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A working MiniPCI Express wireless card

Dark_Elf
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Pukos
Pukos
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I have an intel too and choose to change it with a DELL TrueMobile 1450 802.11a/b/g Wireless MiniPCI with a broadcom chipset. I read many post about it, and seem to be fully compatible... i hope :D

 

Anyway is not so easy change a miniPCI, depend if is accessible form the external of laptop.

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Zappadoc
Zappadoc
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No this card is a miniPCI and not a miniExpressCard (or MiniCard), i have the same issue, i need to exchange my Intel/PRO but didn't find any... :P

 

Dell offer a trueMobile 1390 or 1490 but really don't know if they re Airport compatible...

 

if someone have any infos about this new internal cards?

thanks.

Z

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Zappadoc
Zappadoc
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Great!! This one is really interesting and fully compatible (in theory) with a/b/g !

 

here the broadcom infos:

BCM94321MC

Intensi-fi™ 2.4/5 GHz PCI Express® Mini Card Reference Design

 

The BCM94321MC reference design enables manufacturers to incorporate draft-802.11n Wi-Fi® capabilities into notebook PCs and other devices that support the new PCI Express bus architecture. The reference design integrates Broadcom's new Intensi-fi solutions, including the Broadcom's best-performing 802.11 radio (the BCM2055), and 2.4/5 GHz baseband and media access controller (the BCM4321). By supporting multiple simultaneous data (or "spatial") streams, Intensi-fi client adapters can achieve data rates of over 300 Mbps and more reliable wireless coverage.

 

In addition, dual-band operation allows Intensi-fi designs to be compatible with millions of 802.11a/b/g devices already on the market. Greater performance and interoperability not only provides Wi-Fi users with a flawless multimedia experience, but also reduces product support costs for manufacturers.

 

 

I need one! :angry:

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djtrix
djtrix
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Greetings,

I have an Acer Aspire 5562 with an Intel MiniPCI Express wireless card. I noticed that I can substitute it and I would like to know if exists a working one.

Thanks :dev:

 

Interesting question, i've been tackeling the same question myself, never noticed your thread here, cause i dont check the hardware forums too often... take a look at my thread in the pc forum.

 

I have an Acer Travelmate 4202, so the odds are that you and me are in the EXACT same boat in terms of compatibility.... I get my laptop back from the acer repair depot tomorrow (bios password issues after flashing to european bios in hopes of solving other problems). I'm gonna work on getting the first card to work, and if that fails, i'll be trying the second card, so please follow my thread over in the pc forum, as it allready has an abundance of information on this problem :(

 

-Dre

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edsel6502
edsel6502
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Please note depending on your laptop, It may be bios locked to only accept a list of preapporved cards.

 

For example I'm trying to figure a way around the fact my Hp laptop (nc6230) will only refuse to boot when I put my broadcom compatible card in.

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djtrix
djtrix
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Please note depending on your laptop, It may be bios locked to only accept a list of preapporved cards.

 

For example I'm trying to figure a way around the fact my Hp laptop (nc6230) will only refuse to boot when I put my broadcom compatible card in.

 

yeah, i dont think acer has a wireless whitelist tho... but the toggle switch only works with certain cards when using pci express... i think it has to do with the SMBUS, and what register the motherboard is activating on the cards, it could be different for each card/mfg.

 

As for your problem with HP, read my thread i posted a link to earlier in this thread, basicly you have 3 options:

1) hardware hack, taping over the pins of the card, or cutting a slice off one of the pins and adding a nc switch

2) software bios hack, hack your bios, change the id's that it has for "acceptable cards"

3) software eeprom hack, change the id of the card you're trying to replace with the id of a working card.

 

-Dre

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edsel6502
edsel6502
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yeah, i dont think acer has a wireless whitelist tho... but the toggle switch only works with certain cards when using pci express... i think it has to do with the SMBUS, and what register the motherboard is activating on the cards, it could be different for each card/mfg.

