How to Add Firewire to a Laptop

FireWire, developed by Apple, is a high-speed serial bus interface, very similar--but superior in speed and performance--to USB 2.0. Many different devices use FireWire technology, but it is most commonly used with digital camcorders and data storage devices, like jump drives.

Adding FireWire to a laptop is extremely simple: all it requires is inserting a PC card into an available PCMCIA slot.

Instructions

1. Make sure that FireWire PC card will fit into your laptop's PCMCIA slot. Check the card's specifications before purchase and check your laptop's documentation to find out what size PCMCIA slot you have. PCMCIA slots come in three different types (Type I, Type II and Type III) and vary in height. Many PC cards will fit into Type II or Type III slots, but will not fit into Type I.

2. Purchase a FireWire card with a port size matching your FireWire device. For example, if your PC card uses FireWire 400, but you have a FireWire 800 device, you may not be able to use your device with the card.

3. Install any software that came with your FireWire card. Do not insert the card until installation has complete, or until the on-screen installation guide instructs you to insert the card into the laptop. Restart your computer if necessary.

4. Insert the PC card into an available PCMCIA slot. Usually this slot is located on the left-hand side of the laptop base.

5. Plug the FireWire device into the FireWire port to confirm that the card is working properly.

Tips & Warnings

• Ground yourself before taking the card out of its protective package, since static electricity can damage the hardware.

References

• Synchrotech: How to Install PCMCIA PC Cards
• Oreilly.com: What is FireWire (and How Best to Use It)

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish