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    Dual PCMCIA Wireless and Gigabit Cards

    Discussion in 'Networking and Wireless' started by mattbieg892, Jul 13, 2008.

  1. mattbieg892

    mattbieg892 Notebook Geek

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    I have a Thinkpad 600E that is running Windows 2000 and is currently being used as an always on server so people can access my drives 24/7 and so I can download files without having to leave my big laptop on.

    The Thinkpad has 2 PCMCIA ports. In the very bottom one I have a D-Link Wireless-G Card. I can get that to run no problem on the laptop. In the 2nd port I want to install my Gigabit ethernet card, so I can use a crossover cable between the 2 laptops to retrieve my downloaded files.

    For the most part the D-Link wifi card is pretty flat. The Part that sticks out bulges a little bit, but it's not as bad as the old linksys I had that prevented any use of the top port. I can get the gigabit ethernet card in, it's a tight squeeze but I can feel it lock into the port when I push it in.

    The problem is that once I install the gigabit ethernet card, the wireless card stops working, and I have to eject both cards and then reinsert only the wireless card to get it working again. Can I run 2 Network Adapters in the PCMCIA slots, or is it only restricted to 1?
     
    mattbieg892, Jul 13, 2008
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  2. Gregory

    Gregory disassemble?

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    I think that Windows can only handle one of the two network adapters at a time.

    It might be possible to achieve what you want if you tinker around with a loopback network adapter, but I doubt it.

    Have you thought about trying to configure one card with your current installation & the other with a Windows Virtual Machine? That might be possible...

    You should worry about heat though. Each PCMCIA card generates a lot of heat. You may wind up melting both cards.
     
    Gregory, Jul 13, 2008
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  3. kegobeer

    kegobeer 1 hr late but moving fast

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    When you say the wireless card stops working, exactly what happens? Does the device get disabled? What does the device manager show?
     
    kegobeer, Jul 13, 2008
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  4. mattbieg892

    mattbieg892 Notebook Geek

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    The card doesn't get disabled, but at the same time I loose my connection to the wireless and the internet. It might be that Windows is trying a connection through the gigabit instead of the wireless card.

    The only problem with trying 1 on Windows 2000 and the other card on a Virtual PC is that even if the gigabit card is not installed on Windows 2000, it will automatically disable the wireless when plugged in.
     
    mattbieg892, Jul 13, 2008
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  5. kegobeer

    kegobeer 1 hr late but moving fast

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    Windows will only use one connection at a time, unless you bridge the connections and use one for incoming traffic (internet) and one for outgoing traffic (between machines). Here's a diagram of bridging XP connections - it should be fairly close to W2K.

    http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/wxpbrdge.html
     
    kegobeer, Jul 13, 2008
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  6. mattbieg892

    mattbieg892 Notebook Geek

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    Huh, that's weird. I just reinsertted the D-Link gigabit with the wifi card, and the wifi didn't quit on me. Now both work without having to enable bridging....
     
    mattbieg892, Jul 13, 2008
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  7. Wirelessman

    Wirelessman Monkeymod

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    Many times is just a question of a good contact with the connector, I have seen this 1,000 times. So, you just need to play a little bit with the card as oyu insert it and that should do it.
     
    Wirelessman, Jul 14, 2008
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