Transferring data from old machine to new

[dakels]

I have dealing with an old custom built P133 running windows 98 and having some serious problems. I am quite a novice on legacy systems and could use some advice. All I am trying to do is offload some files. Its a sizable amount though in the area of about 300mb. Not at all a challenge on todays computers but this sucker only has a 56k modem and a floppy as a means of transferring. The data needs to go to a new P4 win XP machine.

this is the orginal setup to my knowledge (sorry trying to remember off the top of my head):

Pentium 133
32 mb RAM (2 x 16mb I think) Probably SIMMs?
2 GB HD in 3 partitions (ATA [ATA/33 I presume])
I do not know the motherboard model but the BIOS is an Award Bios.
SCSI PCI card with a SCSI 4x CD-ROM (don't know SCSI card model)
3.5" floppy and a 5.25" floppy
Windows 98 (do not know if it's SE... I never used to run windows 98 as I went from a DOS PC and slightly saw how crappy win95 was, ignored windows until 2000 and XP came out with the exception of using a little NT)

I tried to install a Kingston 10/100 PCI NIC but I was getting problems installing drivers. The system saw the NIC just fine but it wouldn't allow me to write the drivers into the main system folder. Kept saying something to the effect of "Cannot write to this location". I checked to see if the system folder is locked or anything but it's not and I have admin privaleges. I think its a problem possibly with IRQ's because when I put the NIC in, the PCI SCSI card stopped responding therefore stopping the CD-ROM. Now even after removing the NIC, the PCI SCSI card won't identify properly in the hardware profiles. I checked the BIOS and all is set to auto set IRQ's. I guess I will have to manually assign it? I'm not to knowledgable with dealing with IRQ's.

Also, I didn't think the old BIOS would see a 10 gig drive but it does. It reports it just fine and as the correct Maxtor and model name. But of course Win98 doesn't see the drive. I can put this drive on a newer machine and format it in 2-3 partitions as fat32. If I make 3x 3 gig partitions on that 10gig drive, should win98 then see the drive? Why doesn't windows see the drive? Is it maybe only Win98SE see's large partitions?

also if anyone has any viable ideas to get that data off, I'd appreciate it. 2 way parallel cable perhaps?

thanks

 

[Hammyton]

Can't you just put the old HD into the new computer and start transferring files?

 

[Falcon2k]

Translation:

Try to do this:
Take the old 2GB HD out of the old 133, open the cover for your other system, set the old HD to Slave, then get the second plug on the ribbon cable plugged to the HD of the other system, plug in the old HD and hook the old HD to the power supply, turn on your comp and the old HD should be detected and you can simply click and drag.

Otherwise, you can do it the hard way, zip up all the files you want to transfer, get a filesplit program and split it into 209 floppy disks. Or use 1 floppy to ferry data over 209 times and reconstruct the file...

 

[dakels]

ummm I should have stated this before, i know this is going to sound a bit rediculous to you (as it does to me also) but the person doesn't want to move the HD out. He is very paranoid that the data will get screwed up somehow... I have been trying to get it all to work while leaving the old HD in tact. Also I need to install a bigger drive in there anyways as this person still wishes to use the old computer even though I just got them a P4 2.66........

I have tried to assuage their fears but i have to be honest, nothing is 100%. They just don't want to take the chance. Its ludicrous but it's something I have to deal with at the moment.

 

[newbiepcuser]

Options

1. You can do a data share through a direct connect with a parallel or serial transfer.
2. Go into the BIOS, disalbe the com ports (serial, parallel), etc. Now retry to install the NIC card. Verify that TCP/IP and sharing is installed into Windows 98 (properties of network)
3. Goto to your local hardware store, buy a hard drive and get a copy of ghost. Stick the new hard drive into the old machine and do a disk ghost to ghost. You will copy everything from the old hard drive to the new one. PLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTION SO YOU DON'T JACK UP HIS DATA. Don't worry about seeing the entire HD, it just needs 10GB

Instructions for direct connect

--->direct connect

 

[dakels]

thanks newbiepcuser
I have Ghost and am very familiar with and I also tried installing a 10gig slave, as I posted above, it wouldn't recognize in Win98.
I tried disabling all the IRQ's but the one for the NIC but it still wouldn't install the driver. I think I am going to try the serial connection.
this is so frustrating. Good thing he is a friend cuz I wouldn't go thru this with anybody else.

 

[newbiepcuser]

Have you tried an ATA card with those Maxtor drives or use the retail hard drive cloning disk thats comes in retail boxes, like MAX blast?


Also most NICs suck for Win98se, the best luck I've ever had were old 3coms like the CTX or BX series. I download the Win9.X drivers from 3Com.

 

[Hammyton]

possibly try upgrading the win98 system to a newer version of windows that will recognize the hard disk....
THen you can attach the 10gig on to the older PC and voila transfer files..

 

[kaizersose]

does your friends computer have a usb port (i know some of the really old pentiums dont)? you can buy a special male-male usb cable that lets you drag and drop files. i use one to keep my laptop synced with my desktop. it only usb 1.1, but should should only take about 10-15 min for that 300mb and it only costs ~$20.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?sku=B133-1016
i dont know if you want to buy it from tiger direct, but at least you know what you are looking for.

