7f3caab2   
   From: et472@ncf.ca   
      
   On Mon, 3 May 2010, Mike wrote:   
      
   > I've been trying to research how to back up an old MFM hard drive from   
   > my first computer (Tandy 1000).  So far, I haven't had much luck.  I   
   > no longer have any old hardware that I can install the MFM controller   
   > card and hard drive into.  The only thing I can think of would be to   
   > transfer the data over a null modem cable.  It can be done in linux,   
   > but how can I do it from dos.  I believe it has 6.2 installed on it (I   
   > don't really remember, it's been sitting in the basement for a long   
   > time.)   
   >   
   BUt chances are good you can find a computer old enough that would   
   take the controller and drive, yet recent enough to take an IDE controller   
   and drive.  Then just copy from one to the other.   
      
   I did that a few years ago.  I had a bunch of SCSI drives from various   
   Macs I've had, yet no SCSI controller for my now main computer.  The idea   
   of using serial or parallel to transfer didn't appeal, too long.   
      
   Then wham, I find a more recent Mac at a Rotary Club garage sale for   
   five dollars.  It was recent enough that it had an IDE controller, but   
   would also take SCSI drives.  So one by one I attached the SCSI drives   
   to the computer, and transferred to the IDE drive.  Even copied all   
   the stray Mac floppies I had lying around.   
      
   Then, I moved the IDE drive from the Mac to this main computer, setting it   
   up as a secondary drive, and transferred the image of that drive to the   
   main drive.  It still requires an awful lot of work to sort out, but at   
   least I have all the old files in a place that I can access from the   
   main computer.   
      
   With Intel computers, it's even easier since there aren't likely to   
   be SCSI drives involved, and no "foreign" filestructure.  Find a 286 or   
   386 at a garage sale, install the MFM controller and drive, and then get   
   an old IDE drive.  Either boot from the MFM drive or the IDE drive, and   
   then copy the MFM drive to the IDE drive.  The old computer is likely to   
   have a floppy drive, maybe even a 5.25inch drive, so you can copy all   
   the old floppies lying about, then move the IDE drive to a more recent   
   computer.  Treat the drive as only read only, so no matter what, you   
   have that old content.   
      
      Michael   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)