PC Card

Many notebooks in the 1990s had two adjacent type-II slots, which allowed installation of two type-II cards or one, double-thickness, type-III card. The cards were also used in early digital SLR cameras, such as the Kodak DCS 300 series. However, their original use as storage expansion is no longer common.

Some manufacturers such as Dell continued to offer them into 2012 on their ruggedized XFR notebooks.{{Citation |title=How To Connect PC To TV |url=https://www.crooshop.com/2018/09/how-to-connect-pc-to-tv.html |contribution=crooshop |place=US |publisher=crooshop |access-date=2018-12-24 |archive-date=2020-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200505063632/https://www.crooshop.com/2018/09/how-to-connect-pc-to-tv.html |url-status=dead }}

Mercedes-Benz used a PCMCIA card reader in the W221 S-Class for model years 2006-2009. It was used for reading media files such as MP3 audio files to play through the COMAND infotainment system. After 2009, it was replaced with a standard SD Card reader.

{{As of|2013}}, some vehicles from Honda equipped with a navigation system still included a PC Card reader integrated into the audio system.

Some Japanese brand consumer entertainment devices such as TV sets include a PC Card slot for playback of media.{{cite web |title=PRO-1130HD - 50" Class (49.66" Diagonal) Elite® PureVision Plasma Displayvision | Pioneer Electronics USA |url=http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/Plasma/PRO-1130HD |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215030946/http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/Plasma/PRO-1130HD |archive-date=2018-02-15 |access-date=2016-01-16}} Pioneer PRO-1130HD information page, Retrieved 16 January 2016.

Adapters for PC Cards to Personal Computer ISA slots were available when these technologies were current. Cardbus adapters for PCI slots have been made. These adapters were sometimes used to fit Wireless (802.11) PCMCIA cards into desktop computers with PCI slots.{{cite web |date=15 March 2007 |title=Re: PCI SLOT |url=http://homecommunity.cisco.com/t5/Wireless-Adapters/PCI-SLOT/m-p/58789 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305044459/http://homecommunity.cisco.com/t5/Wireless-Adapters/PCI-SLOT/m-p/58789 |archive-date=5 March 2012 |access-date=9 May 2018 |website=cisco.com}}

The Taito G-NET arcade hardware, based on the original PlayStation, uses PC Card as a software distribution method to allow games to be replaced without total replacement of the arcade board.{{cite web |title=Taito G-NET System Hardware |url=https://www.system16.com/hardware.php?id=672 |website=System 16 |access-date=27 January 2025}} Konami also used the PC Card on their System 573 hardware, also based on the original PlayStation, for similar purposes.{{cite web |last1=Broyad |first1=Tobi |title=KONAMI BEMANI SYSTEM 573 ANALOG HARDWARE |url=https://www.system16.com/hardware.php?id=822 |website=System 16: The Arcade Museum |access-date=20 February 2023}}{{cite web |last1=Broyad |first1=Tobi |title=KONAMI BEMANI SYSTEM 573 DIGITAL HARDWARE |url=https://www.system16.com/hardware.php?id=823 |website=System 16: The Arcade Museum |access-date=20 February 2023}} PlayStation 2 models 10000, 15000 and 18000 shipped with a PC Card slot instead of the Expansion Bay; these models require an external hard disk drive (SCPH-20400) that connects through the PC Card port, instead of an internal IDE port of the Expansion Bay.

File:Accton-etherpocket-sp-parallel-port-ethernet-adapter.jpg Etherpocket-SP parallel port Ethernet adapter ({{Circa|1990}}). Supports both coaxial (10BASE2) and twisted pair (10BASE-T) cables. Power is drawn from a PS/2 port passthrough cable.]]

Before the introduction of the PCMCIA card, the parallel port was commonly used for portable peripherals.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x2Fa5SDi0G8C&pg=PA279|first1=O. Ryan|last1=Tabibian|via=Google Books|publisher=PC Mag|title=What Did We Do Before PCMCIA?|date=21 December 1993 |page=279}}

The PCMCIA 1.0 card standard was published by the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association in November 1990 and was soon adopted by more than eighty vendors.{{Cite book|title=PCMCIA optimal nutzen|trans-title=Using PCMCIA optimally|first=Hermann|last=Strass|publisher=Franzis-Verlag GmbH, Poing|date=1994|isbn=3-7723-6652-X|id=9-783772-366529|language=de}}

