PCMCIA Adaptor: Lights on Card Not Flashing

[AndyHiggins]

Hi,

Have dialed 082 155 for assistance and am still on hold 45 minutes later

My problem is the following. I installed a PCMCIA Adaptor card on my Desktop PC (Windows XP) and installed the Vodafone 3G software as per the instructions however when I get to the stage that asks to select the type of device (mobile phone or data card) it won't go any further because it does not detect the card. The adaptor appears to be installed correctly if I go to the Windows Device Manager. The problem is that the light on the data card does not flash when putting it in the PCMCIA slot on my desktop like it does as soon as I put it in the PCMCIA slot on my laptop.

Any ideas what might be wrong? The weird thing is that it was working but now it stopped working. There appears to be some kind of software conflict or setting that is preventing the card from working. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.
Andy

 

[vodacom3g]

If no lights come on while in the PC but they do when in the laptop, it would seem the card is not getting power, i.e. something with the setup of the adaptor card in the PC.

If Elan, have a look at their website, there are quite a few docs on troubleshooting.

 

[AndyHiggins]

Hi,

Have dialed 082 155 for assistance and am still on hold 45 minutes later

My problem is the following. I installed a PCMCIA Adaptor card on my Desktop PC (Windows XP) and installed the Vodafone 3G software as per the instructions however when I get to the stage that asks to select the type of device (mobile phone or data card) it won't go any further because it does not detect the card. The adaptor appears to be installed correctly if I go to the Windows Device Manager. The problem is that the light on the data card does not flash when putting it in the PCMCIA slot on my desktop like it does as soon as I put it in the PCMCIA slot on my laptop.

Any ideas what might be wrong? The weird thing is that it was working but now it stopped working. There appears to be some kind of software conflict or setting that is preventing the card from working. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.
Andy

Btw, I have tried uninstalling everything completely and re-installing from scratch multiple times (actually about 10 times by now trying different things). Very frustrating

 

[AndyHiggins]

If no lights come on while in the PC but they do when in the laptop, it would seem the card is not getting power, i.e. something with the setup of the adaptor card in the PC.

If Elan, have a look at their website, there are quite a few docs on troubleshooting.

Thanks. So should the light on the card come on when putting it in regardless of any software configuration?

Andy

 

[ic]

Thanks. So should the light on the card come on when putting it in regardless of any software configuration?

Andy

Yes, that is certainly what I have seen with the vanilla-3G data card that I have - even with no VMC running [and even under Linux with no drivers] the leds on the data card flash.

It sounds like your PCMCIA<-->PCI adapter card is kaput, perhaps if you have some other [32bit?] PCMCIA card [other than the data card], you could try that in the adapter?

 

[ant101]

I once had a similar experience with the elan and 3g card setup. (freaking frustrating!)
I can't remember if my lights were working though, no lights flashing does point to the elan adpator, however, I would try and reflash the 3g card with the firmware, this did work in my situation, when my card appeared "belly up"
You'll need to use your laptop's PCMCIA slot and download the relevant drivers from vodacom's site, check the FAQ Thread in this forum for links. I was lucky enough to get the firmware from one of the vodacom walkin centers a year ago when this happened to me. (it saved me a lot of hassle to do the fix myself!)
IMO, It's possible that the firmware got corrupt, and therefore the card is not detected by the vodphone software/drivers.
Hope it works.

 

[ic]

Hmmm...I strongly advise against [re]flashing the data card's firmware at this point - if the data card works in a laptop but not in the PCMCIA<-->PCI desktop PC adapter, then the problem is more likely the adapter itself. Flashing the data card's firmware at this stage introduces additional risk and should not be necessary right now.

 

[AndyHiggins]

Thank you all for the help. I will try putting my wireless PCMCIA card in the PC tonight and see if it picks it up. I did also try installing the PCMCIA -> PCI Adaptor in another PC with no joy so everything is definately pointing towards a kaput adpator.

I bought the adaptor from Incredible Corruption 2 weeks ago and only used it once before it stopped working. Unfortunately you have to return items within 7 days to get a refund

Can anyone out there recommend somewhere in Joburg to get a new adapator card from (for a Vodacom 3G only card - not HSDPA although I assume it should not make a difference).

Thanks again for your help.

Andy

 

[ant101]

IC: true, I was unawares that it was fully working in the laptop! Sorry my mistake.
Andy , try your nearest vodacom store, they should have it.

 

[PHTech]

Hey There.

I once also strugled to install a 3G card on one of those PCMCIA adapters.

The first thing I want to know is: What brand of PCMCIA PCI adapter do u use? My Problem were on a Mecer PCMCIA card. I installed that on one my clients' PC, and the card also seemed not to respond. What I did to solve the problem was by firmly inserting the card. The conclusion that I came to is that the 3G card doesnt go in completely, so I actually forced the card in.

Theres also a couple of other points to look at:
** When u insert the 3G card, be sure that the PCMCIA PCI card does not move out of the PCI slot (or just even move a little)
** Make sure that the backplates of your PC does't block the card from getting in.
** Lastly (what I can think of now) is to firmly reseat the PCMCIA PCI card, or even try another PCI slot. Make sure that your PCI I/O addresses & IRQs are also set correctly in the BIOS. Try loading BIOS defaults or maybe fail safe settings for your BIOS. If you reseat that PCMCIA PCI card, don't worry to use a little force. Some of these cards need to be firmly placed (especially the cheaper brands).

If you have registred trade name (or can use someone elses trade name) u can try one of the following computer suppliers:

--> Bethesda - Mecer PCMCIA cards
--> Rectron - Gigabyte PCMCIA cards
--> Mustek - Mecer PCMCIA cards

I know incredible connection (or what u call them ) sell the Mecer cards.

You can also try Eagle Technologies for a solution for a new PCMCIA PCI card.

Good luck!