Driver Compatibility
Socket Services and Card Services
The key elements of the PCMCIA software architecture are the Socket
Services and the Card Services. Socket services comprise the
hardware-dependent software that controls the physical PCMCIA slots
(also called "sockets") controller hardware. They are BIOS-level
software interface that provides a way to access the PCMCIA slots of
a computer Socket Services, identify how many slots are in your
computer and detect the insertion or removal of a PCMCIA card when
the computer is power ON. Socket Services are part of the PCMCIA 2.0
specification and interfaces with Card Services. Card Services are
hardware-independent and are the software management interface that
automatically allocates the system resources, such as memory and IRQ,
once Socket Services detect that a PCMCIA card has been inserted in
a slot. Card Services also release these resources when the PCMCIA
card is removed. In addition, Card Services provide an interface to
higher level software to load needed hardware drivers.
Some vendors subdivide Card Services to Card Services and Client
Driver. Their function assignments are as follows. Card Service
allows "hot swap" of PCMCIA cards, manages their competition for
system resources and manages the PCMCIA card resources. Client Driver
communicates with PCMCIA hardware device drivers(such as the Ethernet
PCMCIA MAC-layer driver programs), registers with Card Services and
initializes the PCMCIA card upon its insertion in theslot. Generally,
a Client Driver is only necessary for PCMCIA cards such as network
adapters, which may require certain unique hardware resource
parameters such as I/O port address and IRQ numbers.
Client Drivers may not be required for such PCMCIA cards as RAM cards
or disk cards, which use universal hardware resource parameters
understood by the Card Services.
Driver Instasllation
The following provides only a guideline to load the Socket Services,
Card Services and the Client Driver (where required). For the exact
procedures, refer to the documents concerning the PCMCIA software of
your system, and the README file on this diskette.
A)For computers that provide Socket Services and Card Services in the
form of device drivers
1. Insert the PCMCIA Ethernet card in a slot.
2. Load a Client Driver program (Socket/Card Service providers).
3. Load the Enable program (Socket/Card Service providers or
EN190.EXE)
4. Load a MAC-layer driver program for your network operating
system.
B)For computers that do not have Socket Services and Card Services:
1. Insert the PCMCIA Ethernet card in a slot.
2. Execute the EN190.EXE program. This program allows you
specify parameters for system resource allocation (I/O port
address, IRQ,etc.)
3. Load a MAC-layer driver program for your network operating
system.
Note: The EN190.EXE does not include the Socket/Card Services. It
directly enables the PCMCIA Ethernet card, instead of going
through these Services. Without the functions of Socket/Card
Services, the card must be enabled every time when it is
plugged in the systems.
Basically, the MAC-layer driver for PCMCIA Ethernet adapter is
compatible to NE2000 once the "Enable program" is invoked. We provide
many kinds of drivers, including NetWare ODI driver, NDIS driver,
NDIS driver for WFW311, Packet Driver and Windows 95 driver, for your
convenience. You can use either our driver in the diskette or any
compatible driver in your hand. However, if you need a driver we do
not support in the diskette, you can ask your dealers for the updated
driver information or ask the vendor of PCMCIA card reader for Socket
/Card services device drivers for your specific operating system, and
then you can use any compatible drivers in your hand for this PCMCIA
Ethernet adapter.
Download Driver Pack
After your driver has been downloaded, follow these simple steps to install it.
Expand the archive file (if the download file is in zip or rar format).
If the expanded file has an .exe extension, double click it and follow the installation instructions.
Otherwise, open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting Device Manager.
Find the device and model you want to update in the device list.
Double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.
From the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab.
Click the Update Driver button, then follow the instructions.
Very important: You must reboot your system to ensure that any driver updates have taken effect.
For more help, visit our Driver Support section for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.