NationMaster - Encyclopedia: PC Card

In computing, PC Card (originally PCMCIA, or PCMCIA Card) is the form factor of a peripheral interface designed for laptop computers. The PC Card standard (as well as its successor ExpressCard) were defined and developed by a group of industry-leading companies called the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA). The United States computer industry created the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association to challenge the Japanese JEIDA memory card devices by offering a competing standard for memory-expansion cards. In 1991 the two standards merged as JEIDA 4.1 or PCMCIA 2.0 (PC Card). Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... For the formal concept of computation, see computation. ... The PCMCIA is the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, an industry trade association that creates standards for notebook computer peripheral devices. ... Form factor refers to the linear dimensions and configuration of a device as distinguished from other measures of size (for example Gigabytes; a measure of storage size): in computing, form factor is used to describe the size and format of PC motherboards (see AT, ATX, BTX), but also of hard... For the band, see Laptop (band). ... ExpressCard is a hardware standard replacing PC cards (also known as PCMCIA cards), both developed by the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association. ... The PCMCIA is the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, an industry trade association that creates standards for notebook computer peripheral devices. ... The JEIDA memory card standard was a popular memory card standard at the beginning of memory cards appearing on portable computers. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ...

PC Card was originally designed for computer memory expansion, but the existence of a usable general standard for notebook peripherals led to many kinds of devices being made available in this form. Typical devices included network cards, modems, and hard disks. The cards were also use in early digital SLR cameras, such as the Kodak DCS 300 series. The original use, as memory expansion, is no longer common. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A network card, network adapter or NIC (network interface controller) is a piece of computer hardware designed to allow computers to communicate over a computer network. ... For other uses, see Modem (disambiguation). ... Typical hard drives of the mid-1990s. ... Kodak DCS 315 Kodak DCS 315 The Kodak DCS 300 series, comprising two cameras, the DCS 315 and DCS 330, were professional-level digital SLR cameras built by Eastman Kodaks Kodak Professional Imaging Solutions division. ...

Many notebooks in the 1990s came with two type-II slots with no barrier in between (allowing installation of two type-II cards or one, double-sized, type-III card). With the removal of legacy ports, most contemporary notebooks only feature a single type-II card slot.^{[citation needed]}

PCMCIA cards, Type II and Type III. Copyright 2004 David Gerard. ... PCMCIA cards, Type II and Type III. Copyright 2004 David Gerard. ... 3Com (NASDAQ: COMS) is a manufacturer best known for its computer network infrastructure products. ...

Name

PCMCIA stands for Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, the group of industry-leading companies that defines and develops the standard. While this acronym did clearly describe the original intentions of the organization's standard, it was difficult to say and remember, and was sometimes jokingly referred to as "People Can't Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms".^[1] To aid in the widespread marketing and branding of the standard, and to account for the standard's widening scope (beyond just memory cards), the association acquired the rights to the simpler term "PC Card" from IBM, and began using it, rather than "PCMCIA", from version 2 of the specification onwards. The PCMCIA is the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, an industry trade association that creates standards for notebook computer peripheral devices. ... For other uses, see IBM (disambiguation) and Big Blue. ...

Card types

All PC Card devices use an identical 68 pin dual row connecting interface. All are 85.6 mm long and 54.0 mm wide. This is the same size as a credit card. The form factor is also used by the Common Interface form of Conditional Access Modules for DVB broadcasts. Look up credit card in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Form factor refers to the linear dimensions and configuration of a device as distinguished from other measures of size (for example Gigabytes; a measure of storage size): in computing, form factor is used to describe the size and format of PC motherboards (see AT, ATX, BTX), but also of hard... scheme The Common Interface (CI) is the slot on a digital television receiver into which a conditional access module (CAM) may be inserted for satellite television. ... A Conditional Access Module (CAM) is an electronic device, usually incorporating a slot for a smart card, which gives a DVB television or set-top box with the appropriate hardware the facility to decrypt scrambled programmes. ... Official DVB logo, found on compliant devices DVB, short for Digital Video Broadcasting, is a suite of internationally accepted open standards for digital television. ...

The original standard was defined for both 5 volt and 3.3 volt cards. The 3.3 V cards have a key on the side to protect them from being damaged by being put into a 5 V-only slot. Some cards and some slots operate at both voltages as needed. The original standard was built around an 'enhanced' 16-bit ISA bus platform. Look up isa in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Type I

Cards designed to the original specification (version 1.x) are type I and feature a 16-bit interface. They are 3.3 mm thick. Type-I PC Card devices are typically used for memory devices such as RAM, flash memory, OTP, and SRAM cards. Look up RAM, Ram, ram in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A USB flash drive. ... OTP may mean: Outdoor Therapeutic Program: see articles on wilderness therapy and adventure therapy One-time programmable, a type of programmable read-only memory (PROM) in electronics One-time pad in cryptography One-time password One True Pairing -- usually used to denote a fanatical devotion to one pairing in a... Static random access memory (SRAM) is a type of semiconductor memory. ...

Type II

Type-II PC Card devices feature a 16- or 32-bit interface. They are 5.4 mm thick. Type-II cards introduced I/O support, allowing devices to attach an array of peripherals or to provide connectors/slots to interfaces for which the host computer had no built-in support. For example, many modem, network and TV cards use this form factor. Due to their thinness, most Type II interface cards feature miniature interface connectors on the card which are used together with a dongle; a short cable that adapts from the card's miniature connector to an external full-size connector. Chained parallel port copy prevention dongles. ...

