Ok gurus - How to get data from dos system to XP.

[digiblur]

My XP system has an:

Attansic L1 Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000Base-T Adapter

My dos 6.2 system currently has no network card at all but I did find a Linksys etherfast 10/100 Lan card model # LNE100TX version 4.1 in a box of parts. Will this work and how much memory will it take from my autocad program?

Not sure how much memory it needs. But you could just boot from the USB, CD, or floppy that binds to the network. Copy your files and call it done, then boot back to your regular stuff.

Download the driver package to that and look for a file with the extension of DOS.

 

[waltinvt]

Would that be any quicker than just copying files via a couple floppys?

 

[digiblur]

Would that be any quicker than just copying files via a couple floppys?

Of course... and the big key is reliability. If you look at a floppy wrong these days it goes bad.

 

[Paradox-SJ]

Install Windows 3.1.1...(windows for work groups) its networkable and you have DOS to run your Autocad in

 

[Hermitman]

How about using phone modems with a simple communications package? It's won't be as fast as ethernet but they'll be speaking the same language.

 

[gbjbany]

i guess i may have missed something does the dos system have a USB port ? When i flash the bios on my pc, i use a dos diskette with usb drivers.
So using a usb stick you could move the files easier than floppies not as fast as networked i know but a possible solution

 

[TheForce]

I used to have a similar problem with my 3D studio work. When I needed the Dos system to be seen by the windows network, I would reboot with a program called windows 3.1 "Windows for Workgroups" It loaded on Dos and allowed other windows, even windows XP to see all the data from the dos drive as a workgroup computer. All you would need to do is install this version of windows on your DOS computer with the autocad and then only launch it when you need to have the computer be seen as a shared resource on your network. You could launch Win 3.1 WFWG open a DOS window and load Autocad in that window but It will hog your resources away from autocad. Also, you no doubt are using QEMM memory manager for your DOS machine.

 

[Smith P.]

Never been a problem to make MS DOS with network if you have the driver and necessary programs. I think you can find in Internet how-to.
In case if youl have LAN card with packet driver or same card as used myself many years ago, I could find that bootable MS-DOS floppy with a full set.

 

[Hall]

Windows for Workgroups will use up memory that he stated he needs for AutoCAD. What are the hardware specs of this DOS box anyway ?

I like the idea of an FTP server on the XP box. You can surely find an FTP client for DOS.

As for Laplink, you won't find a *new* copy anywhere. Look at used software places or search online.

 

[waltinvt]

i guess i may have missed something does the dos system have a USB port ? When i flash the bios on my pc, i use a dos diskette with usb drivers.
So using a usb stick you could move the files easier than floppies not as fast as networked i know but a possible solution

No, it doesn't have any USB ports nor a network card. It's a Pentium II with Dos 6.2 and Win 3.1 and all I use this machine for is running Autocad Release 12 for Dos.

I'd love to put a USB in it but didn't know if it was possible on a Dos machine.

 

[waltinvt]

I used to have a similar problem with my 3D studio work. When I needed the Dos system to be seen by the windows network, I would reboot with a program called windows 3.1 "Windows for Workgroups" It loaded on Dos and allowed other windows, even windows XP to see all the data from the dos drive as a workgroup computer. All you would need to do is install this version of windows on your DOS computer with the autocad and then only launch it when you need to have the computer be seen as a shared resource on your network. You could launch Win 3.1 WFWG open a DOS window and load Autocad in that window but It will hog your resources away from autocad. Also, you no doubt are using QEMM memory manager for your DOS machine.

Gosh I've been using this setup for so long I don't even remember. I know Autocad uses what's called the "Par-Lap" extender, which is why it won't run in an XP Dos window.

Looking in my autoexec.bat and config.sys, I see a lot of stuff loaded in high memory, mouse cloaking, EMM386.exe NOEMS but no QEMM. I believe I used to use that in earlier versions though.

Anyway, it's been working for years, so I never screw around with it. I know I should move over to a windows version of Autocad but with all the customization I've done on my dos version I'm more productive and I've just never had the extra time to get proficient on the new version.

 

[8bitbytes]

It was suggested earlier but you can load Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 for free and install your XP machine as one machine and the MSDOS 6.22 machine as another machine.

Check here for more info:

Microsoft Virtual PC 2007

 

[waltinvt]

It was suggested earlier but you can load Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 for free and install your XP machine as one machine and the MSDOS 6.22 machine as another machine.

Check here for more info:

Microsoft Virtual PC 2007

I guess I missed that. Just did a quick check of the site and it sure sounds promising. There have been other programs in the past that claimed similar success running dos apps in newer Windows OS but to my knowledge none of them worked for Autocad R-12 Dos except a few dual boot setups in Win 95 or 98. I will check it out further though - maybe skip over to the Autocad forum and see if anyone is using it. Thanks.

 

[mike123abc]

Windows 95 DOS mode works great. I still have a computer with 128MB of memory and Win95. When you boot it into DOS mode you have most of the 640k available and up to I think 16 MB of DOS extended memory. When you need to transfer files just type "win" and get back to full windows for file sharing. Then shutdown back to DOS for your program.

I have to use Win95 for a special ISA card that is a coprocessor that needs 16 bit mode. Win95 is the last windows version to support 16 bit mode. Thankfully I should get rid of the set up next year.

 

[Hall]

USB won't work in anything older than Win95 OSR2 (Win98 for *most* people). Technically it could but no one will write drivers for it.

QEMM was 3rd-party software, Quarterdeck, as I recall, and cost money. Later versions of DOS get better and better with memory management and I suspect QEMM may not help that much.

You say the machine has Win3.1 but I presume you only load it when you want to. You do NOT run AutoCAD *from* Windows, do you ? You could, and Windows could help with add'l memory management, but it probably won't be any better than running in pure DOS mode.

 

[Ilya]

Autocad is very graphics intensive, so it is possible that it works with video hardware directly, and may have problems with VirtualPC - give it a try though.

If you need to transfer files on a daily basis, you may want to get a network card with DOS drivers. You should still be able to find those on the Internet.

There are also USB drivers for DOS out there to access external USB storage. For example, I know Norton Ghost 2003 came with those in the past. You might be able to find Dos USB drivers on the Internet.

Do a Google search for DOS USB drivers and/or DOS network drivers.

The ultimate solution though would be to bite the bullet and move to a Windows version of AutoCad.

 

[waltinvt]

You guys have certainly given me a lot of options to think about and check out. Thanks to all of you.

 

[mdonnelly]

You might try a terminal emulation program with something like X-Modem or Kermit to send and receive binary files. Here's a link to one that I used a long time ago - Procomm Plus. Use that in DOS along with Hyperterminal in XP. All you need is a null-modem cable between the two serial ports.

See here.

 

[Ilya]

You might try a terminal emulation program with something like X-Modem or Kermit

This would work too. Though it's not going to be any faster than using floppies, I suspect.

 

[mdonnelly]

This would work too. Though it's not going to be any faster than using floppies.

But there's no size limit on the files, and with Acad, that's a consideration. With a direct connection via null-modem, you can use the highest speed available to the program. Laplink via the parallel port would be faster, and so would ftp, but I guess that's not an option.