CompTIA A+® Certification All-In-One For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

7.8. Expanding on a Laptop

Expanding on a laptop's capabilities usually involves upgrading the system memory or hard disk (which I discuss in the "Upgrading Your Laptop" section a bit later) or expanding on the laptop's capabilities by adding an expansion card, such as a PCMCIA card or PCI Express Card.

7.8.1. PCMCIA cards

Personal Computer Memory Card Industry Association (PCMCIA) cards are expansion cards added to the laptop system to provide functionality to the laptop. A PCMCIA card, also known as a PC card, is a credit card–sized device inserted into a PCMCIA slot, usually on the side of the laptop. It allows you to expand on the laptop's capabilities, such as a network card, modem, memory, hard disk space, or maybe even a wireless network card (as shown in Figure 7-7).

Figure 7.7. Inserting a PCMCIA card into the PCMCIA slot.

Originally, PCMCIA cards were used only to add memory to the laptop, but today, you normally add memory by inserting it into a slot found on the bottom of the laptop. PCMCIA slots are now used for modems, network cards, and wireless network cards.

NOTE

For the A+ Certification exam, be familiar with the three different types of PCMCIA cards:

• Type I card: A Type I card is 3.3mm thick, with a single row of sockets that connect into the slot. Type 1 cards were used to add memory to the laptop and are the original reason for the expansion architecture. ...