• Please review our updated Terms and Rules here

Toshiba Libretto file transfer quandry

V

Vint

Experienced Member
Joined
May 14, 2008
Messages
390
Location
Ohio, USA
Wondering if anyone can give me a bit of info here.
I've picked up a Toshiba Libretto 50CT, (it's in the mail). Anyway it won't be arriving with it's companion floppy drive. So, no I/O to speak of. I've been stumbling around the Web for quite some time today trying to learn enough about PC cards to make a decision on what is the best way to go with being able to put files and programs onto the Libretto. Ideally I'd like to stick a PC card in the one and only slot and use my USB thumb drive into that for transferring files from my PC to the Libretto. From what I see that's a no go though. The Libretto 50 only accepts 16bit PC cards and I'm understanding USB requires 32bit. Besides this machine runs Win95. Being an old fart I just want a tiny little machine I can sit in my rockin' chair and run GWBASIC on. That's really all I want here. So, BASICally soon as I get some BASIC files on the Libretto I'll be happily programming along. I spent more for this toy than I wanted too and it's distracting me from my play time with all my Commodores and RS/Tandy toys, Atari's and my other 8-bits.

Given that, can anyone suggest the cheapest way to transfer files from my fancy PC to this old Libretto? I normally run Win XP but I have an older Win95 based Gateway 2000 desktop in the closet I could dig out if that would be easier to work the file transfer business with.

I see refurbs of the companion floppy external drives on eBay but I'd rather not be having a paltry 1.4 floppy to move files about. Now if it used nifty 5.25 or 8 inch flopps then that'd be cool, but alas it has this funky PC card slot that I really don't know much about. It appears it might be easy to pull the little 2.5 inch hard drive and hook it up to one of my desktops and fill the bugger up and then stick it back in the Libretto. That wouldn't cost anything. OR I wouldn't mind plunking down in the vicinity of $30. for some solution like a PC card that holds flash memory or something along that line. Of course then I'd also have to buy some connector to hook the PC card to my desktop machine also. Alright, $40. but I'd really not want to go over that. Hey, I have my 8-bits to maintain, can't be using up the whole piggy bank on this sidetrack I'm on today.
I have a little gadget I bought - XA1541 adapter that allows me to hook my Commodore 1541 disk drive directly to my desktop PC for transferring files. You'd think there'd be an easy way to I/O this Libretto like that.
Any help will be very well appreciated.
 
Well, if I were in that position, with the equipment you have, I'd pop a 16 bit network card in the portable and a PCI combo network card in the current one and transfer files that way.

In fact, if you shared devices on the current system, you could use floppies or optical drives to source from as well.

Of course, I have all these cards, so, it's easy for me to say.
 
if you're using Win95 on two computers, you can use a serial null modem cable and transferring is a breeze using terminal or hyperterm.

But the network card idea is also really easy to do, too, and both are under $40, way under. How I do it is have a cheap-o smartmedia pc card, load/unload files to that, take it over to the cheap-o multi card reader on the big machine's usb port and files get transferred. It did cost around $40 to do that but it's bulletproof.

Toshiba laptops are pretty fun:)

Nathan
 
Libretto file transfers made easy

Libretto file transfers made easy

Thanks Dru. & Nat. for the help and 'ideas'.
You know I've got 2 PC's on my desk that are the windows into my vintage nostalgia. Emulators and files by the ton and connections for hookup of all my 8-bit machines for play and recording. I was just looking at the 'properties' for my VINTAGE folder on one of my external drives and I'm approaching 75 gigs of files. Slightly over 500 thousand files of vintage material of every conceivable nature. You don't think this is overkill, do you? Of course not. There can never be too much.
Anyway, after reading your posts concerning my soon to arrive Libretto - the wheels started turning. The network idea was cool but I seem to have trouble networking my 2 PC's with Win XP, as far as reliability goes, so I'm not sure whether under Win 95 I'd be cruising along or not. Then I read Nat. advice on what he does with 'card readers', so I opened an old digital camera I had sitting around and removed the Compact Flash card. a 64 meg type 1 at 3.3mm height. It fits into my desktop PC's built in card reader. I then proceeded to write some files to it. (Never used it before except for pictures, but it works to store files just dandy.) Then I scoured the Web for a PC card to Compact Flash 'adapter' and sure enough they are available for a song - $8. or thereabouts. I then studied up on Compact Flash and find that mine will operate at either 3.3 v. or 5 v. and I realized I'm home free! Well, $8. is almost free.
I also found on the Web a PNY 4-in-1 adapter that does SD cards at $12. It does 4 types of media but not Compact Flash. Apparently there isn't a PC card adapter that does both SD and CF. I'm not totally clear if the PNY is fully compatible with the Libretto PC card slot. It just says 'works with standard type II', but I'm going with the Compact Flash adapter for now anyway.
So the problem of transferring files to the Libretto is solved and I'm anxious to give it a whirl when the Libretto arrives.
I added a couple more machines this past week to my collection, but I'll post that elsewhere in a 'bit'.
 
