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Not all PCMCIA cards are created equal. Before purchasing a PCMCIA peripheral, make sure it will work with your notebook--by testing it, if possible. Take your notebook with you to the computer store or look for cards with money-back guarantees. At the very least, contact the PCMCIA vendor to see whether your system is on its certified compatibility list. Also, make sure you are using the most recent PCMCIA controller drivers for your PC. Check with the PC manufacturer to determine if newer driver files are available on a BBS. Updating to new PCMCIA controller drivers can overcome common PCMCIA device problems.
Proceed with caution if you're using 32-bit disk access on your portable PC with Windows 3.*x*. Many hard disk controllers are incompatible with it. Power management schemes can make changes to the drive controller without notifying Windows, and virtual device drivers used in 32-bit mode can cause error messages if they can't recognize the state of the disk. One alternative is to turn off the power-saving features. For the best of both worlds, turn off only the hard disk time-out option and use the other power-saving features. Or upgrade to Windows 95, which supports 32-bit disk access for notebooks that use power management.
If you'll generally be using your notebook away from an electrical outlet, buy an extra battery. Most cost under $100 and you'll be able to work continuously instead of waiting for the battery to recharge. Many notebooks offer hot swapping, which lets you switch batteries while the computer is still operating.
Some notebook PCs such as the AT&T and NEC models enable you to remove the floppy disk and insert a second battery, doubling your notebook's battery life. On a long flight, doubling your battery time can mean the difference between finishing your work and watching the in-flight movie for the third time.
You don't have to forego multimedia or pack like you're going on a world cruise to give a presentation on the road. Multimedia-ready notebooks include built-in 16-bit sound and an internal speaker, or enable you to add sound with a PCMCIA sound card and small external speakers. A parallel-port CD-ROM drive provides the storage capacity you need for video clips or canned presentations. If you want more than one person to view the screen at once, you'll need the wider viewing angle of an active-matrix screen. For large groups, opt for a model with a pass-through overhead LCD display.
A boot disk is extra insurance to get you through hard disk initialization problems. For DOS-based systems, open File Manager, specify your floppy disk drive and select Disk/Make System Disk. The necessary files will be transferred to your floppy disk drive. For Windows 95-based systems, open Control Panel and choose the Add/Remove Programs object. Choose the Startup Disk tab, then choose Create Disk to create a startup disk. Booting from a diskette will let you troubleshoot your notebook and get back to work wherever you are.
Stop paying exorbitant hotel prices for sending or receiving faxes. Use the Internet or dial into your office remotely to retrieve information at your leisure. If you're not using OCR software, make sure your fax software includes a conversion utility that lets you save the files as .PCX or .BMP files for future use. When hard copy is required, bring along a portable printer.
If you frequently transfer files from your notebook to the network or need to connect special adapters to your notebook, buy a docking station. Most notebooks offer a proprietary expansion chassis/docking station that duplicates your I/O ports and often includes a slot for a network adapter and a few other devices (like a CD-ROM drive). Slide the notebook into the docking station, and you're seamlessly linked with your coworkers. Windows 95 will keep track of when you're docked and when you're not, and shift hardware profiles accordingly (and automatically). If you don't need to add extra peripherals to your notebook but want to simplify hook-up of mouse, printers and modems, opt for a port replicator instead.
Make sure you pack a 25-foot extra phone cord, phone duplex connectors and an AC extension cable in your notebook case to make life on the road easier. Hotels often place phone jacks and electrical outlets in hard-to-reach spots. A few extra feet of cable will make it easier to work comfortably from a desk or table. The duplex connector will let you connect the modem to the phone jack without disconnecting the phone.
You never know what type of printer you'll encounter in a remote location, so be prepared. Install drivers for PCL and PostScript printers before you hit the road. These drivers should cover most of the printers you'll encounter at remote sites. Choose the Hewlett-Packard LaserJet III and PostScript drivers when you're setting up Windows. Go to File/Print and check the Print To File box under the Print menu to format the document so that it can be handed off on diskette and printed elsewhere. Install the Generic/Text Only printer if you're without the correct driver or if you want to print text files from Windows 95.
