Connecting old PC to new -Newbie question

I bought a new PC (P4 3.0ghz with XP Home and 512mg RAM) about 18 months
ago, and tried to connect my old PC by fitting a Network Card to it.

I couldn't get this to work, because my old PC is running Win 95, and you
need minimum Win 98 to run the set-up from CD ( I couldn't manage to set
it up manually).

I've now got Broadband, and am using an ADSL Wireless Router (used wired).
Now I have the router, is it much simpler to connect the two PC's
together, and how do I do this ?

I mainly just want to get the files off my old hard drive, but was also
wondering whether I could set it up so that my mother could share the
internet connection. Would this be possible, or would the old PC be too
slow for broadband ?



Paul S

Paul S wrote:

> I bought a new PC (P4 3.0ghz with XP Home and 512mg RAM) about 18 months
> ago, and tried to connect my old PC by fitting a Network Card to it.

> I couldn't get this to work, because my old PC is running Win 95, and you
> need minimum Win 98 to run the set-up from CD ( I couldn't manage to set
> it up manually).

> I've now got Broadband, and am using an ADSL Wireless Router (used wired).
> Now I have the router, is it much simpler to connect the two PC's
> together, and how do I do this ?

> I mainly just want to get the files off my old hard drive, but was also
> wondering whether I could set it up so that my mother could share the
> internet connection. Would this be possible, or would the old PC be too
> slow for broadband ?

Oh, forgot to say, I already have a yellow cable that says Cat 5e on it,
although it's rather short, at about 1 metre.

On Sun, 25 Feb 2007 21:52:26 GMT, (E-Mail Removed)(Paul S)
wrote:

>I bought a new PC (P4 3.0ghz with XP Home and 512mg RAM) about 18 months
>ago, and tried to connect my old PC by fitting a Network Card to it.
>
>I couldn't get this to work, because my old PC is running Win 95, and you
>need minimum Win 98 to run the set-up from CD ( I couldn't manage to set
>it up manually).
>
>I've now got Broadband, and am using an ADSL Wireless Router (used wired).
>Now I have the router, is it much simpler to connect the two PC's
>together, and how do I do this ?
>
>I mainly just want to get the files off my old hard drive, but was also
>wondering whether I could set it up so that my mother could share the
>internet connection. Would this be possible, or would the old PC be too
>slow for broadband ?
>
Should be possible,

my 3com network pci card works fine on W95os2.1, drivers came on
floppy although i eventally copied these onto the hard drive. Seem to
remember taking out and replacing card for some reason and windows
accepting the copies when steered to the hard drive.

CPU 200mhz AMD.

The card is connected to wireless ADSEL modem with 4 ethernet ports,
XP PC connected to network by wireless..

Broadband fine.

On Mon, 26 Feb 2007 00:49:47 GMT, (E-Mail Removed) (norm) wrote:

>On Sun, 25 Feb 2007 21:52:26 GMT, (E-Mail Removed)(Paul S)
>wrote:
>
>>I bought a new PC (P4 3.0ghz with XP Home and 512mg RAM) about 18 months
>>ago, and tried to connect my old PC by fitting a Network Card to it.
>>
>>I couldn't get this to work, because my old PC is running Win 95, and you
>>need minimum Win 98 to run the set-up from CD ( I couldn't manage to set
>>it up manually).
>>
>>I've now got Broadband, and am using an ADSL Wireless Router (used wired).
>>Now I have the router, is it much simpler to connect the two PC's
>>together, and how do I do this ?
>>
>>I mainly just want to get the files off my old hard drive, but was also
>>wondering whether I could set it up so that my mother could share the
>>internet connection. Would this be possible, or would the old PC be too
>>slow for broadband ?
>>
>Should be possible,
>
>my 3com network pci card works fine on W95os2.1, drivers came on
>floppy although i eventally copied these onto the hard drive. Seem to
>remember taking out and replacing card for some reason and windows
>accepting the copies when steered to the hard drive.
>
>CPU 200mhz AMD.
>
>The card is connected to wireless ADSEL modem with 4 ethernet ports,
>XP PC connected to network by wireless..
>
>Broadband fine.
>
Oops, the ethernet card is a Cnet not 3com.
Incidently no indication there was broadband connection until a quick
browse with firefox confirmed I was online.