{{Cite book|title=PC-Card Anwender-Lösungen|trans-title=Solutions for PC Card users|first=Bernd|last=Mielke|publisher=Franzis-Verlag GmbH, Feldkirchen|date=1997|isbn=3-7723-4313-9|id=9-783772-343131|language=de}} It corresponds with the Japanese JEIDA memory card 4.0 standard. It was originally developed to support Memory cards.{{cite magazine | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x2Fa5SDi0G8C&dq=PCMCIA+september+1989&pg=PA264 | title=Power and Potential - PCMCIA : An inside look |magazine=PC Mag|first=Oliver|last=Rist|volume=12|issue=22|page=263| date=21 December 1993|via=Google Books}}

Intel authored the Exchangable Card Architecture (ExCA) specification, but later merged this into the PCMCIA.{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x2Fa5SDi0G8C&pg=PA269|magazine=PC Mag|page=269|title=PCMCIA's System Architecture|first1=Nick|last1=Stam|date=21 December 1993|volume=12|issue=22|via=Google Books}}

SanDisk (operating at the time as "SunDisk") launched its PCMCIA card in October 1992. The company was the first to introduce a writeable Flash RAM card for the HP 95LX (an early MS-DOS pocket computer). These cards conformed to a supplemental PCMCIA-ATA standard that allowed them to appear as more conventional IDE hard drives to the 95LX or a PC. This had the advantage of raising the upper limit on capacity to the full 32 MB available under DOS 3.22 on the 95LX.{{cite web | url = http://www.hpmuseum.net/pdf/TheHPPalmtopPaper_V2N1_60pgs_Jan-Feb93_OCR.pdf | title = HP Palmtop Paper | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160427102307/http://www.hpmuseum.net/pdf/TheHPPalmtopPaper_V2N1_60pgs_Jan-Feb93_OCR.pdf | archive-date = 2016-04-27 }}

New Media Corporation was one of the first companies established for the express purpose of manufacturing PC Cards; they became a major OEM for laptop manufacturers such as Toshiba and Compaq for PC Card products.{{cite journal | last=Lyster | first=Michael | date=October 30, 1995 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/211037385/ | title=Circuit board maker at critical juncture | journal=Orange County Business Journal | publisher=American City Business Journals | volume=18 | issue=44 | page=1 | via=ProQuest}}

It soon became clear that the PCMCIA card standard needed expansion to support "smart" I/O cards to address the emerging need for fax, modem, LAN, harddisk and floppy disk cards. It also needed interrupt facilities and hot plugging, which required the definition of new BIOS and operating system interfaces. This led to the introduction of release 2.0 of the PCMCIA standard and JEIDA 4.1 in September 1991, which saw corrections and expansion with Card Services (CS) in the PCMCIA 2.1 standard in November 1992.

To recognize increased scope beyond memory, and to aid in marketing, the association acquired the rights to the simpler term "PC Card" from IBM. This was the name of the standard from version 2 of the specification onwards. These cards were used for wireless networks, modems, and other functions in notebook PCs.

After the release of PCIe-based ExpressCard in 2003, laptop manufacturers started to fit ExpressCard slots to new laptops instead of PC Card slots.

file:IBM PCMCIA Data-Fax Modem V.34 FRU 42H4326-8920.jpg V.34 data/fax modem, manufactured by TDK]]

All PC Card devices use a similar sized package which is {{convert|85.6|mm}} long and {{convert|54.0|mm}} wide, the same size as a credit card.{{cite book| last= Mueller| first= Scott| title= Upgrading and repairing PCs| year= 1999| publisher= Que| location= Indianapolis, IN| isbn= 0-7897-1903-7| edition= 11th| pages= [https://archive.org/details/upgradingrepairi00muel_1/page/1236 1236–41]| url= https://archive.org/details/upgradingrepairi00muel_1/page/1236}}

; Type I: Cards designed to the original specification (PCMCIA 1.0) are type I and have a 16-bit interface. They are {{convert|3.3|mm}} thick and have a dual row of 34 holes (68 in total) along a short edge as a connecting interface. Type-I PC Card devices are typically used for memory devices such as RAM, flash memory, OTP (One-Time Programmable), and SRAM cards.

