"Laplinking" between a current computer, and an Obsolete?

Twiggy

One piece of software which I learnt about a while back is "Laplink", which lets you set up a connection between two machines with paralell, serial, network, modem etc so you can exchange files between them and even sometimes use remote access if needed.

I have used this to transfer files between computers before, but always from a parallel port to a parallel port.

Because I am going to be installing Windows 3.1 on the "Solar" (that's what I call my newest edition with the 5.25 drive, since it has a "Solar Microsystems" sticker on the front panel.) I won't be able to use USB like I was able too with the compaq deskpro.

My main machine doesn't have a parallel port, only USB really.

I am wondering if there woudld be a way to setup a connection between a modern machine running Windows 7 and the Solar with 3.1? I've had a Windows 3.1 system previously connected with a Window 98SE system. So I think it's possible.

The lack of a parallel port on my main pc is what presents the problem. I guess I could always get a parallel to USB adapter, but would that work with a null modem or "laplink" cable?

I can't think of any, but could there be any other alternative solutions?

I guess that for the mean time, and if worse comes to worse, I could just use CD-RW's in very much the same way that I sued floppy discs before I learnt about laplink. I would be limited to 700MB on each disc but then again, on a Windows 3.1 system, that's larger than a lot of hard drives were at the time it was used initially.

SomeGuy

Uh what? Moved to Hardware because this is a general question, and only a few people see the VIP forum. Not much in there really.

Anyway, I've lost track of which machine you are talking about. If this is a desktop with an ISA slot, then your best bet for large amounts of data is probably an Ethernet card. You can either run Lan Manager for DOS, Windows for Workgroups (or later) or Mike Brutman's mTCP. Having an intermediate server can be handy (such as a freenas box) so you don't have to mess with security settings on newer Windows. Freenas also has Apple file protocol support.

Twiggy

SomeGuy wrote:

Uh what? Moved to Hardware because this is a general question, and only a few people see the VIP forum. Not much in there really.

Anyway, I've lost track of which machine you are talking about. If this is a desktop with an ISA slot, then your best bet for large amounts of data is probably an Ethernet card. You can either run Lan Manager for DOS, Windows for Workgroups (or later) or Mike Brutman's mTCP. Having an intermediate server can be handy (such as a freenas box) so you don't have to mess with security settings on newer Windows. Freenas also has Apple file protocol support.

I don't have n ISA ethernet card, but I do have an ISA Modem, with PnP.

Considering these can be used on any machine with a parallel port, I'd buy one, but they are sold out:

http://biosrhythm.com/?page_id=1453

BigCJ

An Ethernet card would be nice to have regardless. I've been meaning to get one myself. They're pretty common, search eBay.

majkl98se

For me, LapLink doesn't work with anything modern than Windows 98. I've tried running LapLink for Windows 95 on an XP machine and it said that it was incompatible and refused to run. I'm not sure if it will work on newer versions, but if it doesn't work with XP, I doubt it. And the DOS versions are too slow when accessing only the remote computer's directory and it disconnects frequently. I've also tried various virtualisation solutions but they slow down the serial communication to a crawl.

I've had experience with file transfer between modern and old computers, and I would definitely recommend an Ethernet card with Windows for Workgroups 3.11 (I own a 3Com EtherLink III and it works great even though file sharing on modern versions of Windows was pretty finicky for me). However, if you truly have to rely on parallel and serial, I would avoid parallel cables because modern USB to parallel adapters are really only designed for older printers and don't support bidirectional communication very well.

Your best bet is to buy a serial null modem cable and a USB to RS232 adapter and some software. I use Tera Term on my modern Win10 PC and Procomm Plus for Windows 3.11. Be sure to set both programs to the following settings for the fastest communication:
Baud rate=115200
Data bits=8
Parity=none
Stop bits=1
Flow control=none

Also, I recommend using the Kermit file transfer protocol. I found it better than the others, even though it's a bit slower. Although, if you'll be transferring files between two Windows 3.11 machines, use ZMODEM.

Hope I helped and I wish you the best in your file transfer adventures!

Twiggy

majkl98se wrote:

For me, LapLink doesn't work with anything modern than Windows 98. I've tried running LapLink for Windows 95 on an XP machine and it said that it was incompatible and refused to run. I'm not sure if it will work on newer versions, but if it doesn't work with XP, I doubt it. And the DOS versions are too slow when accessing only the remote computer's directory and it disconnects frequently. I've also tried various virtualisation solutions but they slow down the serial communication to a crawl.

I've had experience with file transfer between modern and old computers, and I would definitely recommend an Ethernet card with Windows for Workgroups 3.11 (I own a 3Com EtherLink III and it works great even though file sharing on modern versions of Windows was pretty finicky for me). However, if you truly have to rely on parallel and serial, I would avoid parallel cables because modern USB to parallel adapters are really only designed for older printers and don't support bidirectional communication very well.

Your best bet is to buy a serial null modem cable and a USB to RS232 adapter and some software. I use Tera Term on my modern Win10 PC and Procomm Plus for Windows 3.11. Be sure to set both programs to the following settings for the fastest communication:
Baud rate=115200
Data bits=8
Parity=none
Stop bits=1
Flow control=none

Also, I recommend using the Kermit file transfer protocol. I found it better than the others, even though it's a bit slower. Although, if you'll be transferring files between two Windows 3.11 machines, use ZMODEM.

Hope I helped and I wish you the best in your file transfer adventures!

Yeah, if I got the cable and the adaptor, all I'd need to do is open the software on both. However, that'd probably cost more than the $19.99 that I can get a 25 pack of CD-RW's for.

I guess I'll go with CD-RW's in the short term, and then make that network with the USB RS232 adaptor later in the long term.

[Deleted User]

Found a box of old COMPUSA CD-RWs (still in the shrink wrap, with original jewel cases!) in my basement a few weeks ago and I am planning to use them for transferring stuff to older PCs. It's nice to see that someone else is using the same method too.

EDIT: I installed the Plop boot loader (google it) on one of them and it boots an Ubuntu Live CD perfectly fine.

majkl98se

I've noticed that where I live CD-RW's are becoming rare and I'm only able to find regular CD-R's or DVD's. It really pains me to use a 700MB write-once disc to copy over just a few megabytes.

I guess that leaves eBay or something.