Network card all the way! The other stuff is just to get networking going. That’s the goal.

10baseT cards are plentiful and usually free.

IMHO, the best way really depends on whether this is a one-time thing (i.e. when initially setting the system up) versus ongoing file transfers.

If it's a one-time setup thing, the best way is using an external HDD enclosure/connector for a modern PC. Do the initial W95 setup, then connect the drive to the modern PC, transfer all files in bulk, and you're done.

If it's for ongoing file transfers then a network card and local network would be a better option. Though it does require dedicating an expansion slot to a network card and having a local network set up with all the associated cabling.

IMHO, the single best option is just using an external CF adapter and CF card. It combines the best of both worlds. It's easy to transfer files in bulk after initial W95 setup. And it can be easily removed and connected to a modern PC for periodic file transfers.

DaveDDS wrote on 2026-08-12, 13:01:

Actually - IIRC he was asking for the "easiest/cheapest" way to move files, not just the cheapest. […]
Show full quote

ElectroSoldier wrote on 2026-08-12, 08:25:

How is a network card and cable cheaper than a CD-RW disc?
He isnt looking for "the better way" he is looking for the cheapest way.
You can pick up a CD-RW discs for £3.

Actually - IIRC he was asking for the "easiest/cheapest" way to move files, not just the cheapest.

And 1 CD-RW isn't going to cut it - If he's finding CDr costly, he's likely "burning" them a lot - and maybe they've gotten better, but back in the day when I used CDr and CD-RWs a lot, I had too many CD-RWs go bad with repeated use. I'm in N.A. and looking on Amazon, a 10pack of CD-RWs will set you back at least $15-20.

And IIRC they burned more slower (2x or 4x I think) which kinda goes against the "easiest" aspect too!

You can pickup network cards dead cheap -- used NE2000 compatibles are plentiful (At least here) both in ISA and PCI editions.
Getting harder to find new (impossible for ISA), but assuming the system is new enough to have PCI - you can grab a new NIC for as little as $20

and ... don't worry about "top end" - even an old 10mbps NIC is going to beat the pants off off "sneaker-net".

Short cables are also dead cheap.

That only reinforces the CD-RW route.
A NIC that works with is a retro item these days, and it being Win95 theres no saying it has USB. If it has then a USB stick would be best. They can be had for the same amount as 10 CD-RW discs and last an infinate number of times.

A pack of 10 CD-RW disks can be had for about £5-£8...
Much cheaper and easier than a NIC and the cable.

if there was a large amount of data to move then yes I would agree with you on the network route, it would be cheaper if the amount of data to be moved is a lot, but its usually not on retro gaming PCs, especially in the Win95 era.

I just cant see him moving enough data to make the outlay on hardware the likes of which you are talking about worth while. Not even in the long term.

He can fix his problem for the same amount of money as a couple of cups of coffee!

Robbbert wrote on 2026-08-12, 14:54:

Most computers of the pentium class already come with network cards ...

Not entirely sure about that, I still have systems with P1(Aopen), P2(Intel) and P3(Aopen) boards that do NOT have a built in NIC. (Granted it it was a pre-made system it probably came with a NIC - but then that should have been mostly set up) - My P4(Foxconn) does have a built in NIC.

I have no experience with Windows 11, but it can't be that much different to Windows 10, at least in how to set up a shared folder and make the adjustments to allow working with Windows 95.

I don't either - but I doubt MS would have made it completely impossible to interface with older MS (but then again, we are talking MS so who knows)
And I'd be very surprised if there isn't an FTP server available for Win11.

Under Win10, I was able to configure a PCAP so that DosBox (which runs fine in Win10) can provide a virtual NE2000 NIC - then you could use DDLINK or any DOS FTP.
Hopefully it would work similarity in Win11.

Shponglefan wrote on 2026-08-12, 15:13:

IMHO, the best way really depends on whether this is a one-time thing (i.e. when initially setting the system up) versus ongoing file transfers.

He wanted less-costly and easier, both of which suggest (at least to me) that this is more of an ongoing thing.

Agreed that a CD isn't "hard" but it usually involves running some sort of burner program, selecting the files and hitting "burn" - not easy to automate (sometimes important if recurring transfers), waiting for it to complete (I count waiting less as 'easier").

IMHO, the single best option is just using an external CF adapter and CF card ...

