1. You can use your printer port with for example Total Commander to transfer data.
2. Put the driver onto a different hard drive (or CF card) and insert it as a second drive to move the driver over.
3. Take the HDD out of this PC in question, put it in a different PC as a second drive, move over the driver then put it back into the original PC.

Try looking at the downloaded .exe with 7zip

Hey RandomStranger,

Thanks for the suggestion! I am able to get files on the PC (via USB and CD). I am not able to get the files out of the downloaded .exe though.

When I run it wants to write to a diskete drive (and I don't have one.

Yeah I misunderstood your problem. You can try the 7zip thing, though I couldn't look into your file with archive manager.
Worst case you'll just have to set up a full virtual PC in VirtualBox or something at try running it there.

I got no idea on how you set up a floppy drive in dosbox,
but I assume
that is what you want to do, set up a floppy drive in dosbox, to get the actual floppy disk image contained within the etilan.exe archive, by running the program which then in turn will write its content to the floppy drive.
After which you will have access to the files on the dosbox floppy drive.

oh yeah and the 7zip thing is no go.

weedeewee wrote on 2021-12-09, 19:36:

oh yeah and the 7zip thing is no go.

It is a Sydex Teledisk image exe (an exectuable that contains a .TD0 and writes directly to floppy only) hex read of the internal:
"Copyright 1997, Sydex, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ...low.high.extended.<360K 5.25".1.2M 5.25".720K 3.5".1.44M 3.5". 8 inch .2.88M 3.5"..
Not enough memory to execute......Requires at least DOS 3.3"

and no tool can properly read thru those and extract the files even Uniextract cannot pull the .TD0 out and nothing but Teledisk can write a .TD0:
http://dunfield.classiccmp.org/img47321/teledisk.htm

Here is a Winimage .IMZ of the floppy created (can be extracted/mounted)..and just the zipped up files...
Read the Read.me file before installing ! ......

Not exactly on this topic, but this is giving me some ideas ...

Having a cheap way of transmitting small files to a DOS PC without using anything vintage or fancy and not disassemble the machine either would be great.

Maybe hacking something with the keyboard port and some original DOS program (by that I mean a program that ships with DOS, not something you'd add since that's the main issue) work ?
The only shadow I see is how to make a transmitter that anyone could build without having to buy something complex that would be beyond the point (if you have to buy a microcontroller, then it's better to just go and buy a serial adapter I guess).

I doubt USB can be hacked to do that ? If it can actually be hacked there might be something we can do 😁

If QBASIC is available then you can quickly write a little program to get data off COM port and dump into a file. Stuff like keyboard data entry is going to require a real MCU approach and will be much more complicated to implement anyway and requires enough DIY you might aswell take the machine apart and get access to the HDD to insert data directly with an USB bridge or something on a modern machine.

Well the thing is, you need to have a com port on the modern pc (which is unlikely) and a serial cable (can also be a bummer). I was thinking of making a program for a modern pc that would act as a keyboard for the old pc that would then transmit data by connecting them together in some way by just modding some cable.

Maybe a modern really pc can't do that at all, but I am curious.

We "just" need one controllable 5V pin that can reliably be hacked to pulsate the way we want. The most complicated task would be the software I think

serial port would be so much easier than hacking up some weirdo usb-keyboard interface.

And buying floppy disks would be even easier, but this isn't the point 😉

Programming wise (if that's even possible) this is definitely a challenge for the uploader. Hardware wise it's as easy as cutting a wire and plugging it in the port

floppy disks? you infidel! cassettes are the only way to go! 🤣

Which port ? the drinkable kind can be quite soothing.

weedeewee wrote on 2021-12-10, 12:06:

floppy disks? you infidel! cassettes are the only way to go! 🤣

Which port ? the drinkable kind can be quite soothing.

So, do you ever have a cherry in your port? 😉

For the destination the keyboard port could work I think. For the source, this is indeed where it gets complicated.

Maybe hacking the pc-speaker could work. But it's not present on all PCs either when it is, it can be a piezoelectric speaker without any header.

sounds like it would be easier to add a little circuit to the audio output of the new pc.

a keyboard port... I wonder if that would sell, wine aged in a big vat with as many old keyboards in it that the vat could handle.
Bottled in a nice flask shaped like a key.
The premium stuff for the well nurtured programmer.

or maybe a photodiode and blink a few pixels on the screen.

Thanks Horun, that worked perfectly!

The card is now detected in both Windows 95/Linux. Things aren't working yet, but at least one step down.

The card is getting incoming network traffic, but not able to get a lease. Even when I set a static IP can't send or receive pings. Fun debugging project for the weekend 😀

Since you're running linux, it should be as easy as running tcpdump on the machine in question and another one, then trying to figure out if it's a cable, cable-config, irq, or some weird driver quirk. 😁

Deksor wrote on 2021-12-10, 11:00:

Well the thing is, you need to have a com port on the modern pc (which is unlikely) and a serial cable (can also be a bummer). I was thinking of making a program for a modern pc that would act as a keyboard for the old pc that would then transmit data by connecting them together in some way by just modding some cable.

Keyboard has a complex I2C like bidirectional serial protocol with fairly strict timings that you won't be re-creating without an MCU since that bus is a dedicated thing between two MCUs that have to respond to each other immediately and properly.

COM port is definitely the easier way with widely available USB converter cables at very low cost. Only other port that can almost do it with just modding a cable (some diodes will be necessary to simulate open drain signalling) is LPT port and that is even less available on modern things, and OS will still get in the way of getting any good enough timings for things to work...

weedeewee wrote on 2021-12-10, 15:45:

Since you're running linux, it should be as easy as running tcpdump on the machine in question and another one, then trying to figure out if it's a cable, cable-config, irq, or some weird driver quirk. 😁

Tonight I am going to confirm that network traffic leaving my Thinkpad is received unmodified on Compaq host. I just have an ethernet cable plugged in between them, not using a switch or gateway.

What things should I be looking at re: cable, cable-config? I know very little hardware/networking wise so not sure where to start debugging and learning wise.