Currently known compatibility with the Duel ExpressCard to PCMCIA adapter

[Jonathan]

This topic is to try and cover all of the known issues with the Duel-Systems ExpressCard to PCMCIA adapter part SW-7429.

There are known issues with the HP and Compaq DV3000. DV6000 and DV9000 series laptops.  The adapters do not work with these laptops at all.  It appears that the problem is caused by the way HP has written the drivers for the Express Card slot.  The slots will only recognize one device.  The adapter itself is recognized as that one device, and because of that it will not recognize your PCMCIA card once it is inserted. **HP has supposedly made some revisions to their BIOS on the newer editions of the DV6000 and DV9000 series which should allow them to work with the Duel Adapter.

The HP and Compaq 1000 and 2000 series laptops also have had some issues.  These problems do not seem to be completely consistant across all laptops in these series.  Some people have had complete success in getting it to work, while others have had absolutely no success.

The Toshiba Satellite 205 laptop has also had some problems where the driver will not install.  The laptop detects that the card is installed but gives a code 31 error reporting that it could not load the drivers.  Again this does not happen to all people, but is a known issue and will often prevent a user from using this adapter with the P205 laptop.

Some Sony Vaio laptops have also had a hard time working with this adapter.  Unfortunately we do not know specific model numbers or what the issues have been at this time.  We'll try and update this information as soon as it becomes available.

There are likely to be more laptops, than those we know about, that have problems.  We are terribly sorry for the trouble, we are doing our best to keep you updated on all the information we can get.

To sum up:

The following laptops do not seem to work at all:

• HP and Compaq DV3000 series

The follow laptops are reported to work with 16-bit PCMCIA cards, but not 32-bit:

• HP and Compaq DV6000 series
• HP and Compaq DV9000 series

The following laptops may work, but are not guaranteed to be compatible as there have been many known problems:

• HP and Compaq 1000 series
• HP and Compaq 2000 series
• HP and Compaq 8000 series
• Toshiba Satellite 200
• Toshiba Satellite 205
• Toshiba Satellite 210
• Toshiba Satellite 215
• Some Sony Vaio series

Some customers have reported that the following laptops have had problems as well:

• Dell Precision m6300 running XP
• Dell XPS M1330
• Dell Inspiron 1501
• Dell Inspiron 1520
• Gateway M150S

[Oscar]

Have you called HP to inform them of this problem? What is their response or fix?

Thanks,

Oscar Libed
Clearwire Operations Manager
cell:  808-330-2302

[Jonathan]

The manufacturer of the adapter, Duel-Systems, has told us that they have contacted HP in an effort to get them to update their laptops in order to resolve the problem.  Unfortunately HP does not seem to be extremely interested in taking the time to fix it.  I'm not sure what'll happen there.  We'll just have to wait and see.

[mark]

Duel has encouraged as many people as possible to contact HP.  If HP sees that there is a demand they are more likely to release a bios update.

[mark]

We also have seen problems with the Sony Ericson cards.  So far, we haven't nailed down the other details, but the Sony cards have issues with other solutions as well.

If you have a Sony card, you might want to look into a USB modem, or a PCMCIA modem that will use your Sim card directly.

[huntman58]

Hi just ran across this and  because of it I stop a new laptop order.  I have a Pantech PX-500 card being used in a lanksys wrtg3g-st router and want the laptop to also use it . do you know if there is a problem with using the adapter on a Dell Inspiron 1501 notebook or with the Pantech Px_500 air card? thanks for your time any one.  this is a make or break deal for me on a laptop, and yes I plan to call and let them know how I feel about this also .
 

[Jonathan]

At this time, we have not had any problems using this adapter with that Dell laptop.  Also, according to duel-systems the pantech PX-500 card works with this adapter.

So with the information we have at this time there shouldn't be any problems at all using your Pantech card with the Duel-Systems adapter and your laptop.

[inertin]

I would like to know whether it will work in HP TX 1000 SERIES Laptops and with HUAWEII PCMCI DATA CARD From Reliance Infocomm Ltd, India
Thank you so much in advance...

