Introduction
to PCMCIA Technology
The
Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA)
is a standards body and trade association that consists of more
than 300 member companies including manufactures of semiconductors,
connectors, peripherals and systems, as well as BIOS and software
developers and related industries. PCMCIA has developed standards
for the personal computer cards (PC Cards). A PC Card is a small
form-factor adapter for your personal computer, personal communicator
or other electronic device. PC Cards are about the size and shape
of a credit card.
With
the proliferation of the notebook and hand-held computer system,
the search for smaller, lighter, and more portable tools for information
processing is generating innovative developments in many aspects
of the portable computer market. These innovations include display,
memory, power management, and overall computer design and size.
PC Cards are a key technology for adding memory, storage, and I/O
capabilities to portable systems.
PCMCIA
standards describe the physical requirements, electrical specifications,
and software architecture for PC Cards. The PCMCIA Specifications
define three physical sizes of cards: Type I, Type II, and Type
III. All three types use the same 68 pin edge connector for attachment
to the computer, and differ only in thickness. The thickness for
Type I, Type II, and Type III are 3.3, 5.0, 10.5 millimeters respectively.
Type I PC Card is typically used for various types of memory enhancements,
including RAM, FLASH memory, one-time programmable (OTP) memory,
and electronically erasable programmable memory (EEPROM). A Type
II PC Card is typically used for memory enhancements and/or for
I/O features such as modem, LANs and host communications. A Type
III PC Card is twice the thickness of the Type II and is typically
used for memory enhancements and/or for I/O features that require
a larger size, such as rotating mass storage devices and radio communication
devices. Since Type I, Type II, and Type III Cards all use the same
interface, the size of the card chosen for the application is dependent
on the miniaturization of the technology to be implemented.
These
PC Cards can be used with laptops, notebooks, palmtops, tablets,
and other portable computer systems. PC Cards are convenient alternatives
to pocket adapters and docking stations. PC Cards can be used with
any personal portable computer system equipped with a PCMCIA slot.
The
key element of the PCMCIA software architecture are Socket Services
and Card Services. Socket Services is a BIOS level software interface
that provides a way to access the PCMCIA sockets (slots) of a computer.
Socket Services identify how many sockets are in your computer system
and detects the insertion or removal of a PC Card while the system
is powered on. Socket Services is part of the PCMCIA Specification
and interfaces with Card Services.
Card
Services is a software management interface that allows the allocation
of system resources (such as memory and interrupts) automatically,
once the Socket Services detects the PC Card has been added. Card
Services also releases these resources when the PC Card has been
removed. Furthermore, Card Services provides you with an interface
to high level software to load any needed hardware drivers. Card
Service is also part of the PCMCIA Specification.
The
combination of PC Card hardware, Card Services software and Socket
Services software provides a "plug-and-play" capability in the portable
computing environment.
What is ATA
and how can I learn more about the ATA standard?
Advanced
Technology Attachment (ATA) an extension of the IDE disk drive bus
that specifies how a device interacts with ATA drive. For PC Cards,
any ATA compliant device should behave as a standard disk (for example
ATA Flash cards). Technical Committee T13 of the National Committee
on Information Technology Standards (NCITS), is responsible for
all interface standards relating to the ATA interface including
ATA and ATA with Packet Interface (ATAPI).
What is USB
- Universal Serial Bus?
The
Universal Serial Bus (USB) offers the advantages of a multiplatform
standard combined with decreased cost, increased compatibility,
and a greater number of available peripherals. USB supports up to
127 devices and is "hot pluggable."
USB
is powerful, easy to use and it works with numerous devices, including
printers, digital cameras, game pads, joysticks, keyboards and mice,
and storage devices. Vikant intends to provide its customers with
the best this exciting new technologies offers.
What
is the status of PC Card support for *BSD, Linux, and other UNIX-like
systems?PC Card support under various UNIX-like systems varies greatly.
Many vendors are beginning to supply drivers for these systems,
but they are not always supported. Additionally, many device drivers
have been written by the open source community, and are available
for download.
What does
the CE symbol stand for?
The CE mark stands for Conformité Européen, meaning
a product conforms to the safety and quality standards set forth
by the European Community. Vikant's European Community approved
products meet or exceed these standards.
OS Specific
Items
MS Windows
NT 4.0
What is the
status of PC Card support for MS Windows NT 4.0?
For
the most part modern hardware and software services such as power
management, hot swapping, plug and play, and others are very limited
or nonexistent under NT4. However, many cards such as ATA memory
cards will work in NT4 if the card is inserted before startup (see
instructions). In most cases it is best to consider switching NT5
(Windows 2000).
