[YLUG] PCMCIA USB adapter

[Alet Roux]

On Monday 10 March 2008 12:22:59 Paul Gibbs wrote:
> Hi,
> Does anyone have any experience with PCMCIA USB adapters? I have a
> ThinkPad T22 which only has USB 1.1 so wanted to upgrade by way of a
> PCMCIA USB adapter. I've had a look on various linux sites and as much
> as there is acknowledgment that PCMCIA can be a problem most sites are
> either very out-of-date, or about a year old with little hardware
> information.
>
> I get the impression that since 2.6.14 kernel PCMCIA has been well
> supported but there are still lots of sites that suggest it could be a
> problem.
>
> Should I be able to just plug in a PCMCIA USB adapter or do I need to
> look for specific hardware?
>
> http://tuxmobil.org/pcmcia_linux_types.html is the most recent list I
> could find put even that is sparse and old.
>
> Paul.<><
>
>
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Hi Paul

I have been using the same Sitecom CardBus USB adapter for about four or five 
years now. I originally bought it to solve a similar problem to yours (no USB 
2.0), and it has two USB 2.0 ports on it (with a power outlet that I've never 
used). Nowadays I use it as a mini-hub when I run out of USB ports, since I 
have no other PCMCIA devices.

In this time I've used it with three laptops (two by Fujitsu-Siemens and 
currently a Thinkpad T61), and I haven't had a day of trouble with it, either 
on Debian or Gentoo (currently).

It's been a long time since I've configured it by hand (I'm at kernel 2.6.23 
now), but as far as I recall it's simply a case of choosing the right kernel 
modules (Bus options -> PCCARD (CardBus or PCMCIA) -> ...) and installing 
pcmciautils, which contains the userspace utilities. Whenever I plug my card 
in, it is detected automatically (not sure who to thank for this - I guess 
udev).

Alet

-- 
Dr. Alet Roux
Lecturer in Mathematical Finance
University of York