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Grex Hardware Item 68: HOW DO I TRANSFRE FILES TO A NOTEBOOK W/NO FLOPPY?
Entered by matts on Sun Aug 14 18:37:00 UTC 1994:

i am interested in buying a zenith z-lite notebook,
but don't have enoughgh for the external drive.  Is it possible
to transfer files by some other means?  Via rs232 or something?
i guess i could transfer via the modem, but i don't know if
the com soft is loaded on the HD yet...
any ideas?

9 responses total.

#1 of 9 by n8nxf on Mon Aug 15 12:45:42 1994:

Well, if your running DOS 6.XX you can use INTERLNK.  Otherwise there is
always Lap-Link.  If your real cheap, just use a nul-modem cable and
comm software on each machine to x-fer files.  I have the same problem
you do.  My PC laptop has a shot disk drive controller IC.

#2 of 9 by tjo on Mon Aug 15 12:52:14 1994:

I'm no expert, but yes I think that you can use a cable called a null
modem cable to connect the z-lite connect to another computer. These 
cables are like modem cables in that they are serial but I think 
something in the wiring is different to connect to computers. Once you
have them connected I think that you can use communications software
to transfer files. Maybe use direct instead of call, and you may have 
to change some parameters, or a progam called laplink may be better
but I've never used it. At any rate I'm certain that there is a program
that will work even though it is at first only loaded on the desk computer
Hope that helps.
Wouldn't the place selling these have a tech number to call for the best
solution. Even call some vendor from the Computer Shopper that you may
not be buying from w/ an 800 #?  Bye. Good Luck.

#3 of 9 by jjoseph on Wed Aug 17 03:07:34 1994:

Well, hook up the Serial Ports of the two puters, Laptop and PC with a
null-modem, several SW like FX or even your puter com program (Terminat) can
transfer programs really fast.  Laptop and PC needn't have a modem, just serial
ports....Good luck,

#4 of 9 by n8nxf on Wed Aug 17 11:59:34 1994:

You can even get nulmodem adapters from most computer stores.  They will
allow you to use a standard modem cable as a nulmodem cable.  You may
also need a gender bender so everything can be plugged together.

#5 of 9 by rcurl on Wed Aug 17 14:46:35 1994:

Caution: there or four or five "flavors" of null-modem adapters
(if not more). I think the cable is more standard for this application.

#6 of 9 by n8nxf on Wed Aug 17 17:20:41 1994:

If that's so, then three or four are half baked and the forth or fifth
is the real thing. The real thing swaps TX and RX, RTS and CTS, DSR and
DTR.  Lesser versions have fewer wires and therefore fewer spaps.  The
minimum required to transfer serial data is COM, RX and TX.  In minimal
null-modem 3-wire adapters AND cables, only RX and TX are switched.
  (There may even be more swaps in a complete null-modem setup.)

#7 of 9 by mdw on Wed Aug 17 23:39:37 1994:

If you're going from brand X computer to brand X, you usually need to
find out what each particular computer needs.  Some computers are wired
up as DTE's, others as DCE's, still others can be figured either way.
Carrier detect can also be a bit strange - different computers (and
different modems) do different things.  I've wired a lot of "null modem"
cables that wire 6 to 20 and 20 to 8, because DCE ports on computers
generally assert DSR and don't implement DCD, but modems generally
assert DSR several seconds before carrier detect; wiring DSR to the
computer results in login prompts that get printed before carrier is
established.  Some computers are pickier than others; IBM PC compatibles
are especially picky about having the right signals on all pins.  Since
there are so many PC's & there is some sort of standard there for what
signals get implemented (bios & hardware see to that), if you're hooking
2 PC's together it doesn't make sense to build your own cable for that.
In the more general case, it's often simpliest to just wire DTR to DSR &
DCD on each end and do a 3 wire cable, if you're just wiring 2 local
computers together.

#8 of 9 by rtgreen on Wed Mar 4 04:38:38 1998:

basic null modem:

Connector 1        connector 2
   1           -       1
   2           -       3
   3           -       2
   6           -       8 & 20
   7           -       7
   8 & 20      -       6

this one swaps all signals that I've ever needed.

Now the question of software.  All the suggestions of various communications
programs are useless if you can't get them loaded on the laptop.  Transfering
the first file is the problem,  After that, you've got your favorite tool
there, and you're home free.  So examine the builtin applications already on
the laptop - is there a terminal emulator?  Does it support kermit or xmodem?
If not, does it have a basic 'capture log' mode?  In one case, I had to resort
to exploding my favorite terminal emulator (IMP.COM, for those of you who
remember CP/M) into an intel hex file, splitting it into pieces that would
fit into the RAM buffer area available, transferring them one at a time using
a simple ASCII capture file technique, re-concatenating them with PIP into
a single file, and LOADing it to get back to a usable .COM file.  Once I had
xmodem available, the world was available to me!

disclaimer:  I'm doing this from memory, and something is telling me that the
'6 to 8 & 20' might need to be '6 & 8 to 20'.  I don't have an RS232 reference
card handy.  It should be DTR on one side feeds CD and DSR to its partner.
This is for connecting two DTE devices, which is the way all PC serial ports
I've seen are configured.

Since this item is several years old, I'm assuming you figured it out long
ago, anyway...

#9 of 9 by arthurp on Wed Apr 15 04:40:44 1998:

I remember those CP/M commands, though only from reading about them.  :(

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