On Tue, 13 Feb 2018 22:09:12 +0000, Andrew Mawson wrote:
"Johnny B Good" wrote in message ...
On Tue, 13 Feb 2018 19:54:12 +0000, Andrew Mawson wrote:
OK wrong forum I know but there are a lot of knowledgeable people on
this forum 
I need some software that will run under DOS 6.22 that will allow me
to copy files to a CD/DVD-ROM Drive. This is on a legacy CNC machine -
I'm replacing a dying Viglen PC where the only exchangeable media is
3.5" Floppy for a Compaq DC7600 SFF PC that I have which also has
CD/DVD read / write drive that would be very handy for data exchange.
NB this is running genuine DOS 6.22 NOT a DOS window under Windoze !
Any pointers very welcome !
The easiest way to go would be to pull out the hard disk drive and
attach it to the SFF PC via an IDE to USB adapter (dongle with its own
12v/5v PSU brick or else utilise a long since retired USB IDE HDD
enclosure, also with its own PSU - there may well be a few of the latter
gathering dust somewhere about the premises).
I rather doubt the drive will be so ancient as to need a two cable
Shugart connection or the even rarer single cable ESDI connection and
SCSI seems a less likely alternative to the 40 wire ATA (IDE) interface
(do-able but a damn sight more expensive than IDE) so the chance of the
drive being an IDE type for which you can still get hold of IDE to USB
adapters with relative ease is pretty high.
Obviously, you need to verify which interface is used by the internal
drive before embarking on a "Beg, borrow or steal" odyssey for an IDE to
USB adapter of one sort or another. You can post more details, if the
internal HDD *isn't* the more usual IDE type, for further suggestions
and guidance.
It's a SATA drive in the DC7600 but continuously pulling it out is not
an option - the PC will be buried in the bowels of the machine. It has
numerous USB connections and a 10/100 network port but it was previously
running Win 7 pro and has been 'down graded' to DOS 6.22 to replace the
original Viglen that is on its last legs. The various ports are there -
the issue is driving them under DOS !
Sorry, I missed the significance of your "NB" statement, thinking you
were still referring to the old Viglen rather than the new SFF Compaq PC.
Incidentally, you missed the significance that I was referring to the
old Viglen's HDD. I wasn't suggesting you remove the drive from the newer
machine. However, all that aside, I think, as others have suggested, that
a null modem cable be used to link the *both* MSDOS 6.22 machines and
install a small serial file transfer program on each machine. There are
several to choose from (interlink, laplink and fastlyinx to name but
three).
I did a search expecting to find plenty of freeware versions but I
mostly landed up on sites offering much later versions that weren't free
or shareware. The I added "abandonware" to my search phrase which led me
to sites requiring registration just to download my chosen "Abandonware"
but I did land up on one that didn't insist on registration of any sort
so was able to download a tiny programme called "interlink" as a 35KB zip
file containing 55KB's worth in four files just to test the download and
take a peek at the files.
Whilst there, a utility called "Miracle-driver" caught my attention
since it was described as:-
"Miracle-driver from Japan does the unthinkable, allows USB peripherals
to be accessed from the DOS command line. 32 KB"
The download is a 32KB zip file containing 3 .sys files named
di1000dd.sys, usbaspi.sys and usbcd.sys. Maybe this will support flash
thumb drives although it looks more like driver support for USB CDROM and
CD writer drives to me. Anyhow, you're welcome to the link to this site's
downloads page.
http://www.pcxt-micro.com/download.html
--
Johnny B Good