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So I have a very, very old DOS machine with an RS232 port on it and I want to be able to transfer files to it from a Windows 7 machine. For this i bought an RS232 to USB cable.
What sort of software do I need for the devices to see each other, once i get the cable plugged in?
Capurnicus
Posted 2013-05-24T18:32:00.593
Reputation: 31
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What you're asking for is not exactly straight forward. Even when connecting two computers with both ends being USB it typically requires a bridge component to facilitate file transfer. [1]
Likely, you would need some kind of terminal program or something on the DOS machine to tell it to push data out through the RS232 serial cable and another program on the Win7 side to receive it.
You would likely have a much easier time plugging your DOS machine in with ethernet and doing a simple file transfer. (Assuming it has an ethernet port, though I haven't seen too many DOS machines without one)
MS-DOS 3.1 was the first DOS version to support networking and file sharing. To share files you would use the SHARE program.
Will.Beninger
Posted 2013-05-24T18:32:00.593
Reputation: 1 402
My original thought was with Ethernet as well... unfortunately i never could get that to work. The two computers simply never could see each other. – Capurnicus – 2013-05-24T18:59:32.920
Are you able to get an IP address on the DOS machine? Are you able to ping the default router/Windows 7 PC? If not, is there a firewall or rules preventing you from doing so? You should be able to access your Win7 from DOS using "net use Z: \WIN7NAME\C$ /User:username password" – Will.Beninger – 2013-05-24T19:03:28.763
I figured out how to set the DOS machines IP Address yea. Using a crossover cable i connected it to my Windows 7 computer. I set Z: to equal exactly what you put.... The DOS machine never showed the Z: though in the Router Program (which i think is the problem) that it boots into. – Capurnicus – 2013-05-24T19:07:22.187
The routing program really complicates everything.... Basically I mapped Z: to equal "\WIN7NAME\C$ /User:username password"" then restarted the machine and let it boot into the program. Theoretically Z: should of showed up within the program and allowed me to see the Windows 7 computer. – Capurnicus – 2013-05-24T19:14:09.587
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@Capurnicus: The problem you are facing is probably this: From Windows Vista onwards NTLMv2 is used for authentication. Older OS's cannot handle this, hence you cannot connect to your W7 shares. It is possible to tell W7 to use the old NTML authentication. Please see the TROUBLESHOOTING/SECURITY section of this document: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=17168
– mpy – 2013-05-24T19:39:13.9401@Will.Beninger: Which DOS version ships with net? I thought this was a feature of WfW 3.11? – mpy – 2013-05-24T19:40:27.773
@mpy As far as my memory goes... DOS 3.1 shipped with networking capabilities. You're definitely right net was only for Win 95 and up. The command evades me though. I'll fix the answer if I find it. – Will.Beninger – 2013-05-24T19:58:58.843
@Will.Beninger: My comment wasn't meant as criticism, I was just curious as I recently had a discussion on that topic. Nevertheless thanks for digging into that (+1), indeed SHARE rings some bells... those were the days ;) – mpy – 2013-05-24T20:27:19.403
@mpy I'm going to see if I can't kick off a VM running MS-DOS 3.1 tonight. Maybe I'll find a SHARE program that I can write a full tutorial for this. I'm surprised so little is coming back to me after all these years... – Will.Beninger – 2013-05-24T20:57:19.583
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My goto application for this sort of activity was kermit. Other alternatives are xmodem or ymodem. Most terminal programs should support one or more of these.
kermit is quite scriptable and works over 7bit and 8bit connections.
BillThor
Posted 2013-05-24T18:32:00.593
Reputation: 9 384
0
You might try PuTTY, which can connect via a serial connection: http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html
Davidw
Posted 2013-05-24T18:32:00.593
Reputation: 543
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Is your RS232->USB adapter a NULL Modem cable? If not, then you need to go get one. :)
– Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007 – 2013-05-24T19:41:03.203Should've gotten a NIC instead... – Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams – 2013-05-25T03:37:46.047