Member Avatar for mlynch53

Here's my situation:

I have a Compaq LTE 5200 laptop which runs very well at 133 Mhz for the purposes I bought it second-hand.

It has an old 28800 card-type modem which works fine. THere are two card slots, incidentally.

I want to add USB capabilities to the computer, and I bought a USB 2.0CardBus PCMCIA card with two USB connectors.

The laptop won't recognize the hardware at all.

What are the possible problems here? Is this laptop too outdated for this type of card?

Thanks,

Mike

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Summary of the situation and a practical way forward. The card not being recognized can come from three separate problems: the laptop’s PC Card hardware, the PCMCIA/CardBus card itself, or missing/incompatible drivers. Posts from , , , , and already touch these angles; below are focused, actionable checks and realistic alternatives that were not fully spelled out earlier.

Steps to isolate the fault

  1. Confirm the slot still works by inserting a PC Card that is known-good (the modem already mentioned in the thread is a useful control).
  2. Try the USB card in a different, newer laptop if possible. If it works there the card is OK and the LTE’s slot/firmware/OS is the problem.
  3. With the card inserted, watch for any “Found new hardware” activity or an Unknown Device entry. If Windows asks for drivers, capture the vendor/device identifiers shown and search for that exact ID from the card manufacturer. If the OS gives no sign at all, the card is either not powered or not bus-compatible with the slot.
  4. Check BIOS/firmware for PC Card/CardBus settings (some laptops allow enabling/disabling PC Card services) and confirm PC Card services are running in the OS. Also try both card slots if available.

Practical alternatives if the USB card won’t work

  • For file transfer, use a PC Card mass-storage solution (CompactFlash or similar with a PCMCIA adapter) or a PC Card Ethernet adapter to copy files over a network — both are inexpensive and reliable.
  • If a USB host is essential, seek a true legacy PCMCIA USB host adapter (rare) or use a different machine/docking solution that provides USB.

Conclusion
Follow the isolation steps first (control card, card-in-other-laptop, driver/ID capture). If the card never powers or enumerates, the most practical paths are a PC Card mass-storage or Ethernet workaround, or using a different host that supports CardBus USB. This ties together the driver/architecture concerns raised earlier and gives clear next tests to run.

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Member Avatar for TallCool1

Is this laptop too outdated for this type of card?

The short answer: yes.

The longer answer: USB 2.0 hardware support is not "official" in any version of Windows prior to XP, so drivers are not likely to be available for earlier versions, even for USB 1.1 emulation.

Member Avatar for mlynch53

The short answer: yes.

Thanks! (I guess!!) So, the bottom line, then, is that there is most likely no way to use USB devices with this computer? (My non-techie status is showing here, I know!)

Thanks again,

Mike

Member Avatar for TallCool1

So, the bottom line, then, is that there is most likely no way to use USB devices with this computer?

I should have been more clear, then. If you can find a PCMCIA USB 1.1 adapter -- and are running Windows 98 or later, you should be OK. Which Windows are you running? Most versions of Windows 95 do not support USB at all.

Member Avatar for mlynch53

I'm running Win 98SE. I've done some searching. PCMCIA USB 1.1 adapters look pretty scarce! Any suggestions on where one might be found?

Thanks for your help!

Mike

Member Avatar for TallCool1

I'm running Win 98SE. I've done some searching. PCMCIA USB 1.1 adapters look pretty scarce! Any suggestions on where one might be found?

There's always Jameco Electronics. They're good for a lot of the unusual stuff.

Member Avatar for b0fh

I'm in quiet the same situation: Comaq LTE 5200 notebook running win2000 and a NEC USB 2.0 PCMCIA controller (so as windows 2000 on another machine says).
So I found this article: http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=9856
It says that you can get it work with win98se (mine only runs win98 so I'd have to upgrade). The author also says that he had problems with 32bit cardbus (the adapter I have is also 32bit), what port does the lte5200 offer? 16 or 32bit? (If 16bit I could leave the update to win98se and discard the plan...)

Member Avatar for keicam5th

Here's my situation:

I have a Compaq LTE 5200 laptop which runs very well at 133 Mhz for the purposes I bought it second-hand.

It has an old 28800 card-type modem which works fine. THere are two card slots, incidentally.

I want to add USB capabilities to the computer, and I bought a USB 2.0CardBus PCMCIA card with two USB connectors.

The laptop won't recognize the hardware at all.

What are the possible problems here? Is this laptop too outdated for this type of card?

Thanks,

Mike

Firstly as i know lte 5xxx series not supports card bus they supports "Two Type III PC Card (PCMCIA) slot that supports one Type III, two Type
I, or two Type II PC Cards," (i pastate it from official user manual fot compaq lte 5xxx) so you need to buy PC card(that USB 2.0 adapter you want) which will fit to your laptop PCMCIA controler (for lte 5xxx it is Cirrus 6722)
serch the net, www.google.com recomended ;)

and about windows problems maybe you'll try out linux, i am running lte 5200 with rh 7.1 linux and i enjoy it ;)
Take care good luck
PS. I also want buy usb adapter for my laptop if i will, i tell you

Member Avatar for Glennie

I have a 5250 and bought a 1.1 usb that doesn't work so upgraded to windows 98se, still no luck. The manual says it should work. Considering my options. Let me know if you have any success.

Member Avatar for wapper

Assertion 1: there is no way you can get 32-bit CardBus PCMCIA cards to work with Compaq 5xxx series.
Assertion 2: there are no USB2.0 or USB1.1 16-bit PCMCIA cards on the market AFAIK.

Conclusion: there is no way you can get any USB PCMCIA adapter to work with Compaq 5xxx series.

Observation: 32-bit CardBus architecture is significantly different from original PCCard architecture and is much closer to that of PCI. It it probably the main reason for not having USB adapters for 16-bit PCMCIA.

See

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