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[cookie_lu]

What is the best and quickest method to transfer files from PC running WinXP to an old PC running DOS? And what if the PCs are connected by LAN.

I know the possible methods are:
1. Floppy disk (small files only, may not have drive on new PC)
2. Zip drive (may not have parallel port on new PC)
3. Serial/Parallel using 'commander' software like Norton Commander
4. Set up LAN (can be tedious to set up for quick transfer)
5. CD (tedious and slow to burn files)

Is there any other better and quicker/adhoc methods? Is there 'commander' software on both platforms and uses LAN (packet)?

[The Fifth Horseman]

Originally Posted by cookie_lu

Is there any other better and quicker/adhoc methods?

Yes. Using the HDD as a removable drive.

You'd need a 5,25'' bay IDE drive rack in the DOS machine and another either installed permamently in the XP machine (not recommended, though - you have to power down the entire PC to connect or disconnect the drive) or in a 5,25'' IDE drive enclosure for USB interface (which is a tad more expensive, but far more convenient).

[gregor]

OR

You can just connect the WINXP drive to the motherboard with the DOS and transfer the fiels you need to transfer/copy to the other disk. ofcourse you would need FAT 32 installed on the WinXP disk. but i guess it would have to be IDE Hard disk

[The Fifth Horseman]

Originally Posted by gregor

OR

You can just connect the WINXP drive to the motherboard with the DOS and transfer the fiels you need to transfer/copy to the other disk. ofcourse you would need FAT 32 installed on the WinXP disk. but i guess it would have to be IDE Hard disk

Chances are that even if the XP drive was FAT-32 formatted and used IDE cables, the old motherboard would not be able to recognize it because of its size.
Connecting a DOS HDD to Windows machine will definitely work on the other hand.

[cookie_lu]

Thanks for the reply.

Will it get any easier if both PCs are connected on a network? I looking for an ad hoc solution.

Is there any 'commander' type of software that works on both DOS and WinXP and transfer files via LAN?

[The Fifth Horseman]

You could perhaps run NC through DOSBox on the XP machine and then use DOSBox' IPX emulation to connect to the DOS machine, but I don't know whether that would work.

I really don't think there are programs that could directly connect both systems - we're talking about well over a decade of difference here!

[Japo]

I wouldn't get my hands dirty with hardware for that. You can transfer the files by whatever method, the only limitation is that DOS v7 and lower can't read NTFS and v6 and lower can't read FAT32. But you can use an intermediate floppy or CD. Also if the DOS machine has USB ports, I once saw some USB drivers for DOS, if you don't find them googling I could send them to you although I've never tried them myself; this solution would be ideal I guess, but an old DOS machine won't have USB ports. Or if you're going to do it very often I guess that the bother to setup a connection would be worth it, but that's up to you to decide. There was/is networking software for DOS, but the only thing I could do to help you further is googling and you can do that yourself.

[The Fifth Horseman]

Originally Posted by Japofran

but an old DOS machine won't have USB ports.

There were some USB expansion cards for PCI slot, IIRC.

[_r.u.s.s.]

horseman had a good idea about norton commander but it won't work via dosbox. and i'm not sure if there was tcp/ip protocol in dos at all. you will need to instal IPX protocol on your xp machine (which is quite easy in control panel-> network managment) and then get some dos lan client and somehow configure the lan in dos=S but i don't know how

random google search gave me this result http://www.computing.net/dos/wwwboard/forum/14970.html

[dosraider]

USB PCI cards that work in DOS are easy tio find, even as the needed drivers (MSDos 6.22).
Problem is the sticks.
In my own experience:
-> Sticks +2 Gb = problematic.
-> Sticks ~1 Gb= trial and error, some work, some not, sometimes they are completely screwed up when accessed via DOS, reformat in XP is obligatory.
-> Sticks ~512 Mb= trial and error, but most work.
-> My (really) old 32 MB stick= No probs.

So in fact I'm bound to max 32 MB file transfer, however that usually do for dos apps. If I need more I simply use a CDRW.

If you want LAN I would advise installing Windows for Worgroups 3.xx, that is compatible with XP. And much (now yeah, 'much'?) easier than setup a LAN in plain DOS.