Cisco Aironet 350 on PowerBook 1400 (9.1), drivers don't work

[SherlockFound]

I have a PowerBook 1400c/133 with a fresh, clean, Mac OS 9.1 installation. I've installed this driver (https://archive.org/details/cisco-aironet-350-series-driver-cd) (March 2001), which states it supports 9.1 and the 340 and 350 PCMCIA cards. However, all I get is a dialog box informing me: “The correct software you need to use the PC Card in the ‘Upper PC Card slot’ is not installed.” (Or lower slot, same result.) Extensions Manager shows the software installed, everything should work... (Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/HSy0hPM.) Not sure where to go from here. Has anyone gotten this card to work on Mac OS 9?

[Greystash]

The aironet is Cardbus (32-bit PCMCIA) but the 1400 only has support for 16-Bit non-Cardbus cards, so it won't work unfortunately. The best wireless cards I've used on the 1400s are the Orinocco Silver and Golds which you can still get on eBay reasonably cheap

[SherlockFound]

The aironet is Cardbus (32-bit PCMCIA) but the 1400 only has support for 16-Bit non-Cardbus cards, so it won't work unfortunately.

I don't think that's accurate. AFAIK, CardBus (32-bit) cards have that gold strip at the edge, the Aironet 350 does not:



And the PowerBook 1400 recognizes the card (which inserts fine; apparently, CardBus cards cannot be inserted into older 16-bit only PCMCIA slotshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_Card#CardBus), it just complains it's lacking drivers.

Frustrating. The ReadMe file that came with the software I installed explicitly mentions Mac OS 9.1 (which is what I'm running), and the list o' cards that will work mentions the 350: https://lowendmac.com/2009/wifi-pc-cards-for-powerbooks-running-mac-os-9/

The best wireless cards I've used on the 1400s are the Orinocco Silver and Golds

How are you driving an Orinoco card on the 1400? I thought that was only supported by IOxperts' stack, which requires PC Card Manager 3.0, which the 1400 does not have (only works with the 2400 and 3400 and newer: https://web.archive.org/web/20160408055813/http://ioxperts.com/devices/devices_80211b.html)? (I did find an Amaya card that's separately supported, but Amaya's circa-2005 drivers page, the earliest I could find, says it also does not support the 1400 or 5300: https://web.archive.org/web/20050505103648/http://support.avaya.com/japple/css/japple?temp.documentID=126805&temp.productID=107632&temp.bucketID=108025&PAGE=Document)

[Greystash]

Sorry I didn't get a notification of your reply.

Hmm, I think you're right about CardBus. I have a foggy memory reading something years ago explaining why the 340/350 doesn't work with the 1400 but I can't remember and can't find anything on the internet anymore. It may just be that the 1400 is unsupported by the manufacturer. The 1400 has a garbage RAM ceiling so I can see how that could be a reason why. Running OS9 is painful enough on a 1400. I'll get my Aironet and 1400 out this weekend and give it a go.

The silver and gold cards work perfectly with their stock drivers.
I'll let you know how I get on with my Aironet and 1400.

[Greystash]

I tried this again and had no luck. I recall reading something years ago stating that the 1400 isn't supported but can't find it now. There's probably something in the enabler extensions blocking it from working but I wouldn't know what to look for.
I think your best bet is to get an Orinoco Gold or Silver, I've had no issues with mine and keep the Aironet for my Pismo

[Greystash]

I finally found the info I mentioned reading in the past:

System Requirements

As a minimum, your computer system must support the following:
•Macintosh computer with Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X (version 10.1 and higher) operating system
–Apple PowerMac G3 (Blue and White) or G4 (except G4 Cube)
–Apple PowerBook G3 Series 1998, G3 Series 1999, or G3 (with firewire)
–Apple PowerBook G4, or G4 (Gigabit Ethernet, 2nd and 3rd generations)
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/wireless/wlan_adapter/350_cb20a/user/mac/3-0/configuration/guide/incfg_30/M350Ch2.html#wp1024482


I've been playing with the control panel/extension Wish I were.. and have tried changing the gestalt ID to a G3 machine but haven't got further yet. If I can get it working I'll post an update