; Type II: introduced with version 2.0 of the standard.{{cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x2Fa5SDi0G8C&dq=PCMCIA+september+1989&pg=PA264 | title=PC Mag | date=21 December 1993 }} Type-II and above PC Card devices use two rows of 34 sockets, and have a 16- or 32-bit interface. They are {{convert|5.0|mm}} thick. Type-II cards introduced I/O support, allowing devices to attach an array of peripherals or to provide connectors/slots to interfaces for which the host computer had no built-in support. For example, many modem, network, and TV cards accept this configuration. Due to their thinness, most Type II interface cards have miniature interface connectors on the card connecting to a dongle, a short cable that adapts from the card's miniature connector to an external full-size connector. Some cards instead have a lump on the end with the connectors. This is more robust and convenient than a separate adapter but can block the other slot where slots are present in a pair. Some Type II cards, most notably network interface and modem cards, have a retractable jack, which can be pushed into the card and will pop out when needed, allowing insertion of a cable from above. When use of the card is no longer needed, the jack can be pushed back into the card and locked in place, protecting it from damage. Most network cards have their jack on one side, while most modems have their jack on the other side, allowing the use of both at the same time as they do not interfere with each other. Wireless Type II cards often had a plastic shroud that jutted out from the end of the card to house the antenna. In the mid-90s, PC Card Type II hard disk drive cards became available; previously, PC Card hard disk drives were only available in Type III.{{cite magazine | magazine = Infoworld | date = October 10, 1994 | pages = 44 | title = Maxtor drive adds to portable options, MobileMax Lite will ship in '95 }}

; Type III: introduced with version 2.01 of the standard in 1992.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DRAwiFbU1QAC&dq=pcmcia+release+2.01&pg=PT672 | title=CompTIA A+ Complete Study Guide: Exams 220-801 and 220-802 | isbn=978-1-118-42165-9 | last1=Docter | first1=Quentin | last2=Dulaney | first2=Emmett | last3=Skandier | first3=Toby | date=17 September 2012 | publisher=John Wiley & Sons }} Type-III PC Card devices are 16-bit or 32-bit. These cards are {{convert|10.5|mm}} thick,{{cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x2Fa5SDi0G8C&dq=PCMCIA+september+1989&pg=PA264 | title=PC Mag | date=21 December 1993 }} allowing them to accommodate devices with components that would not fit type I or type II height. Examples are hard disk drive cards, and interface cards with full-size connectors that do not require dongles (as is commonly required with type II interface cards).

; Type IV: Type-IV cards, introduced by Toshiba, were not officially standardized or sanctioned by the PCMCIA. These cards are {{convert|16|mm}} thick.

file:PCCard CardBus.jpg

The original standard was defined for both 5 V and 3.3 volt cards, with 3.3 V cards having a key on the side to prevent them from being inserted fully into a 5 V-only slot. Some cards and some slots operate at both voltages as needed. The original standard was built around an 'enhanced' 16-bit ISA bus platform. A newer version of the PCMCIA standard is CardBus (see below), a 32-bit version of the original standard. In addition to supporting a wider bus of 32 bits (instead of the original 16), CardBus also supports bus mastering and operation speeds up to 33 MHz.

CardBus are PCMCIA 5.0 or later (JEIDA 4.2 or later) 32-bit PCMCIA devices, introduced in 1995 and present in laptops from late 1997 onward. CardBus is effectively a 32-bit, 33 MHz PCI bus in the PC Card design. CardBus supports bus mastering, which allows a controller on the bus to talk to other devices or memory without going through the CPU. Many chipsets, such as those that support Wi-Fi, are available for both PCI and CardBus.

The notch on the left hand front of the device is slightly shallower on a CardBus device so, by design, a 32-bit device cannot be plugged into earlier equipment supporting only 16-bit devices. Most new slots accept both CardBus and the original 16-bit PC Card devices. CardBus cards can be distinguished from older cards by the presence of a gold band with eight small studs on the top of the card next to the pin sockets.

The speed of CardBus interfaces in 32-bit burst mode depends on the transfer type: in byte mode, transfer is 33 MB/s; in word mode it is 66 MB/s; and in dword (double-word) mode 132 MB/s.

CardBay is a variant added to the PCMCIA specification introduced in 2001. It was intended to add some forward compatibility with USB and IEEE 1394, but was not universally adopted and only some notebooks have PC Card controllers with CardBay features. This is an implementation of Microsoft and Intel's joint Drive Bay initiative.

The card information structure (CIS) is metadata stored on a PC card that contains information about the formatting and organization of the data on the card.{{cite web|url=http://pcmcia-cs.sourceforge.net/ftp/doc/PCMCIA-PROG.html|title=Linux PCMCIA Programmer's Guide|website=pcmcia-cs.sourceforge.net|access-date=9 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117200347/http://pcmcia-cs.sourceforge.net/ftp/doc/PCMCIA-PROG.html|archive-date=17 January 2018}} The CIS also contains information such as:

• Type of card
• Supported power supply options
• Supported power saving capabilities
• Manufacturer
• Model number

When a card is unrecognized it is frequently because the CIS information is either lost or damaged.

ExpressCard is a later specification from the PCMCIA, intended as a replacement for PC Card, built around the PCI Express and USB 2.0 standards. The PC Card standard is closed to further development and PCMCIA strongly encourages future product designs to utilize the ExpressCard interface. From about 2006, ExpressCard slots replaced PCMCIA slots in laptop computers, with a few laptops having both in the transition period.

