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PC Cards: Dell Latitude L400 User's Guide
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PC Cards: Dell™ Latitude™ L400 User's Guide
On the right side of the computer is a PC Card slot in which you can install PC Cards
that comply with Release 2.01 of the Personal Computer Memory Card International
Association (PCMCIA) standard and Release 4.2 of the Japanese Electronic Industry
Development Association (JEIDA) standard.
The computer supports Type I and Type II PC Cards, such as modems, local area network
(LAN) cards, wireless LAN cards, and small computer system interface (SCSI) cards.
Also supported are such memory devices as static random-access memory (SRAM) cards that
emulate diskettes, random-access memory (RAM) cards, and one-time programmable (OTP)
ROM cards, and advanced technology attachment (ATA) cards that emulate integrated drive
electronics (IDE) hard-disk drives.
If you are using the Microsoft® Windows® 98, Windows
2000, or Windows Me operating system, you can use a zoomed
video (ZV) PC Card, such as a hardware Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) decoder. (The
Microsoft Windows NT® 4.0 operating system does not support ZV.)
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NOTES: A PC Card is not a boot
device.
The "type" of a card refers to its thickness, not its functionality.
Your computer recognizes most input/output (I/O) cards and automatically loads the device
driver associated with that card.
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NOTICE: Take extra precautions if you use extended PC Cards
in your computer. Extended cards are longer versions of standard PC Cards. They fit into,
and operate correctly with, your computer. However, they extend beyond the edge of the
computer when installed. If something strikes the exposed end of an installed card, your
system board can be damaged. Always remove an extended PC Card before you pack the
computer in its carrying case.
If you are running Windows 98, Windows
NT, Windows 2000, or Windows Me and you intend to install a
PC Card network interface controller (NIC), to avoid problems you should disable the system's integrated NIC as
follows:
- Press <F2> during the system boot routine to enter the system setup program.
- At the Main screen, click the Advanced tab.
- At the Advanced screen, highlight I/O Device Configuration
and press <Enter> .
- At the I/O Device Configuration screen, highlight the LAN
option, press <Enter>, and select the Disabled
setting.
- Press <F10> to save the new setting and exit the program.
PC Cards are generally marked with a symbol, such as a triangle or
an arrow, to indicate which end should be inserted into the slot. The cards are keyed to
prevent incorrect insertion. If card orientation is not clear, see the documentation that
came with the card.
You do not need to turn off your computer or exit suspend or standby
mode before you install a PC Card. To install a PC Card (see Figure 1), perform the
following steps.
Figure 1. Installing a PC Card
- If necessary, remove the blank from the PC Card slot. Press the eject
button once to pop the button out, press it again to eject the blank partway, and then
pull the blank out.
- Make sure that the eject button is pressed all the way in. Hold the card with its
orientation symbol pointing into the slot and the top side of the card facing up.
- Insert the card into the slot and press in firmly until the card is completely seated in
the internal PC Card connector.
- If you encounter too much resistance when inserting it, do not force the card. Check the
card's orientation and try again.
PC Card Blanks
Save the blank to use whenever you do not have a PC Card installed. The blank protects
the PC Card slot from dust and other particles.
NOTICE: If you are using Windows 98, use the PC
Card configuration utility on the taskbar to select and stop a card before you remove it.
If you do not stop the card using the configuration utility, you could lose data from open
application programs.
To remove a PC Card (see Figure 2), perform the following steps.
Figure 2. Removing a PC Card
- Press the PC Card eject button once to pop the button out, and then press the button in
again to eject the card partway. (The button may or may not pop out again when you eject
the card.)
- Gently remove the card.
To protect the PC Card slot, install a blank if you are not going to use the slot.
The PC Card configuration utility performs the following functions:
- Notifies you whenever a PC Card is inserted and tells you how the card is configured
- Automatically loads the proper device driver if it is available on the hard-disk drive
- If drivers are not available on the hard-disk drive, prompts you to install them by
using the device driver diskette that came with the card
The operating system automatically detects a PC Card and opens the Add New Hardware
menu from the Control Panel. For information, see the PC Card operating system
documentation.
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