How can I link two computers ?

[systems]

I have two laptops
I want to install Office 97 to an old Laptop, but it has not a CDROM,

somebody told me that I can LINK both laptops by serial or parallel port and use the CDROM unit of one of them and install it or copy it to the other hard disk...

The question is... what kind of hardware (cables) and software I need ?

[bassvax]

Firstly, while it does not appear that you are in the US, I do believe that International laws still apply so make sure you are keeping within the law by installing on more than one device...(I heard somewhere that you may install MS software on more than one of your personal machines if at any given time only one copy of the application is in use). That said..what operating system you usin'? In Win 98 SE go to the help section and type in direct (cable connection). There you can learn all about the cable required and how to do it. There is even a wizard to walk you through it. You will want to make the laptop with the CDROM your 'host' and the other the 'guest'. If you still need help post back with the particulars of the systems and the problem(s) that you are having. Good luck http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif
ps-I think Win 95 also supports direct cable connection.

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Jerry

[sea69]

Hi,

The least expensive way is to purchase a " Direct Cable Connection" pc to pc file Transfer cable: a nice Belkin 10' DB25 Male/Male Parallel, cable can be purchased almost anywhere. It isnt the fastest transfer avail, but I have used it for lots larger than office '97'.

You use it w/ -start,programs.accessories,communication,Direct Cable Connection. This is assuming u use win98, if it isnt installed on both pc's then get it from the win98 cd, it is there.. much easier than it sounds http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif

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"re-inventing the hammer.. why I oughtta..."

[systems]

Ok I got It ... but I know that one of the laptops have win 95 and the other win 98... is there a problem with that..
I think that tho HOST will be
win 98 and the CLIENT will be win 95... is this right ???
Do you know where can I find information about How to make parallel and serial cables by myself ?


Thanks I really appreciate this..

[bassvax]

There should be no problem with using Win 98 and Win 95 but you might consider waiting for a more knowledgeable reply on that particular issue. I'm sure there are more sites to be found on Yahoo 'making parallel serial cables' but here is one:
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/2250/pinout.html

Help any?

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Jerry

[Paleo Pete]

The Hardware Book (http://www.sonic.net/~alanwall/hwb/hwb.html) also has good diagrams of nearly every pinout you can think of, and I don't know of any reason why using win95 and win98 on the two machines should be any problem.

The cable connection might be a bit different, but networking computers will work with any MS Operating System. Even win3.11 should work with another OS on a network. The DCC is basically a limited form of network.

A null modem cable is what is used, you can get them at CompUsa, Circuit City, etc for under $20. It's the same as a standard parallel cable with one wire crossed, for transferring data both directions. (I'm going by memory here, and as most of you know that means I might have a wire crossed as well...) lol...

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[sea69]

read that (above^) and was suddenly confused..lol (and Ive done this b 4)

anyways.. if u want to manufacture ur own DB25 (and it must be male to male cable)..... It is fine for transfer from win95 to win98. At least I saw no problems when I have done it. The cable is not that expensive, ( I would invest in the amount of the purchase for one) as u can always use it over and over again......

as Pete has said its only around $20

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"re-inventing the hammer.. why I oughtta..."

[This message has been edited by sea69 (edited 01-18-2001).]

[bobman999]

Stuff the US law.
If both laptops have a USB port your in luck.
Using the parallel port is going to take a long time to transfer Microsoft software. You could invest in the new snap on Hard Drives that are avaible for laptops, Or you could buy a 10 or 100mbps laptop network card.


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Bobby

[Paleo Pete]

bobman999 Due to the public nature of the forums, and possible legal repercussions for their creator, Charles, we have to pay attention to the applicable laws. Advising people to ignore the laws concerning licensing and piracy issues is strongly not recommended.

Charles can be dragged into court if someone decided to pursue the issue, so we cannot advise people to install software in a manner inconsistent with the licensing agreements included in the box.

We might not always agree, but we cannot advise questionable use of software. bassvax' comment concerning the legal aspects on this issue were completely correct, and not to be disputed.

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[systems]

Hi
I´m just a little confused...
in the link purposed by bassvax, I found two ways to build my transfer cable..
There are a parallel cable (DB25) and a serial cable (DB25, DB9).
The cuestion is:
Wich cable the parallel or serial I have to use.. because both are DB25, I would like to use the printer port... but what kind of port is this ? serial or parallel ?

[Paleo Pete]

The printer port is parallel, and the preferable one. Serial communication is one way, meaning data can only go in one direction at a time, therefore much slower. Parallel communication can go both ways at once, so it is faster.

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[sea69]

Hey!!!

Felt I must post this: I too was under the impression that it would be ok to use win98 to win95.. and found out NOT!! I have had alot of problems due to trying this and now need to re-install win95 (if I can find a cd for it) http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/mad.gif ....there's only about 800 BILLION of them around...

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"re-inventing the hammer.. why I oughtta..."



[This message has been edited by sea69 (edited 01-22-2001).]

[systems]

Paleo...
Wich cable I have to use ?
laplink cable (parallel) or null modem cable (serial) ?
CAN I USE BOTH IN THE PRINTER PORT ?

[This message has been edited by systems (edited 01-22-2001).]

[sea69]

Hi

Pete (and I) both say to use the Parallel.. however did u read my post above^ ??
Regarding Win98 to Win 95??? .. it was almost like the two were in different languages!!
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"re-inventing the hammer.. why I oughtta..."



[This message has been edited by sea69 (edited 01-22-2001).]

[Samantha]

Can I tag on here, as I want to do something similar? I want to link the PC I'm using right now to my new PC, so that I can transfer my data files from the old to the new computer.

The old computer has Win95a, the new one has Win98SE. What kinds of problems did you encounter, sea69? What were you trying to do?

I'm also confused about the cable needed. Are there two diffferent cables that can be used? Do I want a null modem cable? Is the Belkian a null modem cable?

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S~~

[bassvax]

Me too...me too. I've just been asked by the boss-man to do DCC between Win 95a and Win 98SE puters. I'm curious to see what 'my first time' is gonna look like. On the cable...I need a very long one...is this gonna halt my idea? I understand there will probably be a transfer speed drop, but that is not too important since these will be relatively small files. Do they make 25'-30' foot cables for this? Being lazy here asking since you (Sea) have gone through this already.

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Jerry

[sea69]

well, if u remember my ongoing problem in "Operating Systems".. I have had lots of probs trying to use win98 to win95 files. As for the cable.. Im really not sure what all the other non-sense has been about. It's very clear cut and simple regarding the cable (unless u r in India or want to save $20.00 by attempting to make ur own cable {insane}) all u need is the Belkin cable DB25 'male 2 male' Parallel cable.. thats it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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"re-inventing the hammer.. why I oughtta..."

[This message has been edited by sea69 (edited 01-22-2001).]

[Paleo Pete]

Yep, the parallel is the best bet, but you'll have problems finding one longer than 10' since that's about the limit for parallel transfers, due to the signal deterioration. Jerry might just have to try and make one...

I wouldn't have thought that using win95 and win98 to do this would be a problem, since they both network together quite well, but after seeing sea's troubles, maybe it is a problem...

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