 

As for your problem with HP, read my thread i posted a link to earlier in this thread, basicly you have 3 options:

1) hardware hack, taping over the pins of the card, or cutting a slice off one of the pins and adding a nc switch

2) software bios hack, hack your bios, change the id's that it has for "acceptable cards"

3) software eeprom hack, change the id of the card you're trying to replace with the id of a working card.

 

-Dre

 

Heh.

 

I already tried option 2 and 3.

 

I've not been able to get a dump of the bios.

 

And I tried hacking the id on the firmware of the broadcom card I want to transplant. But the code/binary I downloaded is not working. It does not seem to be reading the eeprom of the card.

 

So I'm stumped.

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djtrix
djtrix
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Heh.

 

I already tried option 2 and 3.

 

I've not been able to get a dump of the bios.

 

And I tried hacking the id on the firmware of the broadcom card I want to transplant. But the code/binary I downloaded is not working. It does not seem to be reading the eeprom of the card.

 

So I'm stumped.

 

i think the EEPROM method kinda sucks, cause afterwards you're gonna have driver problems, cause the drivers wont recognize your card, cause you changed the ID on it.

 

the bios dump should be relatively easy using WinPhlash, i think its decompiling that, thats the hard part.

i think you'll also need to get a copy of Phoenix Bios Editor.... or perhaps something equivalent, i've only mucked around with a phoenix bios before.

 

-Dre

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djtrix
djtrix
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To anyone reading this thread:

Understand the difference between MiniPCI and MiniPCI EXPRESS!!!

Thank you! at least not everone on this forum is completely oblivious on hardware standards.

 

there are lots of replys to this in the wiki

No, There aren't, not too many people have tried installing hackintosh with a PCIExpress mini card yet....

Infact, im pretty sure i'm the only person on the board who has tested this pci-express mini card made by atheros.

 

yupp, i've replaced my intel 2200 wireless card for a DELL TrueMobile 1450 802.11a/b/g Wireless MiniPCI, and it works like a charm with WEP aswell.. never got disconnected.

Well yes, again, this is a mini pci (probably type 3) card, and NOT mini pci EXPRESS! But its interesting that you got a dell wireless card working in a centrino. Perhaps is your laptop a dell laptop??

 

Sorry if i'm comming off bitter, but it seems that i've allready pointed out that there is a big differance between these two hardware standards, even in this very thread.

-Dre

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djtrix
djtrix
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AR5006EX is MiniPCI Express, if i don't misunderstood what is explained in PCD Global site. So there is a working card after all :(

 

Yeah, its an atheros MiniPCI Express card. BUT atheros doesn't MFG these cards, they just make the chip... PCD GLOBAL is an OEM MFG that puts the chip on the board, if you want this card you gotta buy it from them.

 

Some slight problems i have noticed though, before you go and buy this card, cause it is rather pricy....

 

1) The card does NOT work in windows, the RF Toggle switch is permanent disabled (only tested on my acer though)

 

2) The card gets very poor reception from my friends Linksys wireless router, soooo poor that i have to be in the very same room to make it work, otherwise i get 0 signal.... which is why at first i thought it wasn't working.. cause i was testing from a different room than the one which containd the router.

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Dark_Elf
Dark_Elf
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Uhm... maybe it's because of the poor quality of the card itself. I don't think it is because of the chip.

Maybe there are other cards mounting this chip that work flawlessly.

 

In Windows doesn't work the card or only the RF Toggle switch? Because on my Acer doesn't work either with my Intel :)

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djtrix
djtrix
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Uhm... maybe it's because of the poor quality of the card itself. I don't think it is because of the chip.

Maybe there are other cards mounting this chip that work flawlessly.

 

In Windows doesn't work the card or only the RF Toggle switch? Because on my Acer doesn't work either with my Intel :)

 

Well if you look at these cards, there not much more than the one chip thats on them. All thats on the board is some pcb routing and two antenna jacks. The jacks look fine still, but perhaps i might have damaged them from installing and removing the card a hundred times to try to get stuff working.

 

In windows the drivers for the card load fine, and it recognizes the card aswell. Just the RF Toggle switch doesn't work. But the fact that OSX enables the card via software means that there must be a way to get the that happening in windows.

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