PCI slot versions ( hey Bill ! )

Hi Gang !

Keep in mind a couple of things when trying to install a "newer" PCI slot
card into an old computer.

There are different versions of PCI slots. I'm not going to go into detail
here, you would be better served by googling the issue on the internet.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=pci+slot+version

They all *look* alike, but are not the same electrically.

But a USB card "may" not work in our ancient Packard Bell computers. I
really don't know what version of PCI PB boards have, but it's going to be
pretty old, and may not support newer cards. I have run into this in the
past, with PCI cards that simply don't work in an ancient PCI board.

And Bill, I suspect this is why the Ethernet card you installed in your PB
would not allow the computer to boot up. I kept forgetting to mention this.

So be very careful when purchasing a USB 2.0 card for your old PB. It may
not work.

bobwatts


--
boBWatts®©
EartH
Watts Carburetion Service
Whizzbang Computers
Official collector of: transfat asian plastic junk trinkets !

For the most part, if a USB 2.0 PCI card comes with Windows 98 drivers, the odds
are pretty good that it will work. Not 100%, but pretty good still.

As for Ethernet cards, I have long used Intel-branded ones when needed. Intel
provides Windows 98 (hence also Windows 95) drivers plus good Windows-based
diagnostics. I still have a pile of 3COM 3c905 10/100 Ethernet cards here, too,
to go with my pile of Intel cards. I am lukearm about them, though, because
3COM is not all that much of a company these days, and its focus has turned away
from nuts-and-bolts Ethernet gear.

There are Linksys, D-Link, Netgear and all the other cheapo Ethernet cards now
sold in mass market stores. I would not give one to my worst enemy, especially
if he/she was running Windows 98... Ben Myers

On Sun, 13 Jul 2008 09:06:03 -0400, "Robert E. Watts" <>
wrote:

>Hi Gang !
>
>Keep in mind a couple of things when trying to install a "newer" PCI slot
>card into an old computer.
>
>There are different versions of PCI slots. I'm not going to go into detail
>here, you would be better served by googling the issue on the internet.
>
>http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=pci+slot+version
>
>They all *look* alike, but are not the same electrically.
>
>But a USB card "may" not work in our ancient Packard Bell computers. I
>really don't know what version of PCI PB boards have, but it's going to be
>pretty old, and may not support newer cards. I have run into this in the
>past, with PCI cards that simply don't work in an ancient PCI board.
>
>And Bill, I suspect this is why the Ethernet card you installed in your PB
>would not allow the computer to boot up. I kept forgetting to mention this.
>
>So be very careful when purchasing a USB 2.0 card for your old PB. It may
>not work.
>
>bobwatts

One further comment. Although the PCI slots all look the same (and ARE
physically identical), the version of PCI slot depends on the motherboard
chipset. So to know for sure, see what the motherboard chipset is, then look up
the specs for the chipset. There are 64-bit PCI slots, too, but they are found
almost exclusively on servers which can also take advantage of 64-bit SCSI and
network cards for greater throughput.

Same with USB versions, although the dividing line between USB 1.1 and USB 2.0
is a little more clear cut. Odds are near 100% that a Pentium 3 or earlier has
USB 1.1. Socket 423 P4s are USB 1.1. Socket 478 P4s are largely USB 2.0.

.... Ben Myers

On Sun, 13 Jul 2008 09:06:03 -0400, "Robert E. Watts" <>
wrote:

>Hi Gang !
>
>Keep in mind a couple of things when trying to install a "newer" PCI slot
>card into an old computer.
>
>There are different versions of PCI slots. I'm not going to go into detail
>here, you would be better served by googling the issue on the internet.
>
>http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=pci+slot+version
>
>They all *look* alike, but are not the same electrically.
>
>But a USB card "may" not work in our ancient Packard Bell computers. I
>really don't know what version of PCI PB boards have, but it's going to be
>pretty old, and may not support newer cards. I have run into this in the
>past, with PCI cards that simply don't work in an ancient PCI board.
>
>And Bill, I suspect this is why the Ethernet card you installed in your PB
>would not allow the computer to boot up. I kept forgetting to mention this.
>
>So be very careful when purchasing a USB 2.0 card for your old PB. It may
>not work.
>
>bobwatts

On My experience with PCI cards and Pacvkard Bell:
On my old Corner unit with the 68x motherboard I installed a
Linksys Ethernrt PCI . When I called my ISP, BellSouth they told me to
upgrade the computer. It has Windows 95, 128 meg 233 mhz. I was having
issues...could get the BellSouth page but not sign on. They said that
it would not work with Windows 95. Needless to say, I was getting the
sign on page but was having difficulties. Well fooling with it, it
eventually worked and continues to do so. It works just fine. It is no
speed demon by any means but does what I need .
Regarding the PCI issue I am having, It is with a Linksys
wireless adapter card with the screw on antenna. To elaborate on my
situation about my other PB computers and the deal about installing
the wireless PCI adapter card. The one computer has windows 98 , one
has Windows 95 and one has XP. I did this just to verify it was not or
did not seem to be an OS problem. None would recognize it, that is
when turned on would not boot. No video no clicking of the hard drive
nothing. These systems have the PB bios and the Mr. BIOS bios
respectively. All three locked ....nothing....at power up. I put the
wireless adapter card into the gateway with XP it worked fine.

Bill

Hi Bill !

