabled. Host software would then read the card's Card
Information Structure (CIS) to determine the type of card and what
device drivers need to be loaded to support it.
The key to proper operation is the PC Card is never plugged into a
socket already powered or one when where the interface pins (data and
address lines) at active. Only after proper detection is the socket
power and the interface enabled.
 
Peter Olcott said:
I already inserted and removed the card several, times without powering
down and want to see if I might have damaged the hardware.
Click to expand...
If it works.......no. PCMCIA cards are hot-swapable today, since the 2.0
standard IIRC. So if your laptop is a fairly recent (last 2-3yrs) you are
fine.

Ed
 
Ed Medlin said:
If it works.......no. PCMCIA cards are hot-swapable today,
since the 2.0 standard IIRC. So if your laptop is a fairly
recent (last 2-3yrs) you are fine.

Ed
Click to expand...

Here is the reply that I got from alt.comp.hardware, and
this replay includes documentation:

Peter said:
Can PCMCIA cards be inserted and removed with the power
on?
Click to expand...

http://www.pcmcia.org/pccard.htm

"Sockets

CardBus sockets must be able to accept and support all
16-bit
PC Card within the constraints imposed by the host
system (e.g.,
5 volt only PC Card cannot be supported in any system
which supplies
only 3.3 volts. This is true for both CardBus and
non-CardBus
interfaces).

The CardBus interface supports insertion and removal of
cards
while a system is powered-ON (i.e., Dynamic
Reconfiguration). The
socket must be powered-OFF when a card is not present.
To the user,
this appears as though the socket is "hot" during
insertion and
removal events."

I don't have a spec, but that suggests that perhaps when a
PCMCIA
is plugged in, the power is not applied right away.

Paul
 
Peter Olcott said:
hardware.
Click to expand...


Why don't you plug it back in, and see if it works?

In general, PCMCIA cards are made to be hot-swappable, but for some functions
(e.g., USB/Firewire adapters connected to external hard drives) using the 'Safe
Removal' tray icon ensures the HD cache is flushed so data is not lost.

Also, depending on the OS, the card functions may or may not be immediately
renewed when you re-insert the card. XP Pro usually works (with wireless LAN
being a frequent exception), but earlier OS'es and XP Home are less robust.
 
in message
Why don't you plug it back in, and see if it works?
Click to expand...
It never did work correctly, so this method can not answer
my question. I bought cheap no name hardware and it was not
compatible even though it said that it was. I fixed this
problem and bought the same device from eBay with the
Adaptec brand. I will test this when it arrives.
In general, PCMCIA cards are made to be hot-swappable, but
for some functions (e.g., USB/Firewire adapters connected
to external hard drives) using the 'Safe Removal' tray
icon ensures the HD cache is flushed so data is not lost.

Also, depending on the OS, the card functions may or may
not be immediately renewed when you re-insert the card.
XP Pro usually works (with wireless LAN being a frequent
exception), but earlier OS'es and XP Home are less robust.
Click to expand...

As long as the hardware is not fried, I am not very
concerned. The OS is Win2K.
 
Sure it can ... If you don't mind taking the chance of completely
ruining your laptop past all possibility of repair.

I have nightmares about such things.
Click to expand...

Idiot. The PCMCIA bus is designed specifically to hot swap.
 
Several techs have said that all PCMCIA cards have been hot
swappable since PCMCIA 2.0.
Click to expand...
Sorry ... Wasn't thinking PCMCIA. ;-{
I was thinking like the RAM-chip or some other things in most laptops
which *could* be pulled out and replaced by just unscrewing a single
screw.

No, a PCMCIA card is *made* to be hot-swappable.
Not smart on a Windows machine though to just pull it without disabling
first. Usually that will work; but sometimes you have to reboot Windows
to get new items inserted to work, if you don't use the "Safely Remove
Hardware" button first. The OS will think it's still in place; even
though it also knows it's gone at the same time. Two different flags.
OTOH, sometimes that works anyway.
 
Here is the reply that I got from alt.comp.hardware, and
this replay includes documentation:



http://www.pcmcia.org/pccard.htm

"Sockets

CardBus sockets must be able to accept and support all
16-bit
PC Card within the constraints imposed by the host
system (e.g.,
5 volt only PC Card cannot be supported in any system
which supplies
only 3.3 volts. This is true for both CardBus and
non-CardBus
interfaces).

The CardBus interface supports insertion and removal of
cards
while a system is powered-ON (i.e., Dynamic
Reconfiguration). The
socket must be powered-OFF when a card is not present.
To the user,
this appears as though the socket is "hot" during
insertion and
removal events."

I don't have a spec, but that suggests that perhaps when a
PCMCIA
is plugged in, the power is not applied right away.

Paul
Click to expand...
In general, for proper design of anything hot-swapable, the *plug*
should be designed so that power is the first thing removed, before any
other contacts are broken, and the last connection applied. It's not
all *that* difficult to design.
 
Robert said:
There should be a tray icon
Click to expand...

There is "Safely Remove Hardware" icon on my desktop system tray too.
Click it and select safely remove hardware.
Click to expand...

Right-click. Hmm.
A window will pop up select the card and press the stop button.
Click to expand...

The only choice here is WD360GD. That's my hard drive.

Hmm.

After a quick backup.

"The device cannot be stopped right now."

A Herculean insight for Windows.
 
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