Also agreed, and a method I sometimes use, but unless both systems support USB mass storage (in which case a USB "stick" would be obvious and easy) - you will need IDE (or SATA to IDE) have to power-OFF/take side off/connect adapter to IDE cable/power-ON - do transfer - reverse. If you have esata and find a suitable esata->CF adapter that could work as well, but we've getting a bit far from "cheap".

ElectroSoldier wrote on 2026-08-12, 17:40:

That only reinforces the CD-RW route ...

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree - it obviously depends on budget constraints and what's available in your area.

I've not bought CD-RWs in a while, looking on Amazon I see them at $15-$20 for a 10-pack, none of the local shops show lower prices (and most of them show "not in stock").

I also see NICs for about $20 on Amazon - I'm sure you could do better surplus/used.

So... to me price doesn't look all that much higher for the huge advantage on a network when moving between two local systems.
(If you want to send a lot of data to someone by post - yeah, a CDr makes sense (but not so much a CR-RW) 😀 )

Btw: If time is no object serial transfer is almost free (you might have to make a null-modem cable)

Cheap is relative to year, 10 years ago, they were clearing out 50 packs of high speed CDR and 20 packs of CDRW for $6.99.. also around that time, some stores around here had a clearance on StarTech bits and pieces and you might pick up a null modem cable, parallel cable or crossover cat5 for $2. Those still turn up in thrifts but you'll have to have eagle eyes. I got well stocked on media back then, but if I see some turn up anywhere for pocket change, I'll grab more. So in considering whether to burn a CD or not, I usually don't count the pennies. Though I do tend to reserve it for things I might use more than a single time.

In theory, the parts to throw together a parallel bitbang SD card reader are less than $5, but if you have to pay shipping on each of three items, that's $50, not 5.

Network cards used to come up cheap all the time too, but when I see them, it's a dice roll for whether it's ISA, more likely PCI or PCIe, then minimal price seems to have floated up to $10 or $15.

Anyway, bit hard to say the absolute minimum you can do it for, with not having a fly on the wall view of posters thrift stores, dollar stores, tech stores etc to determine what combo comes out cheaper, maybe the dollar store has single CDRWs, I've seen them there in past.

DaveDDS wrote on 2026-08-12, 17:55:

Also agreed, and a method I sometimes use, but unless both systems support USB mass storage (in which case a USB "stick" would be obvious and easy) - you will need IDE (or SATA to IDE) have to power-OFF/take side off/connect adapter to IDE cable/power-ON - do transfer - reverse. If you have esata and find a suitable esata->CF adapter that could work as well, but we've getting a bit far from "cheap".

If you use CF adapters in either an expansion slot or drive bay, the CF card is accessible without having to open the case. All of my systems I use rear expansion slot adapters.

While the system does need to be powered off, it is trivial to remove the CF card, plug into a CF-to-USB reader on my Win 11 PC, copy files, then re-insert into the original PC.

Shponglefan wrote on 2026-08-12, 19:42:

If you use CF adapters in either an expansion slot or drive bay ...

Yes, I use removable drive bays in most of my systems (mainly to easily swap out the primary drive - I swap system OSs a lot), but I do have them on the secondary drive of a couple.

And a few have the entire secondary IDE cable just coming out of an unused backplate slot.

But I tend no to assume others will have (or even want) such setup.

Good point though, if you are doing it often enough, it's probably worth putting in a carrier or bringing the second IDE cable out the back.
- You might not have to do it on both systems ... It the modern system supports USB-mass-storage. you could try a USB<>CF adapter and see if the file systems are compatible.
(I'd still format the CF card in the older system - a modern system is more likely to be able to mount an older file system than and older system is to be able to mount a newer file system)

DaveDDS wrote on 2026-08-12, 22:04:

Yes, I use removable drive bays in most of my systems (mainly to easily swap out the primary drive - I swap system OSs a lot), but I do have them on the secondary drive of a couple.

And a few have the entire secondary IDE cable just coming out of an unused backplate slot.

But I tend no to assume others will have (or even want) such setup.

To be clear, I'm not talking about a removable drive bay or dangling an IDE cable out the back.

I'm talking about CompactFlash adapters that are specifically designed for removable CF cards in either a front-facing drive bay or rear expansion slot.

It the modern system supports USB-mass-storage. you could try a USB<>CF adapter and see if the file systems are compatible.

They are. I use CF cards are my primary fixed storage on a lot of my old systems and routinely plug them into my modern Win 11 PC for copying over files.

