PCMCIA USB Card?

[Jason]

I am trying to install a USB port on an older laptop (Toshiba Tecra, Pentium
1) for a friend. The laptop had Windows 98 SE. I tried 3 different PCMCIA
USB 2.0 Cards that claimed Win 98 compatibility, none worked.

I then went through the painfully slow installation of Win XP via creation
of 6 boot up disks and a 2 hour install. Then the big payoff....None of the
cards work with XP either. I put in a Netgear wireless card that I knew
worked, XP recognized it right away.

So my question is this: is it likely that the ports on an older laptop
aren't capable to handle the speed of USB 2.0? I looked all over Ebay for
an old PCMCIA USB 1.0 Card, but none are listed.

Does anyone have any suggestions? LOL, besides a new laptop?? My friend is
poor

Thanks,

Jason

 

[Gerard Bok]

I am trying to install a USB port on an older laptop (Toshiba Tecra, Pentium
1) for a friend. The laptop had Windows 98 SE. I tried 3 different PCMCIA
USB 2.0 Cards that claimed Win 98 compatibility, none worked.

I then went through the painfully slow installation of Win XP via creation
of 6 boot up disks and a 2 hour install. Then the big payoff....None of the
cards work with XP either. I put in a Netgear wireless card that I knew
worked, XP recognized it right away.

So my question is this: is it likely that the ports on an older laptop
aren't capable to handle the speed of USB 2.0? I looked all over Ebay for
an old PCMCIA USB 1.0 Card, but none are listed.

Your friend's problem is most likely caused by some other
compatibility issue.

The new cards he tried are likely to be of the 'Cardbus' type.
(You can tell from the copper strip over the contacts.)

The laptop being 'older' is likely to support PCMCIA (now named:
PC-Card) cards only, not Cardbus.