I have a question about computer hardware. Is there a device out there that is a card for a pci bust that you can plug usb into? I'm wondering because my laptop does not have a cd drive and I was thinking that maybe I could use an external usb powered cd drive to install programs?
Thanks for any help you have!
There are several PCI cards that will provide USB for your computer, but these are only designed to be plugged into desktop type computers, not laptops. For a laptop, you could use a CardBus adapter to provide a USB port via your PCMCIA slot(s) assuming your computer has these.
What type of computer are you using and what OS are you running?
I was looking into the same thing before firewire became common for portable audio solutions...
Magma makes a few CardBus PCI breakout boxes
I don't know of any PCI expansion boxes that breakout from USB.
As for the second quesion... I don' t see why not
It is a Toshiba Tecra 500CDT running windows 95.
Thanks for the help! I looked on the ineternet for one. It is not compatible with my os though.
Thanks for the help!
Do you mean a card for the PC card slot? If so, there are tons of PCcard->USB adapters out there. Search froogle (or similar) for cardbus USB.
dan k
Also, don't confuse MiniPCI with regular desktop PCI. MiniPCI is generally for WiFi cards and that's it. To put USB on a laptop you need a CardBus PC Card. I just checked the specs of the Tecra 500CDT on the Toshiba support site, I had thought that it didn't have CardBus with it's 120MHz CPU, but the PDF they offer lists it as CardBus ready. Sweet. And just as sweet is $14.99 for a Compaq USB 2.0 CardBus PC Card which I need to go buy one for myself too.
EDIT: Drat! I just read the page I linked a bit closer, and it says it needs Win 2000 or XP. I think that only applies to using the card as USB 2.0, but I'm not 100% sure. If you want a USB 1.1 card, searching the MicroCenter site lists one at $89.99. I'd take the risk on the super cheap $14.99 first, myslef, before making the decision for a very expensive, very slow card.
I recently purchased a USB Cardbus adapter for my Wallstreet
/ Apple Powerbook computer.
This is a PCMCIA card. I hope I spelled that correctly.
Yes, I got it off eBay....Works GREAT!!!
I also purchased an Ethernet PCMCIA card as the built in ethernet was fried.
I do have 2 working Windoze PCMCIA Ethernet Cards available
if anyone is interested...cool way to transfer files or get broadband on an older PC laptop.
Dave
As Windoooze95 doesn't support USB at all, you probablyr have to search out a PC-Card to SCSI adapter and use a SCSI-CD-ROM.
I think Iomega made a few of these PC-Cards, but they weren't exacly 'very compatible' with anything but Iomega drives...
If you have another computer, also, I would rather suggest that you set up networking software on them, connect them with a 'pc-to-pc' network-cable, share out the CD-ROM drive on the other computer and connect to that.
If your running windows 95OSR2 you will have built in USB support NOTE most likely your laptop will have 16BIt PCMCIA cards so PC cards or cardbus will not work
The specs for that model on toshiba.com show it having CardBus slots, even as slow as it is.