I installed a larger had drive in my lapptop and placed the old one in a

expternal enclosure. I bought an adaptor card (CompUSA brand)

the computer never sees it and sometimes shuts down when plugged into

the new card. But it works on the built in USB 1.1 port. Other devices work

fine in the new USB 2.0 port ( extenal floppy, mouse and USB memory stick)

I thought it was a power problem so I bought an 5volt 1AMP adaptor for

the PCMCIA card but that didn't help. The external drive had no power connector

and takes power from the USB port.

I'm worried about buying another card that has the same problem

after reading different reviews on Newegg.

So can anyone recommend a card that will work. Or should I go with firewire?

You can just go and choose one with the right ports in newegg. I think it is better to have a firewire.

I'm not going to order one unless I can be fairly certain it will work with an external hard drive.

Most of the reviews I've read don't say anything about that. The one that do say it didn't work with one.

Searching in google leads me to believe its a with notebook pcmcia usb2.0 adapters and external drives

that take power from the usb port.

I'm also thinking firewire maybe the better way to go.