Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) was a common connection interface slot in a computer’s motherboard introduced by Intel in 1992. Although it has been replaced by PCI Express (PCIe) slots, from the late 1990s to early 2000s PCI slots are quite common. It’s often used to attach hardwares like sound cards, video cards and modem with the motherboard.

By this logic, a PCI device means any device that can connect into the motherboard by utilizing the PCI slot.

Upon launch, PCI was originally 32-bit and 33 MHz with a supported data transfer speed of 133 MBps. An upgraded version was made available a few years later, featuring 64-bit and 66 MHz, which allows faster data transfer at up to 533 MHz. PCI extended (PCI-X) was released afterwards, with 133 MHz and supporting a data transfer rate of up to 1064 MHz. However, in 2004 PCIe was introduced, overtaking both PCI and PCI-X.

PCIe is the most commonly used now. However, older systems might still use PCI devices. As the PCI bus and other systems after that are mostly plug and play (PnP), you can still use a PCI card on a PCIe slot and otherwise using an adapter. Although, you might have to turn on the PCI slot by tweaking a system configuration in your BIOS in order to do this.

Significance of PCI Devices

While it’s quite rare nowadays, some older computers operating today still use PCI slots. PCI slots can connect to many devices, such as:

• Network cards
• Sound cards
• Graphics cards
• Controller cards
• RAID cards
• Modem
• Scanner

A motherboard usually had five or so PCI expansion slots. The more expansion slots it had, the more devices your computer could connect to. In a way, PCI slots allowed you to upgrade your computer by adding missing features (like sound cards, graphics cards, wifi, and more storage) just by plugging it into the PCI slots on the motherboard.

Do I need a PCI device?

If you own a modern computer you most likely don’t need a PCI card. Instead of supporting PCI slots, most computers manufactured in recent years use newer, faster ports like PCIe or USB to connect the motherboard with its peripherals.

What is a PCI device driver for Windows?

PCI device drivers depend on the device itself. 

If you find yellow exclamation marks next to the PCI device drivers in your computer’s Device Manager application, it might mean there’s an issue with that particular hardware that prevents your computer from running smoothly. To address issues such as missing PCI Device Drivers, you can download the drivers automatically by using a professional update driver tool or manually by looking up the device driver ID on the internet.

Here are the steps that you can follow to update your PCI drivers manually:

1. Open your Device Manager by pressing Win + R keys to show the Run dialog box, and then type ‘devmgmt.msc’ (without the quotation marks) and hit Enter.
2. Click “View in the Device Manager’s toolbar” and select “Show hidden devices”.
3. Expand the Other devices or Unknown devices category by clicking the > or + indicator on the left side of the device icon, then right-click on your PCI device and select Properties.
4. Once the Properties window is open, move to the Details tab and select Hardware IDs from the Property menu. You will see a list of identifier (ID) values. Right-click the first one and copy it.
5. Look up the ID value on the internet with your preferred search engine. Add keywords like “driver” or the version of your operating system (e.g. ‘Windows 10’) behind it to find an installer for your driver. Prioritize links to the manufacturer’s website if you can find any.
6. Pick a PCI driver that fits your device, make sure the website is safe and reputable, then download and install as instructed by the driver’s provider.

What is a PCI device in Linux?

To find detailed information about all of your attached PCI devices on a Linux operating system, you can use the lspci command. If you can’t run lspci, you might need to update the system repository first by using: sudo apt update.

The lspci command is part of the pciutils package, which is included by default in most Linux distributions. However, if you need to install the package manually, you can use one of the following commands as the install command sometimes differ by Linux distribution:

• Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt install pciutils
• RedHat/CentOS: sudo yum install pciutils
• Fedora: sudo dnf install pciutils
• Arch Linux: sudo pacman -S pciutils

The Function of a PCI Device Manager

Device Manager is a program that provides a comprehensive view of all hardwares that’s presently installed or attached to a Microsoft Windows computer. It’s used to manage hardware devices installed, like PCI devices.

Earlier, we showed you how to access Device Manager through the Run window, but you can also access it from the Control Panel. The first step is the same across all operating systems: opening the Control Panel. But which settings group it’s kept in depends on the Windows operating system you’re using. Here’s where you can find it if you’re using:

• Windows 11, 10 and 8: click on Hardware and Sound
• Windows 7: select System and Security
• Windows Vista: pick System and Maintenance
• Windows XP: choose Performance and Maintenance

After navigating to the correct category, you can look for the Device Manager, usually marked with a blue and yellow shield icon beside it. In Windows XP, however, you still need to select System, navigate to the Hardware tab, and then click on the Device Manager button.

How do I know if I have PCI or PCI express?

Since PCI and PCIe slots aren’t compatible, you might want to know how to know which one you have. If you know your motherboard’s model, you can look it up on the internet and look for which ports are included. If you don’t, however, you’ll have to open your CPU casing and check what ports are in it.

What does PCI bus 0 mean?

PCI bus 0 usually means your PCI device is connected to your computer’s first PCI bus. A “bus” is a group of electrical wires that sends data between two or more components. In the context of PCI bus 0, this would mean the PCI device is connected to the first PCI slot, as sometimes device numbering starts from 0 instead of 1.

Importance of PCI Compliance

Unlike the computer terminology for PCI hardware, PCI compliance refers to the PCI DSS, or Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.

PCI compliance was established to ensure that payment card transactions occur within a secure, controlled environment to prevent data theft and fraud. If your business wants to support payment options like AmEx, Visa, MasterCard, Discover or JCB cards, then chances are you have to comply with PCI DSS.

This standard is enforced by the world’s five major payment card providers to assure customers that their data is handled and processed securely. With a security-first approach on your transactions, the compliance process aims to keep businesses, and their customers, safe from cybercrime attacks.

Complying with this standard benefits you in two ways. Complying with PCI DSS makes sure that you’re taking various security precautions to prevent data breaches on your premises.

Besides the financial loss, which includes fines, operational costs, and various others, a data breach will also affect your brand’s reputation, leading to possible loss of sales and more effort needed to recover your consumer’s trust. PCI DSS compliance also acts as a trust marker for customers, so they can complete their transactions without worrying about their credit card data.

Secure your business with Inspired eLearning

Depending on the context, PCI can stand for different things. If we’re talking about computers, PCI most likely stands for Peripheral Component Interconnect, a slot that’s used as an interface between a computer and its peripherals.

In order to protect your data, prevent data loss, and keep your computer running smoothly, you need to make sure your drivers are always updated and you have security programs installed. Without an adequate security program and safety measures in place, your computer may be susceptible to infection with viruses and malware, and if it’s your work computer, it could result in a data breach.

But if we’re talking about PCI compliance, it likely refers to the Payment Card Industry Standards concerning sensitive cardholder data and its security. While they are both important and both deal with data, their use case is different.

To get certified with PCI DSS, your employees need sufficient training to prevent insider threats, whether accidental or intentional. Regular training is necessary to make sure all employees are up to date with what’s expected of them by the PCI DSS guidelines. Learn more about PCI DSS and the requirements you need to fulfill to reach compliance here.