Laptop PCI - Slot wont read devices

[hoax32]

Hi yall!
I recently got a Lenovo ThinkPad X120e.
It's a great laptop!!!
I wanted to add a second wifi card to it since it has a second full - size pci slot.
But windows wont detect any wifi card that i put in.
Why?
Is it deactivated? (no option to enable in bios)
Or could it be that it is a "Mini PCI-E" slot?
Would a Mini-PCI wireless card work in a Mini-PCI-E slot?
The card does fit......and there are also 2 additional Wireless cables.....

 

[Sinzia]

if its like my y570 ideapad, its an mSATA slot for mSATA SSD's.... they use the same connector, but are different things entirely.

 

[Steve-007UK]

From what i just read it seems its a mini PCI-E slot, Im still looking on google for more info for you though.

Hmm i can't seem to find the full spec list but everything does seem to point towards mini PCI-E.

 

[Sinzia]

It could also be a bios lock for "unsuported" wifi modules... when I switched my 1000 series card for an intel 6200 series, the machine wouldnt post and just say "unsupported wifi detected"

I ended up finding a hacked bios that had the whitelist removed and that solved my issue.

 

[Steve-007UK]

I've just found some pictures of someone messing with Lenovo ThinkPad X120e and he says ooo look a spare slot, I noticed he was fitting an intel wireless device so i checked the model number out and its a mini PCI-E card. Will post the link in a sec once i find it again.

Hope this can help.
http://semiaccurate.com/2011/06/13/lenovo-x120e-diy-upgrade-guide/

 

[Jstn7477]

Mini-PCI is a lot larger than a PCIe card. Mini-PCI slots haven't been around since Pentium 4/M laptops and PCMCIA.

99% chance your card is being locked out by a BIOS whitelist. I bought an Intel 6200 card to replace the Realtek crap in my laptop, and I had to tape over a pin to prevent the laptop from disabling the card. You need a thin strip of tape to cover pin #20 on the card to allow it to work (but consequently you will not be able to turn off the card). Having 2 wireless adapters is useless.

 

[Steve-007UK]

From what i keep reading that laptop has a mini PCI-E as in PCI express and not a mini PCI slot.
PCI Express Mini Card (also known as Mini PCI Express, Mini PCIe, and Mini PCI-E) is a replacement for the Mini PCI form factor.

The card needed to be used would have to be PCI-E aswell, Now the op said Would a Mini-PCI wireless card work in a Mini-PCI-E slot, I personly would not think so even if it does fit in the slot.

Now seeing as i hate laptops and don't have much experience with them i could be very wrong in what im typing but it makes sense to me.

 

[Jstn7477]

From what i keep reading that laptop has a mini PCI-E as in PCI express and not a mini PCI slot.
PCI Express Mini Card (also known as Mini PCI Express, Mini PCIe, and Mini PCI-E) is a replacement for the Mini PCI form factor.

The card needed to be used would have to be PCI-E aswell, Now the op said Would a Mini-PCI wireless card work in a Mini-PCI-E slot, I personly would not think so even if it does fit in the slot.

Now seeing as i hate laptops and don't have much experience with them i could be very wrong in what im typing but it makes sense to me.

There's a big difference.

 

[Steve-007UK]

This is why its confusing, The op said the laptop has a full size pci slot but when i try and serch for info all i can find is mini PCI-E info so the next question is does the laptop have an extra mini PCI-E slot aswell as what looks like a full size PCI slot.
I can't see a pci slot on the pics i found.

hey hoax32 is there any chance you can post a pic of the card your trying to use please.

 

[Jstn7477]

This is why its confusing, The op said the laptop has a full size pci slot but when i try and serch for info all i can find is mini PCI-E info so the next question is does the laptop have an extra mini PCI-E slot aswell as what looks like a full size PCI slot.

hey hoax32 is there any chance you can post a pic of the card your trying to use please.

No laptop in the last 5 years uses a Mini PCI slot. It's definitely a Mini PCIe slot, either straight PCIe or mSATA. http://semiaccurate.com/2011/06/13/lenovo-x120e-diy-upgrade-guide/

Since it is a full size mini PCIe slot (the other card is a half height mini PCIe card) it's supposed to be populated with a 3G/WiMAX PCIe card for mobile broadband.

 

[Steve-007UK]

Yeah thats the page i was looking at to and as you can see they fitted an intel wlan mini pci-e card.

No laptop in the last 5 years uses a Mini PCI slot. It's definitely a Mini PCIe slot, either straight PCIe or mSATA.

According to wiki.
Notebooks like Lenovo's newest T-Series, W-Series, and X-Series ThinkPads released in March-April of 2011 have support for an mSATA SSD card in their WWAN card slot. The ThinkPad Edge E220s/E420s, and the Lenovo IdeaPad Y460/Y560 also support mSATA

 

[hoax32]

Thanks for all the replys!!!!
And yes - It is a Mini-PCI-E slot!!!! hahaha .....how could I forgett that mini-PCI is bigger!?!?!

So yes - I want to add another Wireless / Bluetooth Card to the additional PCI-E slot, [its a Atheros Card.....] but neither the Bios nor the OS can detect it.....no error message....no warning from the bios.....nothing........as if there is no card inserted.....

But the card does work, because if I insert it into the 1st slot, where the OEM Card is, it shows a "unsupported wireless adapter" message, but when I put it in slot #2 - I get nothing....as if the slot is disabled.....

Damn you Lenovo!!!!!! IBM did a better job than you!!!!!

 

[Steve-007UK]

Do you know anyone with an intel Wlan card that you could maybe test? Maybe the laptop just dosent like certain cards. Or send an email to Lenovo and see what they have to say about it, Maybe they can advise you on what will work and what wont.

 

[hoax32]

nope....the second slot doesnt even read the ROIGINAL WiFi Card, that it came with....Its ironic, how a AMD Netbook with a AMD CPU / GPU requires a intel Wireless Card!!!!

 

[Steve-007UK]

Very true, I only mentioned it because its in them pics i posted a link to but i guess even if you did have the intel card there is still a chance it dosen't work

I think sending an email to lenovo would be best just to see what they have to say.
Hope you manage to work it out in the end.