Many of
our vendors recommend CardWare 6.0 for use with their cards and
Windows NT 4.0, including Ratoc Systems' IEEE1394 and Ultra/Ultra
Wide SCSI cards. We carry this package as a service to our customers,
but do not support it, as the software's publisher is more cognizant
of support issues. To learn more about this product, please visit
the product
page for CardWare 6.0 or call TouchStone Software (800) 800-BIOS
or (978) 686-6468.
Booting
with ATA Flash Style Memory Cards Inserted
Getting
ATA Flash style memory cards to work under MS Windows NT 3.51 and
4.0 without any additional software requires a few steps. The following
instructions are known to work under most conditions for standard
ATA Flash PC Cards. They should also work for CompactFlash™
and similar ATA compliant media that are in a PC Card adapter.
-
Select Control
Panel from the Start button.
-
Open the
Devices icon in the Control Panel and set PCMCIA to Boot and
Started.
-
Set ATDISK
to Boot and Start.
-
Insert the
ATA Flash card into a PCMCIA slot before powering on, then boot
the NT system. A drive letter should appear automatically in
the 'My Computer' icon when inserted.
-
Windows
NT does not support hot insertion and removal. Step four (4)
must be repeated every time you want to access a card.
Microsoft Windows 2000
Windows
2000 represents a major advance for users of Microsoft operating
systems by combining the improved stability and other advantages
of Windows NT with the device driver availability of Microsoft's
consumer operating systems like Windows 98. Windows 2000 addresses
many concerns users have voiced in the past regarding compatibility
issues with various peripherals and Windows NT.
Windows
2000 includes robust support for the modern buses and peripherals
associated with today's microcomputers. Furthermore, Microsoft's
literature states that "true Plug and Play configuration capabilities
are now supported under Windows 2000." Microsoft has posted several
road maps for various
hardware support in Windows 2000, many of which are of interest
to Vikant's customers.
-
Microsoft
Windows XP
Windows
XP represents a major advance for users of Microsoft operating systems
by combining the improved stability and other advantages of Windows
2000 with real advancements in usability and interface design. Windows
XP includes robust support for the modern buses and peripherals
associated with today's microcomputers, but has also changed the
way Windows interfaces with driver packages.
-
Apple
Mac OS X
Apples
newest operating systems presents an entirely new architecture for
device drivers. It will take time for many vendors to fully support
all their devices under this new system. However, Mac OS X provides
robust support for generic device classes like FireWire and USB.
- Basic
Card Installation
There
are three components required to set up a PCMCIA card. If you
follow these general instructions you will have a good chance
that installing your new PCMCIA card will be easy and trouble
free. We can not stress the importance of reading the manual
of your new PCMCIA card.
1.
The first element is the PCMCIA card and service software. This
allows your computer to configure its PCMCIA socket and recognize
the PCMCIA cards that are plugged in to it. The individual components
of PCMCIA software are called drivers. There are usually three
to four drivers in PCMCIA software: a socket service driver,
a card service driver, a super client driver (this is for generic
card configuration), and a resource manager driver. Most computers
that have an internal PCMCIA card slot come with this software
already installed. Most PCMCIA cards also come with PCMCIA card
and service software, so be careful; DO NOT install the card
and service software if your computer already has it installed.
To
find out if your computer has PCMCIA software installed, read
the screen as your computer boots up. If you see messages that
refer to Card Services or Socket Service then your computer
has PCMCIA card and service software. Also, please check your
computers manual. If your computer does not have PCMCIA software
you can either contact your computers manufacture to see what
they recommend or install the card services software provided
with most PCMCIA cards. Windows 95 has a small set of card and
services drivers. Please refer to the PCMCIA Plug and Play card
wizard.
Once
you know that the PCMCIA card and services software are working
correctly, you can move on to the second element.
2.
Some PCMCIA cards come with proprietary drivers (e.g. PCMCIA
sound, networking, and SCSI cards). If the PCMCIA card you're
installing has a secondary driver set you must install these
drivers. These drivers must be installed in your computer's
CONFIG.SYS, after the PCMCIA card and service software drivers.
Follow the instructions in the card's manual. Once these drivers
are installed you must reboot your computer by either turning
the computer off and then on again or press the reset button.
Make sure that the PCMCIA card is in the card socket in your
computer. As the computer boots, when the PCMCIA card and service
drivers are run in your CONFIG.SYS, you will hear a beep. If
you hear one beep the PCMCIA card is recognized and all is well,
if you hear two beeps the PCMCIA card is not recognized. You
must then either re-read the cards manual and re-install the
software or contact technical support.
3.
The last element in configuring your new PCMCIA card
is to install the application software that came with the PCMCIA
card. Follow the instructions in the card's manual. Once this
step is done you can now use your new PCMCIA card.
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