Hi everybody!

This is my first post to this fine forum that I've started to notice just recently since I've got hold of a old Toshiba T3200 "laptop".

I was happy to recently get hold of this loud, but cute 8 kg machine (from 1987), which roughly matches the first PC of my childhood, also a 286, with monochrome monitor and 20-40MB harddrive.

The problem is transferring files over to it. The floppy (1.44MB) no longer seems to work. When I try to read a disk I do get the characteristic diskreading sound, and an internal diod lights up. But it never successfully reads any disk (I've also tried with 720kb formatted non HD-disks as I've understood that earlier batches of the T3200 instead used a 720KB diskdrive).

At first it didn't really bother me that the diskdrive did not work as the computer has two ISA slots (8bit and 16bit) and I intended to install a ethernet ISA network card. But for the network card to be of any use I need to get the drivers and some network client software over in the first place. As the T3200 also has a serial and a parallell port, and Norton Commander 5.0 installed, that did not worry me so much as I figured transfers over nullmodem could solve that issue.

Now I've made extensive tries with getting transfers over NC Commander link, NC Term95 and using the MODE/CTTY-commands. In a way there have been some success, depending on how you look at it, but I have still to succeed transferring a complete binary file.

This is what have worked/failed:

• Transfer of files using NC Commander Link from T3200 to/from other physical computer, using serial nullmodem cable: Failure (the connection is not recognized)

• Transfer of files using NC Commander Link from T3200 to/from other physical computer, using parallell cable: Failure (the connection is not recognized)

• Transfers using NC Term 95 terminal software on T3200 from newer physical computer (using TeraTerm), using serial nullmodem cable, using same settings on both computer (at 2400 kbps or 9600 kpbs): I managed to "Send" both ASCII and binary files, but its only interpreted as text in Term95 on the T3200. Sometimes I have managed (sometimes not, wo any for me observable reason) managed to initiate a "Transfer" from the newer computer (TeraTerm), with Zmodem protocol, which the T3200 acknoowledges and show a transferdialog, but these transfers always timeout almost immediately.

• I have also managed to connect the T3200 with another old computer using NC Term 95, and sending and receiving ASCII.

• Using the nullmodem cable I have also gotten the old computer to acknowledge that I tried to initiate a "Clone"-transfer to the T3200 (which then runs MODE and CTTY-commands) from the other computer running NC Commanderlink clone-mode. But then the transfer also seems to get lost or time out (the CTTY command doesn't really give any feedback beyond the first message).

I have made successfull transfers with my nullmodem cable between two other computers using Norton Commander 5.0 (so the serial cable does work), but never succeded doing over the printer port, even though I've tried two different parallell cables and virtually all different parallellport settings in the BIOSsetups.

I have read that the serialport of the T3200 has a max speed of 9600kpbs, which is fine. I haven't tried higher speeds, but trying transfers in 2400kpbs does not seem to improve stability either. My impression is that the serial port seems pretty unstable. If it does matter, the CMOS battery is finished on the T3200, but as all settings are made through psyhical swiches on this machine I think that really does't affect the transfers, or is the system time in any way used to handle transfers? I can also add that besides NC 5.0 the only content of the harddrive is Toshiba Dos 4.0, excluding any version of Basic, or InterLink/Svr.

If it is not possible to make transfers over serial or parallell work, my options, as I percieve them these:

• Get hold of a ISA-card with additional serial and/or paralell ports

• Get a IDE->Flash adapter, a compact flash card, and somehow flash my bios to accept the "non-native" IDE-device. I know others have done this, and perhaps, if I read up more, this possibly could be the next step

• Open up the case, and inspect/clean what I can reach of the diskdrive and with some luck get it to work

• Replace the diskdrive with another, original Torhiba 26pin diskdrive, or another internal 1,44MB drive, but in that case get a specific 26->34pin adapter,.. but I think this option is not that probable

• I don't really belive this would work, but NC also have some network utilities (which I've never used and familiar with). If NC would acknowledge the network card , possibly (but not probable) it could work to share files without any additional drivers

I'm very interested to hear if anyone has any idea on what might be wrong/fixable and how to move forward from here.

Thanks in advance
/Micke