I need to transfer about 1000 files, about 20 megs worth, from my ten
year old Mac Powerbook Duo 210, running MacOS 7.5, to my PC, running
Windows 98 and connected to the Internet. Details:

- I have a web site that I can use as a temporary storage area for the
files.
- I have an external hard drive for the Mac with a SCSI connection. 
- I have a mini-dock for the Powerbook Duo. 
- I have an external floopy drive for the Duo and a floppy drive for
my PC.
- I have an 8 pin serial cable, which I believe can be used to
establish a peer to peer connection between two Macs.
- I do NOT have a modem for the Powerbook Duo. 

The options I see available are below. Please advise which is best in
your opinion, or let me know of another good option:

1) Transfer files manually, via floppy disk, from my Mac to my PC.
Problem with this is that, when writing the files to the PC hard
drive, the Mac OS changes the files to the old style, 8 character DOS
filenames, which I have to rename one by one. Very tedious.

2) Buy an external modem for the Powerbook on Ebay, then install AOL 5
to connect to the Internet (I have an account), then download and
install an FTP program, then FTP the files to my web site, then FTP
down the files to my PC. Doing this should preserve the filenames,
unlike option 1 above.

3) Do a serial transfer from my Mac to another older Mac with an 8 pin
serial port and Internet connectivity, assuming I can find one. Newer
Macs - such as G4 cube - don't have these ports. Once on this other
Mac, I can upload the files to my website as described in option 2
above.

4) Transfer the files to my hard drive, then hook up the hard drive to
another Mac with SCSI and Internet connectivity (needs to be an older
machine, since SCSI is falling out in favor of USB). From there,
upload files to my web site, as described in options 2 and 3 above.

So there you have it. Please let me know your thoughts on which option
is best, and how best to do it. Thanks!

Hi

The best way to transfer files from the Mac to the PC is to use a Null
modem cable. If you are lucky, the serial cable you have is a null
modem cable (their only purpose is to connect 2 computers together via
the serial port. If in doubt, most computer stores will sell the
cable. Make sure that you have the correct port sizes on both the mac
and PC, newer PC’s only usually have 9 pin male connectors, older PC’s
and possible Macs have 25 pin Male connectors. This may require a 9 to
25 pin female null modem cable. The null modem works just the same as
a normal modem would as far as the computers are concerned. You need
to use a terminal program on each computer to make the connection. On
Windows 98, use HyperTerminal to make the connection and on the
Macintosh use MacTerminal or ZTerm these programs are often installed
by the Operating system. This is defiantly the case with Windows but
with the MacOS 7.5 I’m not sure.
ZTerm for Mac can be downloaded here:
http://homepage.mac.com/dalverson/zterm/ZTerm1.0.1.sit.hqx

Once a connection has been established (follow the instructions in the
respective program for this), the files can be transferred from one
system to the other using upload on the Mac (see Z-Term
documentation). Try and use the Z-Modem protocol (if asked) as it has
better error handling and sped and allows you to queue uploads. If you
need to preserve the file names, you will need to compress the files
first using sit or hqx compression. You will need stuff-it expander
for Windows to be able to uncompress these files correctly. To connect
in HyperTerminal, you run the program
Start>Programs>Accessories>Communications>HyperTerminal. When asked
for a name type “Direct Connection” and click OK. On the next screen
select the port you null modem is plugged into and click OK. In Zterm,
follow the instructions in the help file to connect. When they are
connected, you should be able to type on 1 screen and see it on the
other. When you are ready, select the files to upload.
Stuff-it expander for Windows can be downloaded here:
http://www.stuffit.com/

Of course, you could also compress the files using sit or hqx and
transfer them by disk to achieve the same result whilst preserving the
file names. This would be easier, but slower and if you have easy
access to a null modem cable, it’s a simpler-faster solution in the
end, and you’ll know how to do it for future use!


Further Reading:
Null Modem Cables
http://www.vision.net.au/~timotsc/null/nullmodem.htm
Null Modems (technical)
http://www.bb-europe.com/tech_articles/faq_rs232_connections_work.asp
Using Hyperterminal to connect through a null modem
http://www.dpg.devry.edu/~akim/130lab5.htm
Other ways of connecting
http://www.macworld.com/1995/08/secrets/1098.html


Search Strategy:
Null modem connection windows Macintosh
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&querytime=KQMXjB&q=Null+modem+connection+windows+Macintosh


Hope this helps

Molloch

There's another way that doesn't require s/w installation -- transfer
the files to an external hard drive off the Duo, then connect HD to an
Internet accessible Mac and upload to a website. Thanks, though.

The easiest way to transfer files from one computer to another is with
the file transfer option in AOL's Instant Messenger.

Will,

You seem to have missed this part:  "- I do NOT have a modem for the
Powerbook Duo.".

Missy - 
A Null Modem Cable is entirely different from a modem you'd use to
dial up an ISP.  A null modem cable is a serial cable with some
crossed wires that is used to connect two computers.  They are used
for connecting UNIX terminals to mainframes, for example.

Never mind.  I didn't realize your post was in response to the AOL comment.  Sorry.