no PCMCIA slot on my 1705?

yeah. I thought that that was as universal on notebooks as USB ports. I don't even remember seeing an option to get one when I ordered my 1705 back in july, so I assumed it was included. well now I am in a pickle. I have a nice new and shiny Linksys draft N PCMCIA card to nowhere to put it. not to mention I was going to order an audigy 2 sound card too. is there a way to add the slot for it or something? I do hace some kind of slot, but I was told it is PCI Xpress or something.

 

The slot you have is an ExpressCard slot. I believe some companies are working on an adapter to get PCMCIA cards to work in an ExpressCard slot. However don't hold your breath. Since ExpressCard came out PCMCIA has been going to the wayside as computer manufacturers base their laptops for the newer generation.

 

PC Card, CardBus, or PCMCIA slots were pretty much the standard fare on notebook computers, but it is now being replaced by the newer and much faster ExpressCard standard. While PC Card operates at 16-bit, CardBus at 32-bit and tied to a controller on the PCI Bus (running at 132MB/s max), ExpressCard are connected directly to the PCI Express x1 (500MB/s) or USB 2.0 (60MB/s), which offers greater flexibility.

Dell's latest Inspiron series - the E1405, E1505 and E1705, all comes with the ExpressCard|54 slot. Most newer notebook models (especially consumer models and thin-and-lights where space is at a premium) sold since the start of the year (2006) have pretty much ditched the older PCMCIA slot and only comes with an ExpressCard slot. Eventually everything will be made in the newer card format and the PCMCIA slot will go the way of the RS-232 Serial ports or the floppy disc drive. However, transition is still slow and since there are already a huge install base of notebooks with the PCMCIA slot, manufacturers are very slow to completely offer both PCMCIA and ExpressCard versions of their product.

There won't be any possible way to add the older PCMCIA slot onto your system I'm afraid, as there is no ExpressCard to PCMCIA adapters. There are a few rare USB to PCMCIA adapters, such as:
- PCD-X/U132-E being offered by Quatech ( spec sheet in .pdf format)

However, it is very expensive (US$200+), and seems like it was primarily designed to support WWAN Data cards (3G CDMA EV-DO or GSM UMTS/HSDPA), so you'll have to ask if it will support your WiFi Draft-N or Creative Sound Card.

If you want Draft-N support in your E1705, I suggest you look at getting the Dell Wireless 1500 Draft-n Mini-Card which supports the 802.11 Draft-n spec, and it'll replace you existing Mini PCI-Express WiFi card in your system (e.g. the Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG card which is the most common card shipped with any Centrino notebooks these days).

 

thanks guys. I went on dells site and found the Linksys usb card so I will be getting that. thanks again!