Sorry, you are probably out of luck.
The PXI works as an extension of the PCI / PXI also for external PXI boards in an external mainframe. Ie the connection required is a type of PCI / PCIe bridge / extender. The devices in the external mainframe must be recognised by the computer as PXI / PXIe units at boot time or drivers won't work.
The "native" ExpressCard slot is a direct extention of the internal PCIe and will therefore usually work. Usually, because the PC / laptop must ALSO have a BIOS that recognises external PCI/PCIe devices. Many newer laptops and stationary PCs from major manufacturers like HP and Dell support this.
An ExpressCards that connects via a USB port (external or internal) will never work.
Your options are
- Use a PC with PCI / PCIe slots (and BIOS support for external devices) + PCI / PCIe extension card
- Use a Laptop with native ExpressCard slot and BIOS support + PCIe extension card
- Use a controller in the PXI rack
Perhaps your laptops have some un-used internal slot to mount an ExpressCard slot?
(The above is untess things have changed recently)