(I'd still format the CF card in the older system - a modern system is more likely to be able to mount an older file system than and older system is to be able to mount a newer file system)

It depends what software you use. I've done both setup and formatting on the original PC or use AOMEI Partition Assistant Pro on my modern system with the card or drive connected.

DaveDDS wrote on 2026-08-12, 18:08:

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree - it obviously depends on budget constraints and what's available in your area. […]
Show full quote

ElectroSoldier wrote on 2026-08-12, 17:40:

That only reinforces the CD-RW route ...

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree - it obviously depends on budget constraints and what's available in your area.

I've not bought CD-RWs in a while, looking on Amazon I see them at $15-$20 for a 10-pack, none of the local shops show lower prices (and most of them show "not in stock").

I also see NICs for about $20 on Amazon - I'm sure you could do better surplus/used.

So... to me price doesn't look all that much higher for the huge advantage on a network when moving between two local systems.
(If you want to send a lot of data to someone by post - yeah, a CDr makes sense (but not so much a CR-RW) 😀 )

Btw: If time is no object serial transfer is almost free (you might have to make a null-modem cable)

I didnt believe you! I looked it up and yes youre right.
Even on ebay.ca a 10 pack of CD-RW discs is nearly 30 CAD!
Thats just un real.

st31276a wrote on 2026-08-12, 15:08:

Network card all the way! The other stuff is just to get networking going. That’s the goal.

10baseT cards are plentiful and usually free.

Fully agree.
Cheap(NIC) and easy to set up.

I copy files through FTP between Windows 11 and IBM DOS. 😀
Re: IBM XT 5160 (project complete)

Shponglefan wrote on 2026-08-12, 22:22:

... To be clear, I'm not talking about a removable drive bay or dangling an IDE cable out the back.
I'm talking about CompactFlash adapters that are specifically designed for removable CF cards in either a front-facing drive bay or rear expansion slot. ...

Very nice - I don't think i've seen one of those before.

CFs are the same interface as IDE (they literally "look like" and IDE drive when conencted to an IDE cable)

I just use little cheap adapter which have no real electronics they accept a CF card and just re-arrange the signals to an IDE connector.
Looks like what you showed is the same thing. except designed to actually mount in a front panel 3.5" bay or in a card slot.

I have removable drive carriers on most of my systems, which I've modified so the drive just lays on bars at the bottom, making it very easy to change out a drive (no screws - just IDE and power connectors) - It's just as easy to put in one of these adapters (except they have 3.5" floppy type power - easy enough to adapt that to power from typical IDE driver power connectors)

On a slightly related note: I picked up a SD<>CF adapter - looks like a CF card except it has a slot in the side to insert an SD card.
I was curious to see how well it would work like this because SD having only nine pins must involve some sort of parallel<>serial ... which would make it slower! (but then it would have no rotational latency like an IDE drive)

It actually for the most part woks fine - As a non-boot drive, I can format/read/write it just like I would a CF card (or IDE drive)
The difference comes when I make it bootable - a CF can boot like any other IDE drive, but this SD<>CF can't boot - perhaps the BIOS boot code has tighter timing requirements than the DOS drivers (I tested under DOS)

DaveDDS wrote on 2026-08-12, 22:04:

You might not have to do it on both systems ... It the modern system supports USB-mass-storage. you could try a USB<>CF adapter and see if the file systems are compatible.

FWIW I just tried on a Win7 system, and the CD card I formatted in a DOS system DID read correctly in a USB CD card reader (and also the built-in card reader - which I know is also USB)

Also kinda interesting is that the CF<>SD card I mentioned in my last post DIDN'T show up at all in the same configurations ...
but if I take the SD card out of it and put it in a USB SD reader. it DOES show up and read correctly!

Probably just some minor incompatibility with the CF<>SD adapter and the newer system I was using.

I splurged a while back when these IDE to SATA adapters were on sale, I think I bought six of them. They work on all my motherboards down to a 486. I pair them with these PCI slot enclosures and use SATA hard drives scavenged from console units. I have three PCI enclosures now, two Startech and one Syba. I also have front bay SATA enclosures but prefer the clean look of the PCI slot one.

Transferring files is as simple as copying to c:\temp. Sure you have to power down to physically remove the drive, but the transfer is going right onto the main drive, and there's no additional resources needed and no spurious writes to flash hardware. Any solution would take up some space, be it a slot or bay, pairing with a PCI enclosure offers a solution where minimal impact to the overall system is of consideration.