Heat is the enemy. If you're about to recharge your battery, take an extra second to see whether it's warm or, worse yet, hot. Let it cool down completely before recharging. To improve battery life, try one of the following. If your batteries are on the bottom of your computer, turn the unit upside down during charging to help keep it cool. If your notebook utilizes clam-shell construction, open the halves so they form a 45-degree angle and stand the unit upright. This allows the heat to dissipate through the case, keyboard and screen. If you use a PCMCIA hard disk, leave the PCMCIA slot cover open to allow heat to dissipate from the drive.
Carry PCMCIA flash disks or hard disks with you at all times to use as a backup for extremely important data. Tucking your proposals or confidential materials in your pocket instead of leaving them in an unattended notebook provides added security.
When you need your battery to last as long as possible, try the following power management scheme. From your setup file or power management program, turn off your serial or parallel ports. Set automatic hard disk saves to the longest period possible. Reduce screen brightness and avoid saving files to diskettes or hard disks, except as needed. If possible, use only those programs that can execute from system memory, not those that make frequent hard disk calls.
You never really need a toolkit until you need one desperately. Put together a basic emergency toolkit consisting of the following: a small flashlight, a small Phillips-head screwdriver as well as a small set of standard screwdrivers, 25 feet of telephone cord, alligator clips and a boot disk. Now you'll be able to connect the telephone cable from your modem or computer directly to the phone jacks in most places. And you'll be ready to troubleshoot other hardware problems as well.
It's usually much more expensive to upgrade a notebook after you buy than it is to buy what you need at the outset. Get the biggest hard disk and most RAM you can afford to save the cost of swapping the disk or adding more RAM later.
If you use a cellular phone and you're shopping for a new modem for your notebook, look for one that supports cellular protocols. You'll be able to connect and fax at higher speeds using your cellular phone than you would with a non-cellular modem. If you're stuck trying to connect with a non-cellular modem, however, stepping down the baud rate will help you connect when cellular signal strength is weak.
For about $60, you can buy a voltage inverter{CHECK} that converts 12 volts DC from your car's lighter/power connector to 115 volts AC. You can use the inverter to recharge your notebook's batteries and/or run the notebook on AC power while you drive.
Windows 95 Briefcase utility makes it simple to synchronize files between a primary desktop PC or network server in the office and a notebook PC. Create the Briefcase on your desktop system, then copy to the Briefcase the files you need to take with you on the road. Move the Briefcase to a floppy disk to use with your notebook. When you get back to the office, move the Briefcase from the floppy disk back to the desktop, then let the Briefcase automatically update the files that have changed.
Do you need to transfer files from your desktop PC to your notebook and vice versa? You don't need a network card or cabling -- just a parallel cable or serial null-modem cable and Windows 95. Use Windows 95's Direct Cable Connection utility (located under Start/Programs/Accessories) to create a mini-network, enabling you to not only share files, but print from your notebook to the desktop PC's printer.
If your office network includes a direct connection to the Internet, you can use Windows 95's Dial-Up Networking to connect to and use the office LAN as a gateway to the Internet from home or on the road. You'll need a Windows NT remote access server or an appropriate network dial-in modem such as Shiva's LAN Rover at the office to transport TCP/IP. Although you can set up a Windows 95 system as a Dial-Up Networking server, it won't transport TCP/IP.
Before you start sending e-mails and faxes and surfing online from your hotel room, make sure you won't be scalped for phone access charges by the hotel. Some hotels charge a one-time access fee or a per-minute rate that can run as much as $4 to $5 or more for a few minutes worth of time, even to toll-free numbers.
If you're a Windows 95 user, hardware profiles will help you move easily from your office to the road. If you use a docking station for your notebook, Windows 95 will automatically create a docked and an undocked profile, switching between the two automatically when you dock and undock the notebook. Create another hardware profile to use when you are working with an external monitor or other device connected to your notebook. At Windows 95 startup, choose the hardware profile you want to use.
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