Open a console and as ROOT (see FAQ's if you cant do this)
type lspci -v -v
this should list all your PCI interfaces.... try and find the one for your PCMCIA and hopefully also the 3COM card ...
Also you could try to
cat /proc/pcmcia
to see if its active
/etc/init.d/pcmcia status
should tell you if its running and if not
/etc/init.d/pcmcia start
should start the service.
(I think thats what you mean PC card=PCMCIA card ? the names keep being changed

)
If it hangs .... darn it itll be more work....
let us know