MBP 1,1-10,2 ExpressCard/34 not working on Late 2008 15" MBP

[turble]

Hello --

I was given this MBP 15" Late 2008 (NVidia chipset) a few years ago. I kept it and gave away a trusty MBP 13.3" because this unit had ExpressCard/34. Unfortunately, I cannot get any ExpressCards to work.

I initially took the hard drive from my 13.3 and used it on this machine; it is dual-boot, 10.6.8 and 10.11.x. Neither of these can see ExpressCards.

I had some inspiration/idea that maybe ExpressCard support was installed when installing the OS on a compatible model, and did a fresh install of 10.9.5 on an external drive. Still, no cards recognized. (Maybe 10.9.x was not the best OS for ExpressCard support...?)

The tricky thing is that I have one card (an Echo Indigo DJ card) which lights up when it is inserted in the port. So, I know there is at least some power going to it.

I have tried STarTech and Sonnet cards in addition to the Indigo (which doesn't have Mac drivers).

I have reset the SMC (seems necessary on this model if I leave it powered off for too long... ) and probably have reset the NVRAM any number of times.

I haven't taken the back lid off. I do suspect this computer was opened at one time before it was given to me, because there's a small amount of material sticking out of the case inside the display hinge.

Any ideas? Really sad I got rid of my trusty 13.3 MBP for this for ExpressCard, when ExpressCard doesn't work

Thanks

 

[B S Magnet]

Hello --

I was given this MBP 15" Late 2008 (NVidia chipset) a few years ago. I kept it and gave away a trusty MBP 13.3" because this unit had ExpressCard/34. Unfortunately, I cannot get any ExpressCards to work.

I initially took the hard drive from my 13.3 and used it on this machine; it is dual-boot, 10.6.8 and 10.11.x. Neither of these can see ExpressCards.

I had some inspiration/idea that maybe ExpressCard support was installed when installing the OS on a compatible model, and did a fresh install of 10.9.5 on an external drive. Still, no cards recognized. (Maybe 10.9.x was not the best OS for ExpressCard support...?)

The tricky thing is that I have one card (an Echo Indigo DJ card) which lights up when it is inserted in the port. So, I know there is at least some power going to it.

I have tried STarTech and Sonnet cards in addition to the Indigo (which doesn't have Mac drivers).

I have reset the SMC (seems necessary on this model if I leave it powered off for too long... ) and probably have reset the NVRAM any number of times.

I haven't taken the back lid off. I do suspect this computer was opened at one time before it was given to me, because there's a small amount of material sticking out of the case inside the display hinge.

Any ideas? Really sad I got rid of my trusty 13.3 MBP for this for ExpressCard, when ExpressCard doesn't work

Thanks

This might be a good time to set aside an hour and a small screwdriver kit with Step 19 of this iFixit guide — taking especial care to inspect both the ExpressCard cage ribbon cable itself, as well as inspecting how securely the ribbon is inserted and locked into the ZIF (zero insertion force) slot.

Before you open the bottom lid to do this inspection (and maybe a partial disassembly to reach the cable), open System Profiler/System Information utility (in Snow Leopard, Applications > Utilities > System Profiler.app; on later OS X/macOS versions, “System Profiler.app” is called “System Information.app”).

On the left menu in System Profiler/Information, you’ll want to look at either “Hardware > PCI” or “Hardware > PCI Cards”:

Check this tab after you have an ExpressCard inserted in the ExpressCard slot for testing. If it still shows the above message, “This computer doesn’t contain any PCI cards…,” or then it means the system is not receiving data from the ExpressCard bus. (This message appears when there’s no card inserted on a properly working ExpressCard bus and also when the ExpressCard bus cable is not connected properly to the logic board.)

If that’s what you’re seeing, then yes, this may mean you need to open your Mac and have a look inside. Fortunately, getting to the cable and inspecting it in the unibody model is a bit easier to do than it is with the pre-unibody MBPs.

It may be a long shot, but it’s possible you’ll find that during a past repair/disassembly (before you owned it), the ExpressCard ribbon cable wasn’t seated completely inside the ZIF socket before it was locked in place. There may also be just enough of one side of the flat cable to make contact with the socket to deliver basic power (to the one ExpressCard you managed to get a light to appear). This, however, may not be enough for the system detect there’s an ExpressCard bus connection it can detect.

A third possibility is the cable itself was damaged previously, which you won’t be able to know unless you’re able to inspect the whole cable. To do this requires following the above’s guide’s steps to at least Step 28.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[turble]

YESS!!!! Thank you!!!! I got out my toolkit w/spudger and got to work. Indeed, the ribbon cable on step #19 was visibly skewed in the connector. I reseated it. Booted back up and now I have an ExpressCard icon in my menu bar when a card is inserted, can mount drives, etc.!!

This is a great day!! Thanks again. (Super-happy I didn't have to get all the way to Step 28!)