stickler@cc.helsinki.fi (01/01/90)
Does anyone know of a hard disk which can be hooked to a non-hard disk laptop through the parallel (or serial) port. Speed is not the primary issue - capacity is. It need not be portable, as it will be used at home and not on the road. Thanks, pms. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Patrick Stickler University of Helsinki stickler@hylka.helsinki.fi (BIX: nrc) Nokia Research Center stickler@pepper.rc.nokia.fi ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
royf@attctc.Dallas.TX.US (Roy Frederick) (01/03/90)
In article <1676.259f524a@cc.helsinki.fi>, stickler@cc.helsinki.fi writes: > Does anyone know of a hard disk which can be hooked to a > non-hard disk laptop through the parallel (or serial) port. > It need not be portable, as it will be used at home and not If you have a desktop machine with a hard disk - all you need is a copy of Brooklyn Bridge. You add a device driver to your config.sys on your laptop and connect the two machines with a special cable (supplied with BB). When you execute bridge on the desktop machine, it becomes a slave to the laptop. The laptop can access the disk(s) and printer on the desktop machine as if they were directly attached to the laptop. Hit esc on the desktop (machine) and the two are separated (the laptop will get a not ready if it trys to access). BB will also work across the serial ports at 115K baud - about half as fast as the transfer rate on a 360K floppy drive. This arrangement is very trouble free. If you don't have a desktop machine, even if you find a disk like you want, buying a cheap XT with a hard disk and BB is probably less expensive. XT's are mass produced - the disk you really want is not! Roy Frederick (royf@attctc.UUCP) Dallas County Data Services (214) 653-6340 504 Records Bldg. Dallas, TX 75202
emmo@moncam.co.uk (Dave Emmerson) (01/04/90)
In article <1676.259f524a@cc.helsinki.fi>, stickler@cc.helsinki.fi writes: > Does anyone know of a hard disk which can be hooked to a > non-hard disk laptop through the parallel (or serial) port. > [deleted] I'm replying to this one because I rather doubt if such a beast exists, if I'm right, this could be the only reply you get. The parallel option is particularly unlikely, since most PC pll ports are only designed for output, to a printer or suchlike. The serial port is so slow (many can't top 38.4Kbaud) that nobody is likely to consider it saleable. If anyone can prove me wrong, I'd be pleased to hear of it.. Dave E.
bumby@math.rutgers.edu (Richard Bumby) (01/05/90)
In article <344@marvin.moncam.co.uk> emmo@moncam.co.uk (Dave Emmerson) writes: > In article <1676.259f524a@cc.helsinki.fi>, stickler@cc.helsinki.fi writes: > > Does anyone know of a hard disk which can be hooked to a > > non-hard disk laptop through the parallel (or serial) port. > > [deleted] > > I'm replying to this one because I rather doubt if such a beast exists, > if I'm right, this could be the only reply you get. > > The parallel option is particularly unlikely, since most PC pll ports > are only designed for output, to a printer or suchlike. The serial > port is so slow (many can't top 38.4Kbaud) that nobody is likely to > consider it saleable. > > If anyone can prove me wrong, I'd be pleased to hear of it.. > > Dave E. The June-July 1989 issue of Toshiba Micro Life (vol 2#2) mentioned the existence of a hard drive with a serial interface. The source was listed as Weltec Digital and a phone number (800-333-5155) was given. This won't help the original poster since 800 numbers are not accessible from outside of North America. I'm not interested myself, so the call to this number and to my favorite distributor of laptop accessories is low on my list of things to do. I freely offer the little I have discovered to anyone willing and able to pursue it further. -- --R. T. Bumby ** Math ** Rutgers ** New Brunswick ** NJ08903 ** USA -- above postal address abbreviated by internet to bumby@math.rutgers.edu voice communication unreliable -- telephone ignored -- please use Email
dick@slvblc.UUCP (Dick Flanagan) (01/05/90)
In article <344@marvin.moncam.co.uk> emmo@moncam.co.uk (Dave Emmerson) writes: >In article <1676.259f524a@cc.helsinki.fi>, stickler@cc.helsinki.fi writes: >> Does anyone know of a hard disk which can be hooked to a >> non-hard disk laptop through the parallel (or serial) port. > >The parallel option is particularly unlikely, since most PC pll ports >are only designed for output, to a printer or suchlike. > >If anyone can prove me wrong, I'd be pleased to hear of it.. The Brooklyn Bridge (White Crane Software) supports *very* fast access via the parallel port. *IF* you can dedicate another machine to host the hard disk for you, running the Brooklyn Bridge between them might be a solution. -- Dick Flanagan, W6OLD, CFII, CFIG Cherokee 235 N9212W UUCP: ...!uunet!slvblc!dick GEnie: FLANAGAN Internet: slvblc!dick@uunet.UU.NET POB 155, Ben Lomond, CA 95005
mrichey@orion.oac.uci.edu (Mike Richey) (01/05/90)
