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DS Flash Equipment > Laptop Wireless Card?

#47903 - Guest - Thu Jul 14, 2005 4:29 pm

I'm looking for a wireless card that I can use WiFiMe with. The only problem is I don't know if I have any slots for a PCI card. I think I have one, though I could be mistaken and it's something completely different. If you're familiar with my laptop it's an HP Pavilion zd8000. I'm really not sure what my laptop has, however I'm almost positive there is a PCI card slot. Which card would be suit me though since I've never used a laptop wirelessly before? And since my laptop has built in WiFi, would inserting a PCI card and installing the drivers mess with my built in wifi?

#47904 - FourScience - Thu Jul 14, 2005 4:45 pm

Guest wrote:
I'm looking for a wireless card that I can use WiFiMe with. The only problem is I don't know if I have any slots for a PCI card. I think I have one, though I could be mistaken and it's something completely different. If you're familiar with my laptop it's an HP Pavilion zd8000. I'm really not sure what my laptop has, however I'm almost positive there is a PCI card slot. Which card would be suit me though since I've never used a laptop wirelessly before? And since my laptop has built in WiFi, would inserting a PCI card and installing the drivers mess with my built in wifi?


I think I know what laptop you have. Is it the big media monster laptop? My boss had one of those (he hated it for work). Well, you should definitely have a PC card slot, one that is referred to as PCMCIA rather than PCI. They amount to the same thing, but PCI is what desktop computers use and PCMCIA is what laptops use. Well, the easiest way to identify it is to open up your user manual! Or, go online and look it up. Don't be surprised if you have two slots, they would be in the same location though (one on top of the other, one opening).

Get ANY of the PCMCIA cards on the compatibility list. If the card has an "*" next to it, that means that only certain revisions of that card will work, so you might want to avoid those altogether. I personally have a Hawking card that I got at CompUSA with rebates, but it's actually been a pain. It might not be the card, but I use my desktop much more for WiFi on my NDS.

Oh, and it won't affect your built-in WiFi. When you install the card, there's a way to make sure you don't install the manufacturer's drivers and instead use the hacked driver, so the card will only function as a DS broadcast card thereafter (but it can be changed back easily, it all depends on the installed driver). To properly install the hacked driver use my WiFi guide.
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#47925 - The 9th Sage - Thu Jul 14, 2005 8:04 pm

Guest wrote:
I'm looking for a wireless card that I can use WiFiMe with. The only problem is I don't know if I have any slots for a PCI card. I think I have one, though I could be mistaken and it's something completely different. If you're familiar with my laptop it's an HP Pavilion zd8000. I'm really not sure what my laptop has, however I'm almost positive there is a PCI card slot. Which card would be suit me though since I've never used a laptop wirelessly before? And since my laptop has built in WiFi, would inserting a PCI card and installing the drivers mess with my built in wifi?


I have an HP laptop as well, and the card I settled on is the CNet CWC-854 (if you want more info it should be in that list of Ralink cards on Firefly's site)...it had the best price I had found when looking for PCMCIA Ralink wireless cards...and no, it shouldn't interfere with your other wireless hardware.
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#47949 - Guest - Fri Jul 15, 2005 3:59 am

FourScience wrote:
Guest wrote:
I'm looking for a wireless card that I can use WiFiMe with. The only problem is I don't know if I have any slots for a PCI card. I think I have one, though I could be mistaken and it's something completely different. If you're familiar with my laptop it's an HP Pavilion zd8000. I'm really not sure what my laptop has, however I'm almost positive there is a PCI card slot. Which card would be suit me though since I've never used a laptop wirelessly before? And since my laptop has built in WiFi, would inserting a PCI card and installing the drivers mess with my built in wifi?


I think I know what laptop you have. Is it the big media monster laptop? My boss had one of those (he hated it for work). Well, you should definitely have a PC card slot, one that is referred to as PCMCIA rather than PCI. They amount to the same thing, but PCI is what desktop computers use and PCMCIA is what laptops use. Well, the easiest way to identify it is to open up your user manual! Or, go online and look it up. Don't be surprised if you have two slots, they would be in the same location though (one on top of the other, one opening).

Get ANY of the PCMCIA cards on the compatibility list. If the card has an "*" next to it, that means that only certain revisions of that card will work, so you might want to avoid those altogether. I personally have a Hawking card that I got at CompUSA with rebates, but it's actually been a pain. It might not be the card, but I use my desktop much more for WiFi on my NDS.

Oh, and it won't affect your built-in WiFi. When you install the card, there's a way to make sure you don't install the manufacturer's drivers and instead use the hacked driver, so the card will only function as a DS broadcast card thereafter (but it can be changed back easily, it all depends on the installed driver). To properly install the hacked driver use my WiFi guide.


Thank you so much. And that really is the laptop I have. It's one hell of a beast and definately not something I like to bring with me places, lol. It does have only one PCMCIA slot though, a bit odd, but I'll survive.

I've been able to find the following cards in local stores so far:

Hawking:
HWC54GR * (it says HWC54G on the product page from the list's link)
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=319103&pfp=BROWSE
HWC54D rev r *
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=318337&pfp=BROWSE

Belkin:
F5D7010
v2/3000au/3001 *
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=300872&pfp=BROWSE

Circuit City and Best Buy appear to have the same products. My biggest fear is since they are all starred and require the specific chipset... how do I know which chipset they are actually using?