Are CardBus PC Cards hot-swappable?

[jrichrds]

I'm pretty sure 16-bit PCMCIA cards are hot-swappable (Hope that's the right term for being able to plug in and take out the card while the computer is on).

How about 32-bit CardBus PC Cards? The instruction manual of the 2 CardBus PC cards say to shut off the PC before inserting the card. Is there any negative effect of plugging in or taking out the CardBus PC cards while the laptop is on?

 

[AndyHui]

They are hot pluggable. Windows 2000 and Windows XP both have an applet that resides in the system tray that allows you to "stop" the card before its removal to ensure no data loss.

 

[jrichrds]

Originally posted by: AndyHui
They are hot pluggable. Windows 2000 and Windows XP both have an applet that resides in the system tray that allows you to "stop" the card before its removal to ensure no data loss.

That applet appears in the system try when I plug in a 16-bit PCMCIA card, but not a 32-bit CardBus card. Does it mean it's not OK to swap in/out a CardBus card, or just that I have to be careful it's not being actively used when I unplug it?

 

[corkyg]

One key factor to check - how old is your laptop? Some older ones only have 16 bit PCMCIA slots. Make sure yours is good to go with 32 bit. Anyway, they are hot pluggable.