<ss454_@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:92d2c9fa-a222-404a-bab9-
> Regarding the PCI issue I am having, It is with a Linksys
> wireless adapter card with the screw on antenna. To elaborate on my
> situation about my other PB computers and the deal about installing
> the wireless PCI adapter card. The one computer has windows 98 , one
> has Windows 95 and one has XP. I did this just to verify it was not or
> did not seem to be an OS problem. None would recognize it, that is
> when turned on would not boot. No video no clicking of the hard drive
> nothing. These systems have the PB bios and the Mr. BIOS bios
> respectively. All three locked ....nothing....at power up. I put the
> wireless adapter card into the gateway with XP it worked fine.
>


Right. Which leads me to believe the Linksys wireless PCI adapter is
probably a version of PCI that the PB will not be able to use/recognize.

That is why the computer is not able to boot up.

bob

I concur with Bob Watts. And you may be better off with an older 802.11b PCI
card, if you can still find one. Another possibility is to use a PCI card with
a PCMCIA slot, then install a PCMICA wifi card. PCI-PCMCIA cards had some
popularity back when the only wifi equipment available was PCMCIA, ostensibly
for laptops which were supposedly the only computers that would need wifi. Since
then, of course, a lot of people use PCI wifi cards as an alternative to very
expensive or unsightly Ethernet wiring. On the other hand, I have dealt with
serious issues, both in homes and in offices, where the proliferation of nearby
wifi access points made wifi unrelaible. In one case, I converted an office
with 5 computers from all wifi to all Ethernet Cat 5.

I do NOT recommend trying a USB wifi adapter.

Hardware made conforming to the PCI spec is supposed to be upwards, downwards
and sidewards compatible, but it clearly is not any more... Ben Myers

On Sun, 13 Jul 2008 07:40:51 -0700 (PDT), ss454_@hotmail.com wrote:

>On My experience with PCI cards and Pacvkard Bell:
> On my old Corner unit with the 68x motherboard I installed a
>Linksys Ethernrt PCI . When I called my ISP, BellSouth they told me to
>upgrade the computer. It has Windows 95, 128 meg 233 mhz. I was having
>issues...could get the BellSouth page but not sign on. They said that
>it would not work with Windows 95. Needless to say, I was getting the
>sign on page but was having difficulties. Well fooling with it, it
>eventually worked and continues to do so. It works just fine. It is no
>speed demon by any means but does what I need .
> Regarding the PCI issue I am having, It is with a Linksys
>wireless adapter card with the screw on antenna. To elaborate on my
>situation about my other PB computers and the deal about installing
>the wireless PCI adapter card. The one computer has windows 98 , one
>has Windows 95 and one has XP. I did this just to verify it was not or
>did not seem to be an OS problem. None would recognize it, that is
>when turned on would not boot. No video no clicking of the hard drive
>nothing. These systems have the PB bios and the Mr. BIOS bios
>respectively. All three locked ....nothing....at power up. I put the
>wireless adapter card into the gateway with XP it worked fine.
>
>Bill

On Jul 13, 12:49 pm, Ben Myers <ben_myers_spam_me_...@charter.net>
wrote:
> I concur with Bob Watts. And you may be better off with an older 802.11b PCI
> card, if you can still find one. Another possibility is to use a PCI card with
> a PCMCIA slot, then install a PCMICA wifi card. PCI-PCMCIA cards had some
> popularity back when the only wifi equipment available was PCMCIA, ostensibly
> for laptops which were supposedly the only computers that would need wifi. Since
> then, of course, a lot of people use PCI wifi cards as an alternative to very
> expensive or unsightly Ethernet wiring. On the other hand, I have dealt with
> serious issues, both in homes and in offices, where the proliferation of nearby
> wifi access points made wifi unrelaible. In one case, I converted an office
> with 5 computers from all wifi to all Ethernet Cat 5.
>
> I do NOT recommend trying a USB wifi adapter.
>
> Hardware made conforming to the PCI spec is supposed to be upwards, downwards
> and sidewards compatible, but it clearly is not any more... Ben Myers
>
> On Sun, 13 Jul 2008 07:40:51 -0700 (PDT), ss4...@hotmail.com wrote:
> >On My experience with PCI cards and Pacvkard Bell:
> > On my old Corner unit with the 68x motherboard I installed a
> >Linksys Ethernrt PCI . When I called my ISP, BellSouth they told me to
> >upgrade the computer. It has Windows 95, 128 meg 233 mhz. I was having
> >issues...could get the BellSouth page but not sign on. They said that
> >it would not work with Windows 95. Needless to say, I was getting the
> >sign on page but was having difficulties. Well fooling with it, it
> >eventually worked and continues to do so. It works just fine. It is no
> >speed demon by any means but does what I need .
> > Regarding the PCI issue I am having, It is with a Linksys
> >wireless adapter card with the screw on antenna. To elaborate on my
> >situation about my other PB computers and the deal about installing
> >the wireless PCI adapter card. The one computer has windows 98 , one
> >has Windows 95 and one has XP. I did this just to verify it was not or
> >did not seem to be an OS problem. None would recognize it, that is
> >when turned on would not boot. No video no clicking of the hard drive
> >nothing. These systems have the PB bios and the Mr. BIOS bios
> >respectively. All three locked ....nothing....at power up. I put the
> >wireless adapter card into the gateway with XP it worked fine.
>
> >Bill

I have 802..1 on my computer
My daughther has 802.1g


Besides video files my 802.1.b does job ok
Back to the beach