Type III

Type-III PC Card devices are 16-bit or 32-bit. These cards are 10.5 mm thick, allowing them to accommodate devices with components that would not fit type I or type II height. Examples are hard disk drive cards, and interface cards with full-size connectors that do not require dongles (as is commonly required with type II interface cards).

Type IV

Type-IV cards, introduced by Toshiba, have not been officially standardized or sanctioned by the PCMCIA. These cards are 16 mm thick. Toshiba Corporations headquarters (Center) in Hamamatsucho, Tokyo Toshiba Corporation sales by division for year ending March 31, 2005 Toshiba Corporation ) (TYO: 6502 ) is a Japanese multinational conglomerate manufacturing company, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. ... Portable Computer Cards (PC cards) are interchangeable peripherals designed to be inserted into laptop computers in order to enable extra hardware functions. ...

CardBus

CardBus are PCMCIA 5.0 or later (JEIDA 4.2 or later) 32-bit PCMCIA devices, introduced in 1995 and present in laptops from late 1997 onward. CardBus is effectively a 32-bit, 33 MHz PCI bus in the PC Card form factor. CardBus includes bus mastering, which allows a controller on the bus to talk to other devices or memory without going through the CPU. Many chipsets are available for both PCI and CardBus, such as those that support Wi-Fi. Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... This article is about the computer bus type. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... CPU redirects here. ... Official Wi-Fi logo Wi-Fi (pronounced wye-fye, IPA: ) is a wireless technology brand owned by the Wi-Fi Alliance intended to improve the interoperability of wireless local area network products based on the IEEE 802. ...

The notch on the left hand front of the device is slightly shallower on a CardBus device, so a 32-bit device cannot be plugged into a slot that can only accept 16-bit devices. Most new slots are compatible with both CardBus and the original 16-bit PC Card devices.

The speed of CardBus interfaces in 32 bit burst mode depends on the transfer type; in byte mode it is 33 MB/s, in Word mode it is 66 MB/s, and in DWord mode it is 132 MB/s.

CardBay

CardBay is a variant added to the PCMCIA specification in 2001. This was intended to add some forward compatibility with USB and IEEE 1394, but was not universally adopted and only some notebooks support CardBay features in their PC Card controllers. Note: USB may also mean upper sideband in radio. ... A 6-Pin Firewire 400 connector FireWire (also known as i. ...

Descendants and variants

The interface has spawned a generation of flash memory cards that set out to improve on the size and features of Type I cards: CompactFlash, MiniCard and SmartMedia. For example, the PC Card electrical specification is also used for CompactFlash, so a PC Card CompactFlash adapter need only be a socket adapter. A 32 MB High Speed CompactFlash Type I card CompactFlash (CF) was originally developed as a type of data storage device used in portable electronic devices. ... Miniature Card or MiniCard is a flash memory storage card standard first promoted by Intel Corp. ... A 128MB SmartMedia flash memory card. ... A 32 MB High Speed CompactFlash Type I card CompactFlash (CF) was originally developed as a type of data storage device used in portable electronic devices. ... A socket generally designates a cavity or region used for fitting and connecting some specific device. ...

ExpressCard is a later specification from the PCMCIA, intended as a replacement for PC Card, built around the PCI Express and USB 2.0 standards. The PC Card standard is closed to further development and PCMCIA strongly encourages future product designs to utilize the ExpressCard interface. As of 2007, the majority of laptops now ship with only ExpressCard slots or neither slot type (leaving expansion to USB and Firewire only), though the Lenovo Thinkpad T60 and Z60m, among other models, currently ships with both CardBus and ExpressCard slots. ExpressCard is a hardware standard replacing PC cards (also known as PCMCIA cards), both developed by the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association. ... PCI Express (formerly known as 3GIO for 3rd Generation I/O, not to be mistaken with PCI-X) is an implementation of the PCI computer bus that uses existing PCI programming concepts and communications standards, but bases it on a much faster serial communications system. ... USB redirects here. ... Note: USB may also mean upper sideband in radio. ... The 6-pin and 4-pin FireWire Connectors The alternative ethernet-style cabling used by 1394c FireWire is Apple Inc. ... IBM ThinkPad R51 ThinkPad is the brand name for a range of portable laptop and notebook computers originally designed and sold by IBM. Since early 2005 the ThinkPad range has been manufactured and marketed by Lenovo, which purchased the IBM PC division. ... ThinkPad Z60m is the second model in the Lenovo ThinkPad Z series which, as of May 2006, consists of the Z60t and Z60m. ...

ExpressCard and CardBus sockets are physically and electrically incompatible. Therefore, a simple mechanical adapter between the two formats is infeasible.^[2] However, Duel Systems has developed a general-purpose adapter that electrically and physically adapts PC Card and CardBus devices to operate in ExpressCard slots [1]. Duel Systems has also developed a forwards-compatible ExpressCard-to-CardBus adapter, though it is limited to USB-based ExpressCard devices [2].

Card Information Structure

The Card Information Structure (CIS) is information stored on a PC card that contains information about the formatting and organisation of the data on the card.^[3] The CIS also contains information about: The PCMCIA is the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, an industry trade association that creates standards for notebook computer peripheral devices. ...

When a card is unrecognised it is frequently because the CIS information is either lost or damaged.

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