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    Aspire 5102 PCI Card Question

    Discussion in 'Acer' started by thenut, Jan 9, 2007.

  1. thenut

    thenut Notebook Consultant

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    Please forgive the noob questions....I'm still pretty new to Laptops.

    Anyway, I've had my 5102 for around 5 months, and only now did I decide to see what was inside the "PC Card" (PCMCIA?) slot on the front left side of the machine. (I know, pretty bad huh?) :rolleyes:

    It has a black 'eject button' that pops out, and then I was able to slide out an empty black plastic frame.

    Ok...forgive me, but now I'm confused. :confused:

    I thought that would be either the Wireless Card or maybe a Modem Card, but instead it's just an empty plastic 'frame' in there.


    So, a few questions.
    1. I take it then, the wireless is 'built in' (device manager says it's an "Atheros AR5005G" or whatever).

    2. What if my wireless went bad and I needed to replace it?) Is this where the empty PCMCI "Card Slot" comes in?
    In other words, can you buy a Wireless Card that fits in that slot, and then disable the on-board Wireless?

    3. So if I already have a built in Wireless card, and apparently a built in Modem, (and also a built in 5 in 1 Card reader), what would I ever use that PC Card slot for?
    Last but not least, what is that empty plastic frame? Just a filler?
    Or, would the Card go inside the frame if I ever used one.

    Again, sorry for the stupid questions, but I don't know much about this thing.
     
    thenut, Jan 9, 2007
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  2. vespoli

    vespoli 402 NBR Reviewer

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    1.) Yes, it's built in. You have a mini-pci slot on the motherboard and a mini-pci wireless card plugged in.
    2.) You can either get a pc card wireless adapter or replace the internal wireless card. (they rarely go bad though)
    3.) Sound cards, expansion ports, mobile broadband, etc.
    4.) The plastic card is simply a dummy filler card, if you get a real pc card it will take the place of the plastic dummy.
     
    vespoli, Jan 9, 2007
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  3. thenut

    thenut Notebook Consultant

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    Thank you for the quick reply vespoli!

    I fell pretty dumb asking that stuff, but at least I'm a little smarter than I was before I asked.....thanks to you. :)

    Appreciate it.
     
    thenut, Jan 9, 2007
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  4. vespoli

    vespoli 402 NBR Reviewer

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    You're welcome :)

    Just remember, we're here to help and that everyone here, even Chaz ;) (maybe when he was like 6 months old :D ) didn't know anything about computers.

    Hang around, ask questions and you'll learn a lot!
     
    vespoli, Jan 9, 2007
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