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General discussion

Card slots not working

Jan 27, 2005 9:55AM PST

A few months ago I left my laptop on the couch with the wireless access card in the port and one of my kids knocked it on the floor. It landed on the side of the wireless access card and the port hasn't worked since. I bought a new card and even it didn't work. Is there any way I can fix this and if not what can I expect to pay to have it repaired? I ask because if it's going to cost too much to fix I would probably just get a new one.

Thanks

Discussion is locked

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Two common methods...
Jan 27, 2005 9:59AM PST

1. Find a motherboard or Ebay.
2. Try a repair place like notefix.com

The right repair place is the machine's make and runs about 500 on average for the new motherboard.

Bob

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Forgot to mention...
Jan 27, 2005 10:02AM PST

I ordered some "Wavebuddy" USB 1.1 802.11b wifi dongle yesterday for under 20 bucks. I find these doohickeys to be quite useful. That brand name is a no-name, but the same make cards work so well I ordered these to have around the office.

Bob

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RE: Forgot to mention...
Jan 27, 2005 10:30AM PST

Yeah I was looking into that too, but the whole reason I wanted to get a laptop was to be able to use it in the bed at nights or whatever. A USB connection would be pretty bulky I think!

Thanks

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Look again. This one was very small...
Jan 27, 2005 10:43AM PST
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D-link USB wi-fi cards smaller than PC cards
Jan 27, 2005 3:41PM PST

The Dlink USB wi-fi card I have seen are smaller than the PCcard wi-fi (although not as thin as a credit card.

This is expressly of course why you want internal wi-fi which all notebooks now at $1,000 --and even some slipping below that price -- have.

Make sure you get a 54G card to get better stability and speed than b.

If you do decide to get a new notebook make sure you get the new Sonoma Pentium M standard as they have upgraded a lot including the wi-fi (less interference and now includes a as well as b and g) -- see the Dell 6000 for example.

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Repairable
Jan 27, 2005 8:55PM PST

This is repairable as long as the traces arent pulled from the board. Weve done a few of them and they can be done just takes time. You shuld have this fixed as the PCMCIA card leads pulling from the board could float around and short somthing more.. (Vid, CPU, Or worse.. Board replacement)..What make and model laptop? Some are easier than others...