What are the different card types (Type I, II and III)?
The PC Card Standard provides physical specifications for three types of PC Cards, with additional provisions for extended cards. All three card types measure the same length and width and use the same 68-pin connector.
Because they differ only in thickness and not electrical/software interface, a thinner card can be used in a thicker slot, but a thicker card can not be used in a thinner slot. Only the mechanical size of the larger card prevents it from fitting into the smaller slot.
+==========+=========+=========+====================================+
| | Length | Width | Thickness | Typical Usage*
+==========+=========+=========+===========+========================+
| Type I | 85.6 mm | 54.0 mm | 3.3 mm | Memory (SRAM,Flash,etc)
+----------+---------+---------+-----------+------------------------+
| Type II | " | " | 5.0 mm | I/O (Modem,LAN,etc)
+----------+---------+---------+-----------+------------------------+
| Type III | " | " | 10.5 mm | Rotating Mass Storage
+----------+---------+---------+-----------+------------------------+
* While any card can theoretically be used for any device, due to their size differences, the card types each fit the needs of different applications.
For more about the content of the PC Card Standard, see "A Detailed Overview of the PC Card Standard".
How can I tell if I have a CardBus slot?
The CardBus specification was released in 1995. Typically, any device manufactured before the second half of 1997 will almost certainly not have a CardBus capable slot.
On Windows Based Laptop PCs:
Access the 'Device Manager' by the means appropriate to the version of Windows installed. Typically right clicking on the computer icon 'My Computer', selecting the 'Hardware' tab, and clicking the 'Device Manager' button will present the device manager dialog. Scroll to locate an entry entitled 'PCMCIA socket' or 'PCMCIA adapter.' Expand the entry and read the device string that is displayed (two slot machines have two entries). If the string contains the term 'CardBus Controller', then it has a CardBus bridge and you can utilize CardBus PC Cards. Otherwise, the slot is a 16-bit slot and cannot use CardBus Cards. Many manufacturers make CardBus controllers, which would appear in the 'Device Manager.' Here are some PCMCIA adapter listings that are examples of CardBus controllers: Toshiba ToPIC97 CardBus Controller; Texas Instruments PCI-1420 CardBus Controller; Ricoh RL5C466 CardBus Controller; O2Micro OZ6832/6833 CardBus Controller.
In addition to the PC Card Standard, PCMCIA has available a number of books related to the design and development of PC Card products and software.
PCMCIA Information
Frequently Asked Questions
