Putting a Mini-PCI WLAN Card in a Desktop

[deadevil13]

Ok before you ask WHY would I want to do this, let me explain.

I currently have a Netgear WPN111 usb wireless adapter - which I have had for about 4 years now? Its well, to put it nicely - okay. Its sort of on its last legs the poor thing - due to
- me throwing it across the room numerous times in fits of rage at it (i.e. network dropping out, windows not playing ball),
- me accidentally hitting into it (ive moved the tower since) when it was plugged into a front USB port - bending it slightly out of shape
- rolling over it in a chair. It comes with this 2m extension cable and seeing as i have to 'reset' it often (ill explain below), i usually drop it around my feet - and because of this i end up running over it now and again with an office chair, with me on it.

But surprisingly it still works. So props to Netgear for making a 'durable' device.

Okay now the problems (not to do with me). The device seemed to be made directly for WinXP - not Vista or 7. And for as long as I have had my own machine (i brought the WPN111 with my first computer) ive always had either Vista or 7 (just 7 now). But because of it being bespoke for WinXP - the driver disc is just for XP. Lovely netgear did provide Vista drivers, which sort-of worked. And W7 sorts out the drivers itself - so its currently running on what it was given at the start - when i first plugged it in. But it still only partially works.

It connects and everything fine, and the connection is alright. I dont drop out (on W7), unlike when i was on Vista. But when my machine either (for more than 30 mins for each one):
- Locks
- Goes into screensaver/sleep
On resume - Windows does its party-trick of 'lets not see the device'. Causing me to find the dongle, unplug and then re-plug the bloody thing for Windows to go 'HEY, a device!'. But this doesnt always happen - sometimes causing me to restart the machine.

Anyway, so to avoid this problem i've looked to getting a new card - maybe one that works properly with W7. Im thinking of getting something to be actually inside the box - so i dont hit it or run over it anymore.

Now i am cheap - and like to re-use things i already have. And so i have an old Acer laptop sitting in the cupboard as its pretty much dead (dodgy HDD chip) - but its not all to waste, as it has a perfectly working WLAN card it in! One of the new ones that connects by that 'MiniPCI Express' interface. So i was wondering; could i plug that into my desktop?

I doubt that it will just slot happily into one of my pre-existing PCI slots... so what sort of Adaptor would i be looking at here? (links please!)

I have looked myself, but all i come up with is PCI>PCMCIA card adaptors.

Thanks!

[x88x]

Well, since mini-PCIe is actually proper PCIe, just in a different form, yes, electrically you can do that.

That being said, it will almost definitely be cheaper to just buy a new USB wifi dongle.

Here's an adapter that would do what you want:
http://www.hwtools.net/adapter/mp1.html

Or, if you're handy with a soldering iron, here's the pinouts for
mini-PCIe
PCIe

TBH, if I were you, I would just pick up a cheap wifi usb dongle.

EDIT:
Here's a dirt cheap one for ya:
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/802-11b...-adapter-50856