ExpressCard and CardBus sockets are physically and electrically incompatible.{{cite web | url = http://www.pcmcia.org/faq.htm#expresscard | title = PCMCIA Frequently Asked Questions | url-status = usurped | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061014224844/http://www.pcmcia.org/faq.htm#expresscard | archive-date = 2006-10-14 }} ExpressCard-to-CardBus and Cardbus-to-ExpressCard adapters are available that connect a Cardbus card to an Expresscard slot, or vice versa, and carry out the required electrical interfacing.{{cite web | url = http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=cardbus+expresscard&x=12&y=30 | title = Newegg.com product search results for CardBus ExpressCard | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090424090159/http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=cardbus+expresscard&x=12&y=30 | archive-date = 2009-04-24 }} These adapters do not handle older non-Cardbus PCMCIA cards.

PC Card devices can be plugged into an ExpressCard adaptor, which provides a PCI-to-PCIe Bridge.

Despite being much faster in speed/bandwidth, ExpressCard was not as popular as PC Card, due in part to the ubiquity of USB ports on modern computers. Most functionality provided by PC Card or ExpressCard devices is now available as an external USB device. These USB devices have the advantage of being compatible with desktop computers as well as portable devices. (Desktop computers were rarely fitted with a PC Card or ExpressCard slot.) This reduced the requirement for internal expansion slots; by 2011, many laptops had none.

Some IBM ThinkPad laptops took their onboard RAM (in sizes ranging from 4 to 16 MB) in the factor of an IC-DRAM Card. While very similar in form-factor, these cards did not go into a standard PC Card Slot, often being installed under the keyboard, for example. They also were not pin-compatible, as they had 88 pins but in two staggered rows, as opposed to even rows like PC Cards.{{cite web|url=http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/IC_DRAM_Card|title=IC DRAM Card - ThinkWiki|website=www.thinkwiki.org|access-date=9 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024043232/http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/IC_DRAM_Card|archive-date=24 October 2017}} These correspond to versions 1 and 2 of the JEIDA memory card standard.

The shape is also used by the Common Interface form of conditional-access modules for DVB, and by Panasonic for their professional "P2" video acquisition memory cards.

A CableCARD conditional-access module is a type II PC Card intended to be plugged into a cable set-top box or digital cable-ready television.

The interface has spawned a generation of flash memory cards that set out to improve on the size and features of Type I cards: CompactFlash, MiniCard, P2 Card and SmartMedia. For example, the PC Card electrical specification is also used for CompactFlash, so a PC Card CompactFlash adapter can be a passive physical adapter rather than requiring additional circuitry. CompactFlash is a smaller dimensioned 50 pin subset of the 68 pin PC Card interface. It requires a setting for the interface mode of either "memory" or "ATA storage".{{cn|date=October 2023}}

The EOMA68 open-source hardware standard uses the same 68-pin PC Card connectors and corresponds to the PC Card form factor in many other ways.{{ cite web | author = Ferdinand Thommes | url = https://www.ubuntu-user.com/Magazine/Archive/2014/21/Developing-free-hardware-using-Vivaldi-and-Improv-as-examples/(offset)/2 | title = Developing free hardware using Vivaldi and Improv as examples | work = Ubuntu User magazine | date = 2014 | accessdate = 2020-08-12 }}

• {{annotated link|List of device bandwidths}}
• {{annotated link|Mobile modem}}
• {{annotated link|XJACK}}
• {{annotated link|Zoomed video port}}

• {{Cite book|last=Anderson |first=Don |title=CardBus System Architecture |last2=Shanley |first2=Tom |date=1996 |publisher=Addison-Wesley|isbn=978-0-201-40997-0 |series=PC system architecture series |location=Reading, Mass}}
• {{Cite book |url=https://bitsavers.org/pdf/amd/pcmcia/AMD_PCMCIA_Training_Manual_Vol_1_1993.pdf |title=PCMCIA Training Manual - "An Introduction to Flash Memory PC Cards" |publisher=AMD |year=1993 |edition=1 |via=Bitsavers.org}}

{{refs}}

• {{web archive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/19971211120713/http://www.pc-card.com/|title=Official website}}
• {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090413214529/http://www.pcmcia.org/pccard.htm|title=PC Card primer, PCMCIA official website}}
• {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317012632/http://www.usb.org/developers/expresscard/EC_specifications/PC_Card_Standard_8.1.zip |date=March 17, 2018 |title=PC Card Standard Rev. 8.1, December 2002}}
• [http://www.hpcfactor.com/support/cesd/h/0037.asp Understanding PC Card, PCMCIA, Cardbus, 16-bit, 32-bit.]

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