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If Something Goes Wrong

Resolving a hardware conflict

PC Card checklist

Make sure the card is inserted properly into the slot.

Make sure all cables are securely connected.

Occasionally a defective PC Card slips through quality control. If another computer with a PC Card slot is available, try the card in that machine. If the card malfunctions again, it may be defective.

Resolving PC Card problems

Here are some common problems and their solutions:

The slot appears to be dead. PC Cards that used to work no longer work.

Check the PC Card status:

1Click Start, Control Panel, System and Maintenance, and then Device Manager.

2Double-click the PCMCIA adapter.

3Double-click the appropriate PC Card.

The operating system displays your PC Card’s Properties dialog box, which contains information about your PC Card configuration and status.

The computer stops working (hangs) when you insert a PC Card.

The problem may be caused by an I/O (input/output) conflict between the PCMCIA socket and another device in the system. Use Device Manager to make sure each device has its own I/O base address. See “Fixing a problem with Device Manager” on page 140 for more information.

Since all PC Cards share the same socket, each card is not required to have its own address.

Hot swapping (removing one PC Card and inserting another without turning the computer off) fails.

Follow this procedure before you remove a PC Card:

1Click the Safely Remove Hardware icon in the Notification Area.

The Safely Remove Hardware screen appears.

2Click Safely remove for the device you want to swap.