> on my ThinkPad A21m, my wi (bronse) ceased to work
>
>   wi0 at pcmcia0 function 0: Lucent Technologies, WaveLAN/IEEE, Version 01.01, 
>
> (it hangs in the wi_cmd in wi_reset()). The A21m contains a
>
>   cbb0 at pci0 dev 2 function 0: Texas Instruments PCI1450 PCI-CardBus Bridge (rev. 0x03)
>   cbb1 at pci0 dev 2 function 1: Texas Instruments PCI1450 PCI-CardBus Bridge (rev. 0x03)

I'm sorry, but I simply don't believe you.  The ONLY possible effect
of that bit, barring bugs in the chip, is to cause it to report an
error and disable Vcc to the socket under some circumstances.  You can
look it up yourself in the chip's data sheet, which is conveniently
available from the TI web site.