Linksys PCM200 EtherFast 10/100 32-Bit Integrated CardBus PC Card

Average customer rating: 3.5

Wired to the Internet
3 1/2 Please Read This If Driver Problem for Linksys 200
Good product, painful installation
Horrible Linksys tech support--netgear a much better product
Don't buy this product unless you enjoy horrible support...

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Linksys PCM200 EtherFast 10/100 32-Bit Integrated CardBus PC Card

Manufacturer: Linksys
Product Group: CE
Binding: Electronics
ASIN: B00004XRDO

Related Categories:

Networking Cards & Kits

PC Card Adapters

All Wired

Desktop Adapters

Desktop Adapters

Notebook Cards

Computers

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Product Description

EtherFast 10/100 Integrated PC Card (CardBus) One 10BaseT/100BaseTX Auto-Sensing RJ-45 port can automatically adjust their speed and duplex to any 10BaseT or 100BaseTX network. They also feature low voltage operation, a 32KB file buffer hot swap capability, and unmatched compatibility with brand name laptop PCs and Windows 98, 95, NT and even Linux!

Amazon.com Product Description

The Linksys EtherFast 10/100 Integrated CardBus PC Card lets you connect your notebook computer to virtually any Ethernet-based network or Internet connection, including cable and DSL modems. Share files, printers, and Internet connections without any media couplers to lose. The card's single-slot design is ideal for slim notebooks, freeing up additional slots for use with other accessories.

Automatically adjusting its speed and duplex usage to any 10Base-T or 100Base-TX network, the bus-mastering CardBus PC Card features low-voltage operation with automatic sleep mode, a 32 KB file buffer for fast file transfers, and compatibility with most portable PCs and operating systems, including Windows 95, 98, NT, and 2000.

Linksys provides free technical support and software upgrades for this product, as well as a five-year limited warranty.

Customer Reviews:

Wired to the Internet.......2007-01-04

This product was easy to install and works great. It is getting more difficult to find "wired" hardware in this era of "wireless".

3 1/2 Please Read This If Driver Problem for Linksys 200.......2004-10-30

I can verify what others have said here: The Linksys "Etherfast Integrated Ultra-Fast 32-bit PC Card" (also known as model PCM200, v.2), works well once installed, but there can be major problems with installing the associated "driver," and technical support was not satifactory. (The Linksys PCM 200 won't work without the driver.)

THE DRIVER PROBLEM
Linksys includes a floppy disk (the one that goes into your "A" drive) that is supposed to automatically install the driver. This worked fine on the first laptop computer I worked on (operating system, Windows 98) but the disk would not work on a second laptop (OS=Windows 2000). According to the included installation manual, it should work with both Windows 98 and 2000. When I inserted the disk on the second computer, all I got was a whirring sound and periodic noises--nothing was ever installed.

TECH SUPPORT
When calling SBC Yahoo to make sure that this was not a compatibility problem (actually, in an earlier call to SBC they recommended the PCM200), they helpfully recommended that I call Linksys Tech Support.

Unfortunately, the Linksys Tech. Support person seemed impatient and did not explain things clearly. She had me go through the floppy method 2 or 3 times AFTER I had already explained that it didn't work. This was a waste of time; tension was high. I can only hope that other tech, support personnel have better training.

THE SOLUTION!
I finally asked if there was some other way to install the driver without the obviously malfunctioning floppy. After being put on hold, she returned and told me I could download the driver for free from the following website:

http://linksys.com/download

The download is easy. You select the product you want to download (driver for PCM200 integrated), and your operating system. I recommend downloading to your C drive; it was easier for me to find it later. After downloading it, I plugged the PCM 200 back into the laptop, and when the installer instructions "asked" if it should look for the driver or if I wanted to tell it where to go, I chose the latter, and typed in the C drive as the location (C://). Finally, it worked, and in the few days I've been trying out DSL I've had no problems with the product so far.

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATION
The product itself works well, but driver installation is buggy and (at least in my one experience, although others here have complained as well) tech. support was inefficient and not consumer-friendly. Later, it occurred to me: Why wasn't I told sooner that I could simply download the driver? And, what if I did not have a working dial-up internet connection--would I have had to wait for them to mail me another floppy? In contrast to the helpful and knowledgeable tech. support at SBC Yahoo, this was not a good experience. It would be best if you have a friend nearby who has changed from dial-up to DSL to help you with installation (or who can recommend a different company's product). And, remember the URL for the free Linksys download: http://linksys.com/download. Hopefully, competition will increase in the future and buyers can choose a more reliable product.

Good product, painful installation.......2003-08-26

The Linksys PCM200 is a good card. However, users with SystemSoft on their laptops should read the extra installation steps required to install the card available from Linksys' Knowledge Base.

I'm running a Pentium 233 MHz with Win95b and SystemSoft (a 3rd party utility for managing PCMCIA cards). Before successfully installing the card, the PC would not recognize the drivers and crash. Customer Support (although helpful), could not rectify the situation. I stumbled on the KB article and it solved everything.

Horrible Linksys tech support--netgear a much better product.......2003-08-01

I previously used Linksys PCMPC100 until the "tail" broke on my coupler, so I tried the PCM200. I spent 2 days with 5 different techs from Linksys trying to install the PCM200 with Windows 98 without success. I even spoke with a Linksys supervisor that pretty much admitted they didn't know what they were doing. I also spent an hour on the phone with my OEM who also wasn't able to help me install. I returned the Linksys PCM200 for Netgear FA511, which I was able to install myself in 5 minutes. I'm not sure whether Linksys has a bad product or just bad tech support, but for me Netgear was a much better buy.

Don't buy this product unless you enjoy horrible support..........2002-03-29

I bought this product and when it arrived the installation CD wasn't in the package. I called Linksys and after an extremely long wait on hold was told they would be happy to replace the package I received...as long as I paid for shipping both ways. They couldn't (read: wouldn't) just send me the installation CD. How's that for horrible support? Then they recommended that I call Amazon for them to send me the disk...I have had other problems with Linksys support and it is horrible by default! Don't buy Linksys products unless you like to be abused by their customer (NO)service department.

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