How to Add FireWire to a PC Laptop
FireWire is a high-speed serial bus interface used for external hard drives and digital cameras.
Most laptop PCs already come with one FireWire port, but some do not. In other cases, you may want additional FireWire ports. Adding a FireWire port to a laptop is a cheap and easy process. You can install a FireWire controller card into the expansion slot in your laptop. Older laptops use PCMCIA slots while many newer laptops provide ExpressCard slots instead.
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Things You'll Need
- Laptop
- Available PCMCIA or ExpressCard slot
- FireWire PCMCIA or ExpressCard card
Instructions
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Check the specifications for your laptop's PCMCIA slot and purchase a compatible FireWire controller card. PCMCIA slots are available in the Type I, Type II and Type III standards. Each one varies by height. Most PCMCIA cards will fit into both Type II and Type III slots. If your laptop has an ExpressCard slot, any ExpressCard add on should work with it.
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Install any drivers that came with your FireWire controller. Do not insert the card before installing the drivers. Follow the on-screen prompts of the installation program until the process is complete. Insert the FireWire controller into the slot only if the setup program asks you to. Restart the computer when the installation is complete, if prompted.
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Find the PCMCIA or ExpressCard slot in your laptop. The slot is normally located on the left-hand side of the laptop. There will usually be a dummy card which you need to push to unlock from the slot. Remove this. Unpack the FireWire card and insert it into the slot. Wait for any installation processes to complete.
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Insert your FireWire device into one of the available FireWire sockets on the expansion card. If the new controller card is working correctly, the device should be automatically installed by Windows. Wait for Windows to ask you what you wish to do with the inserted media.
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References
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