There must be some kind of issue with the CF/Wifi card slot.

2 years ago I purchased a AXIM X5 & a SMC2642W wifi card. Used the SMC drivers & everything worked fine. I even use sniffers with the Intersil PRISMNDS.DLL Reference Driver. 3 months ago, I started getting the "CardInitialize failed !!" and the "Unknown card in Socket 1" errors. This is all after everything was working fine for 2+ years. I think inserting and removing the CF card everyday killed it. Sometimes it will work sometimes it won't. I have done the hard reset, install drivers, soft reset, insert card a million times (still error). I have tried the 2 drivers above and even the 'Perfect Prism' drivers.

Tonight the only thing that worked was inserting the card very softly. Once it started working, if I leave the card in I can turn it off/on or do a soft reset and it keeps working. If I remove the card it will be another 30 minutes till I can get it to work again.

I'm never removing my wifi card again.

Is it only the WiFi card that acts like this? In other words, can you put other CF cards in and they work OK without fiddling around? If all CF cards have this problem, you probably have a loose or bent pin in the CF socket. If it's just that card, but other cards work OK, then I dunno.

The only other CF cards I have are storage cards. Since those slide all the way in and fit flush, they can only be pushed so hard. They work fine. I have looked at the pins, and they are all straight. I won't be buying another WiFi card, as any device you buy now has them built in (laptop, tablet pc, smartphone). I don't think I'll be getting a new Axim either. I think I would be better served with a good cell phone and a tabletpc/laptop.

I basically posted because I saw some other people with similar issues and I wanted to let them know what I experienced. I am happy that I got it working again, and I won't be removing the card so it keeps working. Woo hoo!

At least yours works consistaintly when the card is in

Mine only works sometimes when the card is in, forcing me to remove and re-insert the card...and it only does it with the 1180 WiFi card too..weird isn't it?

Actually I have to remove and insert mine a million times until the one time it works - then I won't touch it so it won't mess up again.

With the card on the table and looking at the pin sockets, the far right pin on top row is a ground circuit that is used for card initialization. Quick fix, take a match book cover, fold it in half, cut to 3/4" x 3/4" and tape it to the top face of the card. Works for me.

Do you have a pic of this?? I don't see from your description how or why this helps. Thanks.

No pics. The fix is however, really simple. A folded matchbook cover is the suitable width to apply slight downward pressure on the male pins when both the card and matchcover are inserted. We use many cards, the card's female sockets wear well before published design failure; where one or more pins fail to make contact. The failure in your card is in initialization, usually the ground pin I described above, which is not making contact. To verify, insert the card holding it in tightly and at the same time pushing down on the card. If you are then initializing -- do the fix. Just find a machbook cover, fold it in half, cut to a 3/4" x 3/4" square and tape it to the top of the card as it lies flat on a table. Then insert both cover and card, one or more times at first, until the pin/socket contact problem is gone. I wet through months of playing with card initialization failures before using this temporary fix; only later to tear them apart when I had some time and soldier a very thin coat of high quality solder to the failing male pin (to increase its thickness when inserted into the female socket of the card). Problem then permanently solved. Your choice...

Wow, that really worked! I never realized how much space there is between the top of the card and the edgce of the CF slot. I pushed down on the card while inserting it and it worked! Repeatedly! I used to try to push the card in really hard, now I realize I just need to push down on it a little. Great find and thank you so much for sharing!

Well, I'm very pleased this has worked out for the both of you. You might try and clean both the male pins and female sockets with an electrical contacts cleaner. Most metals oxidize, then prevent contact and need to be cleaned, sealed, and coated with a conducting solution for long use. The link below is one product for just such a specialized cleaner (safe for plastics);

PRODUCT:
DeoxIT ® D100L Needle Dispenser, 100% solution, 25 ml , (Applications = 1250 +/- drops, 0.02 ml/drop)
Part No. D100L-25C
(NSN 6850-01-412-5866)
Price: $23.95

LINK:
http://store.caig.com/s.nl/sc.2/cate...t.A/id.1703/.f

And, you can also use the product for the back-up battery contacts within the case (the two contacts on the battery board and the two on the main circuit board; and the battery itself and its contacts), the main battery and its contacts, the screen connectors, the SD card and its contacts, etceteras, etceteras. As the CF slot is failing now, oxidation is taking its toll on many other components.