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Using Cards

Dell™ Latitude™ D530 User's Guide

  Card Types

  Card Blanks

  Extended Cards

  Installing a PC Card or ExpressCard

  Removing a Card or Blank


Card Types

See Specifications for information on supported PC Cards.

1

54-mm ExpressCard (not supported by your computer)

2

34-mm ExpressCard (supported, with an adapter)

3

PC Card (supported by your computer)

 

 

NOTE: A PC Card is not a bootable device.

The PC Card slot has one connector that supports a single Type I or Type II card. The PC Card slot supports CardBus technology and extended PC Cards. Type of card refers to its thickness, not its functionality.

Card Blanks

Your computer shipped with a plastic blank installed in the card slot. Blanks protect unused slots from dust and other particles. Save the blank for use when no card is installed in the slot; blanks from other computers may not fit your computer.

To remove the blank, see Removing a Card or Blank.

Extended Cards

An extended card (for example, a wireless network adapter) is longer than a standard card and extends outside the computer. Follow these precautions when using extended cards:

Installing a PC Card or ExpressCard

You can install a PC Card or a 34-mm ExpressCard (with an adapter) in the computer while the computer is running. The computer automatically detects the card.

Cards are generally marked with a symbol (such as a triangle or an arrow) to indicate which end to insert into the slot. The cards are keyed to prevent incorrect insertion. If card orientation is not clear, see the documentation that came with the card.

CAUTION: Before you begin any of the procedures in this section, follow the safety instructions in the Product Information Guide.

To install a PC Card:

  1. Hold the card with its orientation symbol pointing into the slot and the top side of the card facing up. The latch may need to be in the in position before you insert the card.

  2. Slide the card into the slot until the card is completely seated in its connector.

If you encounter too much resistance, do not force the card. Check the card orientation and try again.

The computer recognizes most PC Cards and automatically loads the appropriate device driver. If the configuration program tells you to load the manufacturer's drivers, use the floppy disk or CD that came with the PC Card.

To install an ExpressCard:

NOTE: Your computer supports a 34-mm ExpressCard only with the use of an adapter. Your computer does not support the use of 54-mm ExpressCards.
  1. With the 34-mm ExpressCard inserted into its adapter, hold the card with its orientation symbol pointing into the PC Card/ExpressCard slot and the top side of the card facing up. The latch may need to be in the in position before you insert the card.

  1. Slide the adapter into the card slot until the adapter is completely seated in its connector.

If you encounter too much resistance, do not force the adapter. Check the ExpressCard and adapter orientation and try again.

The computer recognizes most cards and automatically loads the appropriate device driver. If the configuration program tells you to load the manufacturer's drivers, use the floppy disk or CD that came with the card.

Removing a Card or Blank

CAUTION: Before you begin any of the procedures in this section, follow the safety instructions in your Product Information Guide.
NOTICE: Click the icon in the taskbar to select a card and stop it from functioning before you remove it from the computer. If you do not stop the card in the configuration utility, you could lose data. Do not attempt to eject a card by pulling its cable, if one is attached.

Press the release latch and remove the card or blank. For some release latches, you must press the latch twice: once to pop the latch out, and then a second time to pop the card out.

Save a blank to use when no PC Card is installed in a slot. Blanks protect unused slots from dust and other particles.

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