I do an awful lot of work in CAD at home, and have the programming and results stored on two hard drives. Most all the work that I do here in CAD can be defined in lines and text. For now, I have no need to upgrade to a fancier system as of yet because the newer systems have not changed this basic parameter which I use every day. But the old (free) computers and the ($5) hard drives are not keeping up. I am in danger of the original CAD software floppy disks not being read correctly or giving error messages at time of some re-loading down the road from here. In the past when a computer or hard drive went out, I just telephoned a neighbor, he brought over a obsolete (and faster) one, and then next day began copying the CAD software on to the new item. The products or saved data was then transferred via Sewell Fast-Lynx onto the new drive or it was scab connected in at the motherboard. I was going again within about two hours of receiving the newer parts. I then had to dig out the reference pages on the older set ups for monitor, COM ports etc. Is there any way to write "exact" copies of the original information from those seven disks and for Windows in general on to a CD-ROM such that it can be used to re-load up another hard drive down the road? On the original disks must lie some hidden of system type files that is not apparent, and must also be transferred for them to go again. I had been using a Colorado tape drive to backup things, including software, but on occasion the Colorado software overlooked some important item, and then the CAD or a Windows based program would then not operate. "Missing _ _ _ to continue installation press OK then...." Everything works today, but will it later on this year? Wm.

You can install windows from a cdrom. Do one of the following: 1a) run "setup /a". This will copy and expand the diskettes to a directory on the hard disk. You can then run setup from here. 1b) copy the files from the seven diskettes to a single directory, which can be loaded on the diskettes. If you do 1a, you can do "setup /n", and run windows from the cdrom, with minimal hard disk setup. You could also run Windows 3.1 on modern pentiums, and even have it in dual boot with a modern operating system, eg Windows Vista or Windows XP. DOS and windows just need to be in a partition inside the first 2G. The dream you dream alone is only a dream, The dream we dream together is reality.

I don't want to copy any of the M-S Windows 3.1 disks direct on to a Rom disk. I want to copy some of the software which runs under Windows, but not made by Microsoft. Some of that software comes on one disk, and some come on up to seven disks. Wm.

Use Winimage to copy the disks as disk images.You can then make floppy images as needed. "I don't want to copy any of the M-S Windows 3.1 disks direct on to a Rom disk." It would be smart to image them for when your floppy copies die, or make an install CD as suggested above. Good idea, especially since there are plenty of those for free: "You could also run Windows 3.1 on modern pentiums, and even have it in dual boot with a modern operating system, eg Windows Vista or Windows XP. DOS and windows just need to be in a partition inside the first 2G." You can also image the entire hard disk with a program like Norton Ghost. That makes reloading new hard disks almost effortless! The Radified guide for this is excellent.