NathanAllan said:
if you're using Win95 on two computers, you can use a serial null modem cable and transferring is a breeze using terminal or hyperterm.
<snip>
Nathan
Click to expand...
---
Good for a few files, but DirectConnect over COM, IR or parallel port is usually faster and more practical for more than a few.

Don't know about Vista, but still works in XP.
m
 
MikeS said:
---
Good for a few files, but DirectConnect over COM, IR or parallel port is usually faster and more practical for more than a few.

Don't know about Vista, but still works in XP.
m
Click to expand...

Yeah, if you like S-L-O-W :)

At least, with the network cards, you're going to get 10Mb/sec or so.

75 gigs? Gonna take a while at 115 or 400 cps and a REALLY long time 64MB at a time. Read, write, delete, read, write, delete........
 
I got a USB card reader/writer made by GE at Walgreen's for $12, it has 11 in 1 on it, though I only use three kinds. It takes CF and SD. Only complaint is the connector gets loose, so you can't keep replugging the device in and out of the usb port(the miniature one on the device itself).

As far as null-modeming it, yeah it's slow, but I usually have only transferred a couple files at a time, for whatever I'm doing at the time. One time, using win98 and win95, I achieved sharing a dial-up connection over parallel port! My current dial-up won't let me do that, though, bummer! That setup was so cool!

Nathan
 
Druid6900 said:
Yeah, if you like S-L-O-W :)

At least, with the network cards, you're going to get 10Mb/sec or so.

75 gigs? Gonna take a while at 115 or 400 cps and a REALLY long time 64MB at a time. Read, write, delete, read, write, delete........
Click to expand...
----
Well, I was only commenting on Nathan's suggestion to use a null-modem with Hyperterm; if all you've got is parallel or RS-232 ports and a cable (or IR) then using DirectConnect can at least run unattended overnight if we're talking reasonable sizes. Also, AFAIK it's compatible across all WIN versions >=95 and, unlike HT, included.

Useful for transferring smallish software packages, updates, drivers from Internet sources on your modern desktop to your ancient laptop when the only common ports are parallel and (maybe) serial.

For 75 gigs I think I'd just pull the drive and temporarily pop it into the other system (or an intermediate if we're talking single-drive LTs on both sides).

m
 
MikeS said:
----
Well, I was only commenting on Nathan's suggestion to use a null-modem with Hyperterm; if all you've got is parallel or RS-232 ports and a cable (or IR) then using DirectConnect can at least run unattended overnight if we're talking reasonable sizes. Also, AFAIK it's compatible across all WIN versions >=95 and, unlike HT, included.

Useful for transferring smallish software packages, updates, drivers from Internet sources on your modern desktop to your ancient laptop when the only common ports are parallel and (maybe) serial.

For 75 gigs I think I'd just pull the drive and temporarily pop it into the other system (or an intermediate if we're talking single-drive LTs on both sides).

m
Click to expand...

No problem Mike, I'm not bashing you (you still have stuff that I want LOL) and there are usually several approaches and opinions on things like this.

However, as we all know, everyone is entitled to MY opinion :)
 
I gave the wrong impression.

I gave the wrong impression.

The Libretto I'm waiting on has a 810 meg hard drive and I plan to use the Libretto CT50 mostly just for a little BASIC programming with GW or Q.
I was just rambling on about the 75 gigs of vintage material I have stored on an external drive. I wasn't planning on moving it :eek:
 
Druid6900 said:
No problem Mike, I'm not bashing you (you still have stuff that I want LOL) and there are usually several approaches and opinions on things like this.

However, as we all know, everyone is entitled to MY opinion :)
Click to expand...
---
And your opinion is just as valued as it usually is...

