There is an alternate step, _before_ the “Configure Device Driver
Modules” menu selection, called “Configure PCMCIA Support.” This
menu is used to enable PCMCIA support.
If you do have PCMCIA but are not installing your Debian system
using it (i.e., installation with a PCMCIA Ethernet card), you need
not configure PCMCIA at this point. You can easily configure and
enable PCMCIA at a later point, after installation is complete.
However, if you are installing by way of a PCMCIA network device,
this alternate must be selected, and PCMCIA support must be
configured prior to configuring the network.
If you need to install PCMCIA, select the alternate below “Configure
Device Driver Modules.” You will be asked which PCMCIA controller
your system contains. In most cases, this will be i82365. In some
cases, it will be tcic; your laptop’s vendor-supplied specifications
should provide the information. You can generally leave the next few
sets of options blank. Again, certain hardware has special needs;
the Linux PCMCIA HOWTO[3] contains plenty of information in case the
default doesn’t work.
[3] http://metalab.unc.edu/LDP/HOWTO/PCMCIA-HOWTO.html
In some unusual cases, you may also need to modify the file
/etc/pcmcia/config.opts. You can open your second virtual terminal
(Left Alt-F2) and edit the file there and then reconfigure your
PCMCIA, or you can manually force a reload of the modules using
insmod and rmmod.
Once PCMCIA is properly configured and installed, you should
configure your device drivers as described in the next section.