DATALINKS: PC CARD INFORMATION - SOFTWARE FOR PC CARDS

This section "does not really apply" to digital media & use of memory cards in digital cameras although much of the software originally developed for PC Cards is used in some form or another for memory card recognition in a digital camera and desktop or notebook computer or handheld device.

You may see some of this software in the configuration files of your PC. We recommend you DO NOT CHANGE any of it unless done by an individual knowledgeable with the software.

The most common PC Card software packages at one time were SystemSoft and Award. SystemSoft & Award are frequently included by the PC Card manufacturer or the notebook manufacturer.

CardSoft copies drivers and utilities to the PC hard disk drive. These drivers are then loaded by the CONFIG.SYS file when the PC is booted.

DEVICEHIGH=C:\CARDSOFT\SSxxxxxx.EXE
DEVICEHIGH=C:\CARDSOFT\CS.EXE
DEVICEHIGH=C:\CARDSOFT\CSALLOC.EXE
DEVICEHIGH=C:\CARDSOFT\
NOTE:additional drivers added here
DEVICEHIGH=C:\CARDSOFT\CARDID.EXE
INSTALL=C:\CARDSOFT\CS_APM.EXE (for power management)

Socket Services (SSxxxxxx.EXE) Socket Services is an interface to the computer's PC Card controller chip such as Intel, Cirrus, etc. Socket Services configures a socket for an I/O or memory interface and it manages the socket power voltages.

Card Services (CS.EXE) Card Services manages the computer’s resources, adapter and card resources and configuration.

Card Services Allocation Utility (CSALLOC.EXE) CSALLOC scans the computer to determine available memory, I/O port resources and IRQ resources.

CardID - Client Driver (CARDID.EXE) This driver detects insertion or removal of memory or PC Cards, & automatically determines the card type upon insertion and configures the card and socket.

ATA Card Driver (ATADRV.EXE) This driver supports ATA memory or PC Cards. ATADRV will automatically allocate 1 drive letter per PC Card socket.

Static RAM Card Driver (MTSRAMDRV.EXE) (MTDDRV.EXE) These drivers support SRAM PC Cards and are only required in systems which require SRAM card support.

The following utilities are copied to the CardSoft directory during standard installation:

CSALLOC.EXE This is a DOS utility that scans the system for available memory (MEM), I/O Port (IOP), reserved I/O ports (RIOP) and IRQ resources.

ATAINIT.EXE This DOS only utility places a hard disk partition table onto a blank ATA drive. It is basically the same as FDISK that is used with a standard hard drive. ATAINIT.EXE should only be used to reformat a drive or recreate the partition if problems are experienced. This utility is menu driven and requires input for: drive designation, cylinder, head and sector information.

CARDINFO.EXE This DOS only utility scans the PC Card sockets and lists information about the cards in the sockets, and error messages that may have occurred during configuration of the cards by the CardSoft drivers.

CONFIG.EXE DO NOT CHANGE ANY CONFIGURATION SETTING USING THIS UTILITY UNLESS YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH SYSTEM RESOURCES OR ARE DIRECTED TO BY A PC CARD VENDOR.

The configuration utility allows you to view and modify the system resources available to Card Services. It allows you to define general configuration settings for fax/modem, modem, ATA drive and LAN network cards. If you do change settings, you must then run CSALLOC.EXE after to update the CSALLOC.INI file.

Additional Windows drivers are required and the SystemSoft Setup program installs the required files on the system in the CARDVIEW directory. The Setup program adds new device lines to the Windows SYSTEM.INI file and modifies some existing lines.

Microsoft incorporated PC Card software designed and written by SystemSoft® into Windows. This PC Card software is capable of handling a large majority of memory and/or PC Cards, but there may be instances where drivers provided by the PC Card manufacturer may need to be installed. Please carefully read supplied PC Card installation procedures to avoid some painful and agonizing moments.

PC Card support is built-in to Windows NT, however the Plug and Play and Hot Swapping features contained in Windows 95 are not in Windows NT. PC Cards must be properly inserted in the PC Card slot when booting a PC with the Windows NT operating system.

As Apple incorporates PC Card technology into it’s notebooks more manufacturers are marketing PC Cards to this segment of the market.