In article <45e2051a$0$8740$(E-Mail Removed)>, Paul
S says...
> I bought a new PC (P4 3.0ghz with XP Home and 512mg RAM) about 18 months
> ago, and tried to connect my old PC by fitting a Network Card to it.
>
> I couldn't get this to work, because my old PC is running Win 95, and you
> need minimum Win 98 to run the set-up from CD ( I couldn't manage to set
> it up manually).
>
> I've now got Broadband, and am using an ADSL Wireless Router (used wired).
> Now I have the router, is it much simpler to connect the two PC's
> together, and how do I do this ?
>
> I mainly just want to get the files off my old hard drive, but was also
> wondering whether I could set it up so that my mother could share the
> internet connection. Would this be possible, or would the old PC be too
> slow for broadband ?
>
Buy a Realtek 8192 based PCI network card.

As for too old for broadband? I've used a 486 on it.

--
Conor

Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright
until you hear them speak.........

In article <45e206de$0$8730$(E-Mail Removed)>, Paul S
(E-Mail Removed) says...
> Paul S wrote:
>
> > I bought a new PC (P4 3.0ghz with XP Home and 512mg RAM) about 18 months
> > ago, and tried to connect my old PC by fitting a Network Card to it.
>
> > I couldn't get this to work, because my old PC is running Win 95, and you
> > need minimum Win 98 to run the set-up from CD ( I couldn't manage to set
> > it up manually).
>
> > I've now got Broadband, and am using an ADSL Wireless Router (used wired).
> > Now I have the router, is it much simpler to connect the two PC's
> > together, and how do I do this ?

Just set the PCs to use DHCP and the router (DHCP server) will do the
rest. You'll also need to enable File and Printer Sharing, and you may
struggle to get the passwords to work between XP and 95.
>
> > I mainly just want to get the files off my old hard drive, but was also
> > wondering whether I could set it up so that my mother could share the
> > internet connection. Would this be possible, or would the old PC be too
> > slow for broadband ?

Windows 3.1 on a 386 will run OK with a broadband.
>
> Oh, forgot to say, I already have a yellow cable that says Cat 5e on it,
> although it's rather short, at about 1 metre.
>
If that's the cable you were using before it could be the reason you
couldn't get a manual connection to work - it's almost certainly
straight-through, and you probably need a crossover cable to connect the
two PCs directly. It should be fine for connecting one of the PCs to
the router.

Rob Morley wrote:

> In article <45e206de$0$8730$(E-Mail Removed)>, Paul S
> (E-Mail Removed) says...
> > Paul S wrote:
> >
> > > I bought a new PC (P4 3.0ghz with XP Home and 512mg RAM) about 18 months
> > > ago, and tried to connect my old PC by fitting a Network Card to it.
> >
> > > I couldn't get this to work, because my old PC is running Win 95, and you
> > > need minimum Win 98 to run the set-up from CD ( I couldn't manage to set
> > > it up manually).
> >
> > > I've now got Broadband, and am using an ADSL Wireless Router (used
wired).
> > > Now I have the router, is it much simpler to connect the two PC's
> > > together, and how do I do this ?

> Just set the PCs to use DHCP and the router (DHCP server) will do the
> rest. You'll also need to enable File and Printer Sharing, and you may
> struggle to get the passwords to work between XP and 95.
> >
> > > I mainly just want to get the files off my old hard drive, but was also
> > > wondering whether I could set it up so that my mother could share the
> > > internet connection. Would this be possible, or would the old PC be too
> > > slow for broadband ?

> Windows 3.1 on a 386 will run OK with a broadband.
> >
> > Oh, forgot to say, I already have a yellow cable that says Cat 5e on it,
> > although it's rather short, at about 1 metre.
> >
> If that's the cable you were using before it could be the reason you
> couldn't get a manual connection to work - it's almost certainly
> straight-through, and you probably need a crossover cable to connect the
> two PCs directly. It should be fine for connecting one of the PCs to
> the router.

Thanks Rob

I there a web site with demos describing how to set it up.

The yellow cable says Crossover on it btw.

In article <45e36661$0$8755$(E-Mail Removed)>, Paul S
(E-Mail Removed) says...

> I there a web site with demos describing how to set it up.

There are some excellent ones, but I don't remember where they are.
>
> The yellow cable says Crossover on it btw.
>
That'll teach me not to make assumptions. You can probably still use
it, as most newer switches can figure out what sort of cable they're
connected to so they don't care if it's straight or crossed.