 

[pilgrim2u]

I had an old p133 NEC w98 that would not boot. I bought a USB external enclosure. I plugged the p133 drive into the enclosure. I plugged in the USB to the new PC XP. The p133 drive appeared. I got all the files off. I did not have to change any settings on the HD
My old pc had a cd burner, a zip drive, and the HD

If that does not look good for you, you could fight the direct cable connect :-(

 

[dakels]

lol USB... lets put it this way the computer has a 5.25" floppy drive.... do you think it has USB?

The NIC was a Kingston 1100? NIC 10/100. I know it works fine cuz I have used it in other machines. I tried 3 different driver packages. The orginal 3.5" floppy that came with the NIC, and 2 downloaded drivers for win95-98 from Kingston's website. None of them would work, all would try and report an error. 1 or 2 times the driver didnt report and error but after I rebooted, the device would show up with a ? problem in the device manager. The driver wasn't properly installed. I even tried to install the driver via a DOS bootup program made for this driver. No dice. Again I was thinking some sort of bios level issue like IRQ.

No I haven't tried and ATA card because I don't want to spend any money on this. I'm trying as hard as possible to avoid putting money into a defunct machine. I don't undersand why the bios reports the drive just fine, yet windows doesn't see it. Maybe I should try partitioning it into less then 4gb partitions and see if windows then recognizes it.

I can try upgrading that OS but right now the SCSI (via PCI card) CD-ROM isn't even working. Something with the IRQ's must have gotten screwed up when I put the PCI NIC in there. Who's knows if it's even that? Let me tell you how fragile the condition of this computer is. I turned the computer on its side for 10 seconds while off. Then put it back upright. All of the sudden the 3.5" floppy stopped working. I unplugged and replugged the cables and it worked again. Weird stupidness like this is what gives slight justifications to this person's unwillingness to tamper with the orginal HD until the data is off.

I do have an option of a FTP transfer off that 56k modem but do the math, 300mb over 56k? Even Rip Van Winkle can't sleep off that wait time.

Thanks for the suggestions fellas, keep'em coming and anything relative that i may need to be aware of.

I may just tell the person, "look i have to pull the HD and put it in th eother machine, no way around it" But I know there's got to be a better way like getting that 10 gig to work and I'm just ignorant to it.

 

[JonTom]

Is the 10g fdisked? partitioned as fat16/32 or as ntfs?

 

[dakels]

Originally posted by: JonTom
Is the 10g fdisked? partitioned as fat16/32 or as ntfs?

Fat32 single partition. I will reformat/repartition into 3x 3gig FAT32 partitions. maybe 1 FAT16 and 2 FAT32 and see what shows up. IIRC, any version of win98 should read FAT32 though right?

 

[chilled]

Originally posted by: dakels: lol USB... lets put it this way the computer has a 5.25" floppy drive.... do you think it has USB?

lmao.......i was wondering when someone would grasp onto that bit

USB connection between PC's is an easy way though, especially if u can pick up a cheap PCI card that has a USB port on it. similarly, u could use a firewire PCI card, in case u've got one lying about and a firewire connection in ur new PC.

 

[JonTom]

Yes, I think even the last version of w95 could read fat32. I'd suggest going forward with the re-partioning and seeing what happens.

Does the HD work in the new computer? In any other computers?

BTW you could explain that while nothing is 100% safe, transfering over IDE by installing the HD in the new computer is much less likely to bork his data than say 109 floppy transfers or a DCC.

 

[dakels]

Originally posted by: JonTom
Yes, I think even the last version of w95 could read fat32. I'd suggest going forward with the re-partioning and seeing what happens.

Does the HD work in the new computer? In any other computers?

BTW you could explain that while nothing is 100% safe, transfering over IDE by installing the HD in the new computer is much less likely to bork his data than say 109 floppy transfers or a DCC.

The drive works fine on a new comp. Thats where I formatted. On a new dell with a 845 chipset. I will try partitioning cuz the BIOS read the drive fine. It automatically reconized on the old bios as a slave, maxtor and model number, and correct size. Windows must not have liked the partition size maybe thats why it didnt load in windows... I really am not sure. I will try f/disk and partitions from the old comp I guess. I will try that tommorrow or wednesday when I go back. For now he has been using floppies for any files he needs atm.


chilled: I didnt have a spare USB card but I have a spare 10/100 kingston NIC with Win95/98 drivers which should have been 10x better. This is a NIC from that time period too soo I thought it would have worked. It was tested on a newer machine and worked fine plug and play style, and I brought over a small spare hub I had and 2 working patch cables. I'm sure it would have if I knew my way around IRQ's better cuz the auto IRQ's weren't working I dont think. I still never figured what the problem was there. I assume IRQ's because the PCI SCSI cards stopped working too but they are seen, just not loading the drivers properly.

overall the hardest thing about working with that computer is not the problems, its the speed in which I can address problems. The internals are HORRIBLY positioned and difficult to maneuver in and the OS feels like a commodore64 trying to run Win XP. It may take me 30 seconds to go from the desktop to the control panels. Each control panel loading individually. It's so painfully arduous.... I told the guy to run a defrag before I go back. Hopefully it will be a little better *crosses fingers*

 

[dakels]

and thanks for the responses. What would I do without AT?*





*answer: get arrested for shooting firearms at computers