[Jonathan]

I would like to know whether it will work in HP TX 1000 SERIES Laptops and with HUAWEII PCMCI DATA CARD From Reliance Infocomm Ltd, India
Thank you so much in advance...

Unfortunately the TX1000 series laptops have been having more and more problems lately, so it may not work with your laptop.  We don't have any test information on your specific card at this time, so I don't know about it's compatibility. 

I apologize, but with the information we have at this time, there's a good chance it may not work with your laptop.   I can't be any more specific since some of our customers have used the adapter successfully with the 1000 series laptop.   If you'd like to try it, you're more than welcome to.  I would suggest getting an open box product if you do try it, so that you won't be charged a restocking fee if you have to return it (since it's already open).

[denali]

I recently discovered that there are compatibility issues with the Dell Inspiron 1501.  I purchased my computer last June and ordered the adapter shortly thereafter.  I installed it successfully on 6/28/07, but ran in to problems on 07/05/07.  I kept getting this error message:  "There is a problem with this Windows installer package.  A program require for this install to complete could not run.  Contact your support personnel or package vendor."  Initially Duel Systems thought it was a problem with the adapter itself; however, they have since discovered that there are issues with some Dell models.

[Jonathan]

I recently discovered that there are compatibility issues with the Dell Inspiron 1501.  I purchased my computer last June and ordered the adapter shortly thereafter.  I installed it successfully on 6/28/07, but ran in to problems on 07/05/07.  I kept getting this error message:  "There is a problem with this Windows installer package.  A program require for this install to complete could not run.  Contact your support personnel or package vendor."  Initially Duel Systems thought it was a problem with the adapter itself; however, they have since discovered that there are issues with some Dell models.

Thank you for the information.  That will help us a lot in supporting these products.

[enjoymentman]

Hi,  I just got a a sony vaio vgn fz-11E and am looking to get the duel express/pcmcia adapter, are there any known issues regarding compartibilty with this notebook especialy as it runs vista home premium?

 

[Jonathan]

Hi,  I just got a a sony vaio vgn fz-11E and am looking to get the duel express/pcmcia adapter, are there any known issues regarding compartibilty with this notebook especialy as it runs vista home premium?

With the current drivers that are out, Windows Vista and Windows XP are both compatible with the adapter.   There have been some reports that some of the sony vaio laptops do not work correctly with the adapter.  Unfortunately at this time we do not have any information on specific models or what the problems have been.  I was informed that at this point it is not a problem with all sony laptops.

Unfortunately the best i can say in this situation is that it SHOULD work, but I can't guarantee it.  If you do decide to try it, i would suggest purchasing one of the open box versions of the adapter.  Since it's already open you won't be charged a repackaging fee if you end up needing to return it.   They're cheaper to begin with anyway.

[johnv]

I have a HP Pavilion DV9500 which appears to be listed as incompatible (HP 9000 serires) with the duel expresscard. Apparently it is due to a bios issue. HP has new bios out has anyone tested it? I have an E-MU 1616M and I really want to keep it. Any help would be appreciated!


Release Date: 2007-08-28           Version: F.22 A   

 Description

This package contains the WinFlash utility and a System BIOS image for the supported notebook models and operating systems. The WinFlash utility is used to locally flash the System BIOS (ROM) on notebooks operating in a Microsoft Windows Vista Operating System environment.

PURPOSE: Routine
 
Fixes

Fixes issue where the wireless LAN (WLAN) cannot search for an Access Point after resuming from Hibernate (S4) mode if a SUNIX 1394 Express Card is plugged into the notebook.
Fixes issue that may occur when hot plugging a Giga LAN Express Card, where the device displays a yellow exclamation point in the Device Manager.
 
Enhancements

Adds support for Intel Pentium Dual Core T2310 and T2330 Processors.
 
 

[Jonathan]

Unfortunately the listed fixes for the latest bios revisions do not make any mention of the ExpressCard issue that we've been having.  We have not yet tested it here, but as they do not make mention of this type of problem (or a fix for it) I doubt it will work.

If for any reason they did fix that bug and just didn't list it in the fix list, we'll update the info page as soon as it proves to be compatible.  Hopefully that happens very soon.