have an old Toshiba Satellite laptop with Windows 3.11. I use it mainly for word processing. I just bought some research software (Ethnograph) and want to transfer it from my wife's fancy new Gateway to my Toshiba. I have a flash memory stick and hoped to use that. I bought a PS2-USB adaptor, but Windows 3.11 doesn't seem to recognize any USB device (including the flash memory) I plug into it. Since I bought it second-hand years ago, the Toshiba has never connected to the internet. I'm not computer-literate enough to know whether it's a hardware or a software problem. To achieve my goal of loading my Ethnograph software onto my Toshiba, should I focus on: 1) Connecting to the internet, so I can send myself an email attachment? (Will I need to zip and unzip, and can Windows 3.11 support that? The total file size is about 32.5 MB.) 2) Finding a software and / or hardware solution to enabling my flash memory to work by connecting to the PS2/USB adaptor I bought? 3) Finding and buying a few 2.88 MB 3-1/2" floppies and using them to transfer the files? (The largest individual file is 1.71 MB. But will the floppy drive in my Toshiba read a 2.88 MB floppy?) For any of these three strategies that seems to have some hope, all specific tactical suggestions will be deeply appreciated! Norton Wheeler

USB support - if possible - would be done through DOS. Drivers have been developed, but their compatibility is not always certain. You can have a look but I don't know how feasible it would be. Sure, you could use regular floppies (quite a few) and split or span the files - 1.44Mb can even be formatted as 1.7 (DMF). Yes, (of course) you can unzip files in Windows or DOS - you do know you have DOS, right? To use 2.88Mb floppies, you would need a (hardware) 2.88Mb floppy drive. Under DOS you could transfer the files via a LPT connection between the two computers - I'm not sure how that would work if the one machine is running XP though, likely need an XP application Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God that it can go.

Ditto to everything jboy said, but more importantly, are you even sure that the Ethnograph software will even work on your Toshiba? Very little software developed in the past few years will work under Win3.1 (and I'm assuming by the 32.5MB size of the file(s) you wish to install that it's reasonably current software) If you're sure it would work, then, as a cheap and dirty solution, you could use WinZip to span a set of floppies (approx 20-25 of them) and an older version of WinZip for Win3.1 to recover them on your drive...

Very good point. For sure, consult the system requirements - it's highly doubtful modern software will work with anything less than Win9x Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God that it can go.

File transfer software: http://www.laplink.com/products/ They supports DOS to Windows. USB support first and foremost must be a BIOS call, secondly using an USB adapter requires the software for the O/S. As far as I am aware W3.x never had such software support. If you need DOS USB support and your BIOS supports see: http://www.mwpms.uklinux.net/usbfire.htm

WinImage version 5 can format Floppies to various sizes: http://www.winimage.com/download.htm

Or u could use www.yousendit.com if u ever can connect 2 the Internet... :) El-Trucha http://www.masterleito.ath.cx ftp://tsfc.homeftp.net hotline://tsfc.ath.cx