Hello Tom,  I am experiencing same problem; however, I use my laptop on 
a wireless connection with only one port for a card.
stephen r stanfield

Thomas Mayer wrote:
> This information is for general information of members with notebook 
> computers.
>
> I have been fighting a hardware problem with poor USB ports on a 
> Compaq notebook. After a few months of sporadic operation, the ports 
> have finally died and I was preparing for an expensive shop repair. In 
> researching ways in which I could possibly get a converter from USB to 
> Firewire, I ran across USB 2.0 PCMCIA cards with two USB ports and a 
> separate power supply for when added power is needed. After reading 
> some of the professional as well as user reviews, I've decided that 
> I'd rather spend $20 to $40 on a USB notebook card rather than much 
> more on a repair. These cards also come as a combo with firewire 
> included for a few dollars more. They also come with 4 USB ports.
>
> Sending this information just in case anyone else runs into a similar 
> problem.
>
>
> Tom Mayer
>
>         PCBUILD maintains hundreds of useful files for download
>                     visit our download web page at:
>                  http://freepctech.com/downloads.shtml
>

         PCBUILD maintains hundreds of useful files for download
                     visit our download web page at:
                  http://freepctech.com/downloads.shtml