If you want to add a networking card or modem to your notebook computer, you'll have to buy a PC card for it—a metal, credit-card-sized adapter that slips into a slot on the computer's side.

A PC card installation won't work unless both the card and the PC-card socket are compatible with Windows 2000. Fortunately, Windows 2000 Pro is compatible with just about all the PC cards and PC card sockets that you're likely to encounter.

Most PC cards are Plug and Play: you insert the card into the PC slot on your computer, and Windows 2000 detects it and installs its driver.

To verify that Windows 2000 Pro has recognized your PC Card socket, right-click My Computer; choose Manage from the shortcut menu. In the Computer Management window, click Device Manager; on the right side of the window, look for an entry for PC Card Socket or PCMCIA Adapter (Figure 16-7).

Figure 16-7. This laptop's Device Manager lists two PC Card sockets (PCMCIA is the old name for PC Cards) showing that Windows 2000 Pro recognizes the hardware.

Adding and Removing PC Cards

When you insert a PC Card, Windows 2000 Pro recognizes the card and places an icon in the system tray at the end of the Taskbar (Figure 16-8).

Figure 16-8. Top: Right-click the Tray icon representing your PC card. Bottom: The Unplug or Eject Hardware dialog box opens. Highlight the PC Card you want to remove and then click the Stop button. In a few seconds, Windows 2000 Pro will notify you that it's safe to remove the card.

Use the Tray icon to stop a PC Card before you remove it, as shown in Figure 16-8. If you don't, a dialog box (Figure 16-9) chastises you for an "unsafe removal." Fortunately, in most cases, there's no reason to remove the card at all between uses—and tucked away in the PC Card socket, the card can't get lost or damaged.

Figure 16-9.  This is the notification you get if you remove a PC Card without stopping it. It's not an idle threat, either—many a laptop owner has crashed the computer by doing that very thing.