• Updated 2023-07-12: Hello, Guest! Welcome back, and be sure to check out this follow-up post about our outage a week or so ago.

Connecting Powerbook 150 to a PC?

alexstarquake

New member
Hey, delighted to find this place! [:)] ]'>

Keeping in mind I have never done anything with my Powerbook but type on it (erm, and replace the letters with keyboard stickers) and I'm still using the original software, is there an easy way (such as a series of adapters or cables) to connect it to a PC for file-sharing only? Will I need to get drivers or install Born Again and 8.0 or anything? It has the original Apple Talk.

I don't need speed or shared internet access so USB would be fine with me, if it's even possible. I'm only transferring text files.

My latest computers don't have 3.5 drives, no slots left, so I've been transferring files to an older Gateway that I would like to be rid of. The only reason it's still here is for transferring files from my Powerbook to my Main PC, which seems silly if there's a way to do it with a cable.

 

Bunsen

Admin-Witchfinder-General
Do your newer computers have serial ports? Does the 150? You could set up a null modem cable between them and do transfers that way. Check the thread "Adventures in networking a Powerbook Duo", and Threemacs.com for further information.

 

benjgvps

Well-known member
Yes it is but it is round and the round serial mini din-8. though I bet if you look around you can find a mini din-8 to db-9 cable (I'm looking) but im not sure you can do much on the windows side. If anybody knows how to network a mac and a pc with a mini din-8 to db-9 cable let me know.

Apple_MiniDin-8_Serial.gif


 

wally

Well-known member
Google is useful here, search serial connect mac pc.

http://www.macwindows.com/peertips.html has some serial ideas.

Many other articles, some with USB converters to serial. Caution: I have not done any of these but hope this helps. By the way, the pin numbering on that last Mini Din 8 drawing link is contrary to custom, I prefer the way Apple uses in its documentation, with pin 5 having the most separation.

 

benjgvps

Well-known member
Thanks, though I'm going to have to look around for the connector And i really would like the mac printer cable to make things easy as I don't own a soldering iron. I might try to build a combination of a db-9 to db-9 null modem cable but then instead of putting another db-9 connector on the end I will put a mini din-8 connector using a circuit diagram I found. Then transfer files with stargate (http://www.krs.com.au/sg.html ). Though I now have to find a mac printer cable and a serial cable.

If you want to register stargate you have to use this serial number and name because you can't buy it anymore. Name:stargate Serial:326D

 

alexstarquake

New member
Well, I can tell they can connect just fine through the null modem cable (mini din-8 to db9) using hyperterminal in XP, though as expected, they aren't speaking the same language.

Unfortunately I can't get Star Gate installed on the 150, and in order to run that you need it on each computer. I tried installing TransMac and Macdrive, but I can't seem to get the files downloaded to a PC to stay in Mac format no matter what I do. Stargate works great between my two PCs.

TransMac would recognize Mac formatted disks in the PC floppy drive but I couldn't get downloads to save direct as Mac files, nor could I get it to pay attention to the COM port (long shot, I know).

Anyway, after a few days of messing about it's time to grab a usb drive. I had hoped to get away from the floppies if there was an easy cable option but the fates seem to be against me for now.

(Except for the fact that my 150 is the first new computer I bought with my own money and the only one that has never crashed.)

Thanks for your help!

 

benjgvps

Well-known member

alexstarquake

New member
Well they do make stargate for both pcs and macs.
I know they do. I wasn't able to get a Mac version of Stuff it over there, either.

I guess what I'm saying is any Mac formatted floppy becomes a dos disk as far as the Mac is concerned as soon as I put a file on it with the PC, even though it hasn't been reformatted and the files I'm putting on it are Mac files.

The problem is that as soon as I save the .hqx version or an unzipped version (since I couldn't get Stuffit installed, either) to either PC or a floppy, the 150 sees the floppy and files on it as Dos and requires PC exchange. PC exchange seems to only work with text files so far.

I may play with it again someday but right now I'm done with it. I can still transfer the text files and that's all I need-- just thought it would be nice to get rid of the floppies. :)

 

TheNeil

Well-known member
its not cool or clean - but old pc laptops are very very cheap - and are better on space.
Methinks you should hang your head in shame with such blasphemous suggestions ;)

 

wgoodf

Well-known member
its not cool or clean - but old pc laptops are very very cheap - and are better on space.
Methinks you should hang your head in shame with such blasphemous suggestions ;)
hey!

i said it wasnt cool - but come on, he currently has a gateway!

}:)

 

Temetka

Well-known member
Which as we all know is barely a step above an E-machine which is just slightly above an Acer.

 

mmu_man

Well-known member
HardwareBook also has cable instructions.

You could use SLIP or PPP to connect to a PC. If the PC is running Linux or another Unix variant it's quite easy to setup a ppp server. On the mac it should be as simple as setting up a dial up connection with no number and no chat.

From there you can use whatever internet protocol to share files, including appletalk, there is a server for Linux called netatalk :)

You can also tell the PC to do NAT for the mac to share its internet connection...

 

Maccess

Well-known member
Which as we all know is barely a step above an E-machine which is just slightly above an Acer.
eMachines was bought by Gateway which was bought by Acer. Lots of big fishies swallowing little fishies.

 
Top