But it didn't even occur to me that you *might* be bashing; it was a useful comment to point out that serial and parallel ports aren't particularly fast. Nevertheless, there have been occasions where DirectConnect and/or its predecessor, InterLink, were the *only* way to add/update/download data on a laptop, short of pulling the hard disk (also not very convenient on some models), and when such transfers are discussed DC & IL and similar stuff like LapLink are often overlooked.

m
 
Toshiba Libretto file transfer quandry
Click to expand...

I received the Libretto 50CT I'd been waiting on. I ordered a Sandisk Compact Flash to PCMCIA card adapter off Amazon for like $3.50 and transferring files is now a breeze. My main PC has a card reader for the Compact Flash unit and this allows me to read and write files to the Libretto easily going thru the PC card slot.

I now have a new question for anyone that might have worked with these Compact Flash cards before. Specifically, I'm wondering if there is a limit to the size of CF card I can use with this Libretto CT50 that is running Win 95?
It seems to me I read that I have a 512k limit here - but for the life of me I can't find where I read that. Anybody have that info? I scoured around but haven't run across any mention of a limit on the CF size. :confused:
 
Well, i know windows 95 can only see hard drives up to 32gb, but i believe thats because of FAT16, I would think that it probalby couldn't see anything over 1 gb, then again, it might not matter, it might be able to see a 1tb card! Its unpredictable, without some research at least, I do have a 16bit PCMCIA wireless cards with wireless utility drivers for windows 95, you would just have to take the files off the cd, maybe 1 at a time, and put it on that cf card, then you could have wireless internet on it, (if you do,) but thats just a thought, thats what i do with my 95 compaq laptop when i want to be in the living room and be online without having to move my gaming machine.
 
squirrel-steam said:
Well, i know windows 95 can only see hard drives up to 32gb, but i believe thats because of FAT16.
Click to expand...

Good information, thanks sq.
Actually I've found through practice with the Libretto and my limited CF card of 64 megs that it's working out quite well. Mainly because the Libretto CT50 has a bit less than 1 gig internal hard drive.
Like you said sq., a little research is in order. I'm just leery to buy say a 2 gig CF card and then find that the Libretto couldn't use the space due to some arbitrary limits.
 
Vint said:
Like you said sq., a little research is in order. I'm just leery to buy say a 2 gig CF card and then find that the Libretto couldn't use the space due to some arbitrary limits.
Click to expand...

You should be right with a 2Gb card, although any bigger then that and I wouldn't be so sure, but I'm 99.99% sure anything up to and including 2Gb will be fine :)
 
I am completely out of my league at this web site

I am completely out of my league at this web site

However, I am in need of help and you guys seem like you might be able to send me in the right direction.

My Sony laptop recently died. I was visiting the graveyard of my old computers in the attic and I came upon my beloved Toshiba Libretto 50 CT that runs Windows 95.

I would love to have it reconfigured so that I have WiFi to surf the net instead of the dial-up modem card that fits into its single slot.

It has only 1 slot which attaches to an external floppy disk drive. There is no USB port.

I want it for travel to check my email, surf the Internet, and to use word, excel and powerpoint.

I have never loved a computer like I love this little Libretto. Can someone bring it into the 21st Century so I can use it? I am unhandy and would be happy to pay someone to make it work. Is it possible?

Please email debragussman@juno.com if you have any suggestions.

Thanks, Deb
 
If it has a USB port on the back like my old toshiba 4200, you could run a wireless adaptor like i did,untill my monitor broke.lol

So wireless is an option if you have a wireless router of course.

another option USB Pen Data Stick.?

Steve
 
dgussman said:
It has only 1 slot which attaches to an external floppy disk drive. There is no USB port.
Click to expand...

steveuk said:
If it has a USB port on the back like my old toshiba 4200, you could run a wireless adaptor like i did,untill my monitor broke.lol

So wireless is an option if you have a wireless router of course.

another option USB Pen Data Stick.?

Steve
Click to expand...

Neither of those are viable options.

I don't know if it's possible or not, but I don't think it is.
 
I'm confused: there's a modem and a disk drive each plugged into the single slot?

Assuming the modem is plugged into a PCMCIA slot, you could probably replace it with a wireless card, although you'd probably have trouble finding a W95 driver. There were cards with W98 drivers if you can upgrade, but the bottom line is pretty iffy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top