I have an old computer whith a floppy and a HD 20MB, running MsDos 3.30.
And i also have a P3 1GHz running Windows XP.

The problem is that when i write any files on a 3.5" disk with my XP PC, and then try to read these files with my old pc, i get an "error reading drive a".

But when i format the same disk whith my old pc, then i can write and read to/from the disk everything ok.

And then when i PUT the disk to my XP pc, the drive after a long time of trying stopes and i get the window : "disk in drive a: is not formated. Format it now. y,n".
Why is this happening?
Why isn't there any compatibility?
How can i TRANSFER some files srom my XP pc to the old one?
Thanks!Is it possible your elderly system is formatting 720kb size rather than 1.4mb. Your Dos.3.3 machine possibly has a real old floppy drive.

I don't have Dos.3.3 so can't fire it up to try but here's an extract from http://www.cknow.com/tutorcom/dos07_format.htm

"""With the introduction of 3.5" drives, higher versions of DOS are required to correctly support the new formats. The 3.5" drives come in two sizes: 720K and 1.4MB.

Unlike the 1.2MB/360K drives disks, it is possible to format to 720K in a 1.4MB 3.5" drive. All you have to do is tell the FORMAT command the track/sector combination you need:

FORMAT A: /F:720 (this tells DOS to format the disk in drive A: to 720K)

Not all versions of DOS support higher capacity disks. For example, DOS 3.2 introduced support for 3.5-inch disks, but only at 720K format. In order to format a 3.5-inch disk at 1.44MB you will need DOS 3.3 or later."""

Can't suggest any method of transferring files from XP to Dos 3.3 except that Dos 3.3 might support a 1.4mb floppy drive if you have a spare handy, then at least the drives will be compatible.

Good luckThank you for the answer and those realy useful info!

Well... i found out that using a floppy disk that i have been keeping all those yaers, made that possible!
My xp pc reads it ok and i can also write on the disk and read the files ok from the old pc.

Yes, that old pc of mine has a really old floppy drive.
The floppy drive doesn't EVEN have a power supply cable! It takes the power it needs from the communication cable!

Also comparing the old floppy communication cable with the new on my XP pc, i found that the new one has more 4 PAIRS of pins! So i've been wondering.. would it be possible to replace that old drive with a new one?And how?

Also, the old hard disc's IDE communication cable differs from the new one's, as it doesn't have that "blind" pin somewhere in the midle so it doesn't fit. What can i do to INSTALL a new hard disk drive?
Also an ms-dos upgrade to a newer version is really needed.
Thank you!Whew, wot a task you have set yourself!!

Your very last point is easiest to answer although you haven't mentioned which processor you are using in the older pc or how much ram is installed. You might be able to upgrade to MSDos 6.22 or even 7.10 and I better mention FreeDos - all are available on the WWW - but you will have to ensure that your can go back to 3.3 if the install turns to custard.

As for the pinning & power supply - I am told that connecters are available (can't find out where). I would have to actually inspect the drives to advise on that.

Sorry - I can't be of more help - perhaps if you browse the Internet for a while some ideas might jump out at you

Good luckHi-- I have data on an old 5.25" floppy (DOS, Norton Textra) which I want to transfer to a 3.5" disk(Windows XP, Microsoft Word). Could you recommend an outfit that could do this for meor how I might proceed? I can still read and write on the floppy with the ancient computer. Thanks for any help or suggestions. --Jim