In article <344@marvin.moncam.co.uk> emmo@moncam.co.uk (Dave Emmerson) writes: >In article <1676.259f524a@cc.helsinki.fi>, stickler@cc.helsinki.fi writes: >> Does anyone know of a hard disk which can be hooked to a >> non-hard disk laptop through the parallel (or serial) port. >> [deleted] > >I'm replying to this one because I rather doubt if such a beast exists, >if I'm right, this could be the only reply you get. > >The parallel option is particularly unlikely, since most PC pll ports >are only designed for output, to a printer or suchlike. The serial >port is so slow (many can't top 38.4Kbaud) that nobody is likely to >consider it saleable. I use a product called "Flying Dutchman". You connect a cable between two PCs. The cable connects to either LPT1,2, or 3, of either machine. The transfer rate between machines is great. Much better than any asynchronous package. The parrallel ports are I/O addresses available to just that, input or output. The ICs that connect to the DB25 connector are tristate devices. Xircom manufactures a device that connects to the parrallel port, and has an ethernet thin net connector and a Novell driver that one may use to connect to a laptop and a Novell LAN. Soon to ship... Token Ring and ArcNet. Now there's I/O for you! 8-). The UARTS in PCs can operate up to 115K buad. Brooklyn Bridge, and I forget the package Toshiba shipped, but both of these will operate at 115 Kbaud. The UARTS can do it, with the proper protocol. To answer the original request, There is a product by a company called Weltec. It's called PHD and it's a portable hard disk for laptops that operate through the serial port. Weltec is in Irvine, CA, area code 714. I don't have the number. 47st sells the PHD, their number is 800-221-7774. Disclaimer: I've never used the PHD, and don't have any plans of using it. Just noticed the add recently. IMHO, Brooklyn Bridge and Flying Dutchman are excellent products. > >If anyone can prove me wrong, I'd be pleased to hear of it.. > >Dave E. Consider yourself informed, not proven wrong 8->. Michael S. Richey Internet: mrichey@orion.oac.uci.edu Bitnet: MRichey@UCI CompuServe: 71650,3132 Voice: (714) 856-8374 University of California, Irvine Network and Telecommunications Services 342 Computer Science Irvine, CA 92717
daven@ibmpcug.co.uk (D R Newman) (01/05/90)
In article <1676.259f524a@cc.helsinki.fi>, stickler@cc.helsinki.fi writes: >Does anyone know of a hard disk which can be hooked to a non-hard disk laptop >through the parallel (or serial) port. Yes, the Datafile series of portable hard disks, which connect to any PC through the parallel port, available in 40, 100 and 200 MB sizes. Details from Stratum Technology Ltd., Cockayne House, Woodley, Reading RG5 3JH, England, Tel. (0734) 441236. This is new, and so as yet unknown in less-developed countries like the USA :-). I heard of it, because I suggested on CIX that such a thing might be useful to development consultants and planners in the field. I have not seen it or used it, so I do not know how good it is, but the specs. suggest a good data transfer rate. ----- Dave Newman, Consultants in Appropriate Technology, 188 (2A) Bedford Hill, London SW12 9HL, England. Tel. 01-675 5933 Usenet: daven@ibmpcug.co.uk IPC networks (Eco/Peace/GreenNet): gn:davenewman JANET: daven@uk.co.ibmpcug CIX: davenewman@cix.cix.uucp -- Automatic Disclaimer: The views expressed above are those of the author alone and may not represent the views of the IBM PC User Group.
emmo@moncam.co.uk (Dave Emmerson) (01/05/90)
> >In article <1676.259f524a@cc.helsinki.fi>, stickler@cc.helsinki.fi writes: > >> Does anyone know of a hard disk which can be hooked to a > >> non-hard disk laptop through the parallel (or serial) port. > >> [deleted] > > > Several of the replies to this have been quite enlightening, though a few seem to have missed the point that what was asked for was a tailor-made *hard disk* as opposed to methods of linking to another PC. That aside, I stand corrected. A minor point, although the 8250 can run at 115KBaud, several clones can't use it at that rate reliably. I don't know why not, 19.2K has usually been enough for my purposes. I do know it's not simply the length of the cable, nor the other connection. Certainly that's thrashing an old XT with both comms and disk bios on the motherboard, and with a 6 MHz clock... To a lesser extent, the same may hold true for parallel ports, here the real problem is that the BIOS only expects to use it for output, so I guess that with a suitable driver even some older machines might be able to use them bidirectionally. Dave E.
cs4g6ag@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca (Stephen M. Dunn) (01/12/90)
In article <349@marvin.moncam.co.uk> emmo@moncam.co.uk (Dave Emmerson) writes:
$To a lesser extent, the same may hold true for parallel ports, here the
$real problem is that the BIOS only expects to use it for output, so I
$guess that with a suitable driver even some older machines might be able
$to use them bidirectionally.
Well, it's true that the BIOS is set up to expect a printer to be an
output-only device ... but that isn't the problem. It's very easy to
write a device driver for a parallel port if it's designed to be bi-
directional. The problem is that most aren't. Since printers using
the standard Centronics interface are output-only peripherals, those
people who designed printer ports, either for motherboards or for
I/O cards, often don't include bidirectional capabilities in them
for obvious reasons. That's where the problem lies - depending on
the design of your printer port, you may well blow one or more chips
if you try to use it as a bidirectional port.
--
Stephen M. Dunn cs4g6ag@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca
<std_disclaimer.h> = "\nI'm only an undergraduate!!!\n";
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If it's true that love is only a game//Well, then I can play pretend