Stuck PCMCIA modem card in this Thinkpad belonging to @ms-dos5. All my strength and a pair of pliers would not get it to eject. It was stuck in there good, figured it might have been a 32-bit card in a 16-bit socket or something.
Took the whole thing apart to look for a lost screw, figured it was worth it to keep opening it up to see if an obvious way to remove the card was visible.
Nothing. But we did find the lost screw, it was wedged somewhere it shouldn't have been inside of the RF shielding.
Finally realized that adhesive between the card and the PCMCIA cage was what was holding the stupid thing in place. Wedged a small screwdriver in there and slowly worked the adhesive apart. Once that friction was removed, the spring shot the card right out of the socket.
You can see the residue on the text label there, after we finally got the stupid thing out of there.
Sadly, card is trashed for the effort. But hey, it's free, and the Thinkpad is fine. Fortunately modem cards are a dime a dozen, not much use for these things in 2025. It's the future now, or something.
This machine did its part at VCF East XX
