Can I have help moving data from an old Windows 98 desktop PC to my new Windows 10 PC?

Anonymous
2019-04-29T19:48:42+00:00

I've got this really old Gateway desktop PC that started life as a Windows 95 or earlier (I forget) that I'm wanting to get rid of. It's been sitting unused forever and I disconnected it from my home network years ago when I needed more places to plug stuff into my router since I have 2 Windows XP machines & 2 Windows 10 machines on it.

That old Gateway PC has a 3-1/2" floppy drive that I don't have any discs for and never will, along with a CD drive, a DVD drive and I just discovered that it even has 2 USB ports on the back that I never knew existed.

I've tried endlessly to save the 500mb of Photos and Docs on it onto either a CD or DVD but from all I can tell, they both must be broken or at least maybe the formatting of the discs that I do in a drive on my Windows 10 DELL isn't correct.

Heck, during the formatting process, I even thought that since I'm wanting to use the CD in that old beast Gateway thing, I should set the File System setting from UDF 2.01 (Default) to UDF 1.50, thinking I should use the oldest one it had.

Nothing has worked and I've tried reformatting & Copy/Pasting a bunch of times.

Oddly, it will seem like it is writing to a CD and it shows it stepping thru the Videos, Photos and Docs, but I'll always keep hearing the drive's motor start & stop every 5 or 10 seconds & then if I wait long enough, it does finally show all of the files.

But it's totally weird that if I put another blank CD in that same drive, it shows as if all those same files are on it too.

Weird. That must be some flaw in that old Windows 98 Operating System I guess.

I'd at first tried sticking a USB adapter with a flash card in, thinking that would be super quick. But, it wasn't recognized and something told me that it needed a driver, which isn't possible to get on that PC since it isn't connected anymore to the internet.

So, sorry about all this talk but after spending countless hours, I've concluded that it might be best & easiest to just bring that old PC into my home office & park it next to this Windows 10 DELL Inspirion, hook them together somehow directly with a USB cable instead of thru the router, and then maybe I could just access the old PC's drive and Copy my data off of it.

After all, then I can either burn it onto a tiny flash card or just let it stay on my D: hard drive on this where all of my data is. My C: with Windows & my programs is an SSD to make it super fast.

So, I've rambled on but I do need some basic help in knowing that the old hard drive will be able to be accessed by my new PC if I just connect them with a USB cable or will I need to have a keyboard, mouse and monitor on the old PC too?

I've put this in Windows > Windows 10 > Files, Folders & Storage but if an Admin thinks it should somewhere else, please feel free to move it. Thanks for any help. :-)

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Files, folders, and storage

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Anonymous
2019-05-09T00:37:19+00:00

Did you chose the correct USB drivers for your edition of Win 98?

http://www.technical-assistance.co.uk/kb/usbmsd98.php

You stated earlier that the USB driver that you chose (downloaded) is nusb33e.exe. This is for Windows 98SE (Second Edition).

If this is the correct selection for your edition of Win 98 did you follow the installation instructions (found on the download page)?

http://www.technical-assistance.co.uk/kb/win98se-usb-mass-storage-drivers.php

Standard Disclaimer: Any non-Microsoft websites provided here appear to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for any ads on these sites that may advertise products frequently classified as PUP's (Potentially Unwanted Programs). Thoroughly research any product/program advertised on any site before you decide to download and install it.

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Anonymous
2019-05-08T03:47:50+00:00

First of all, what drive on the device is the drive letter E: associated with?

Why did you do both at the same time (one at a time is best practice, especially on and old outdated OS that is no longer supported (nor able to be updated past were it was when you stopped using it or updating it when updates were still available)).

At this point try shutting down then unplug the CD drive and the thumb drive then startup the device, then do a restart and give it 10 or fifteen minutes to stabilize, then plugin one of the (either the CD drive or the thumb drive, your choice) peripherals then let me know what happens. What do you then see in My Computer, System properties (Device Manager?) etc..

Let me know.

-Richard

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-05-05T06:24:10+00:00

    Ok

    ….

    I've found 3 web browsers that should work with Win 98 and newer web sites that you can give a try.

    https://ace-explorer.apponic.com/

    https://theworld-browser-for-windows-98.apponic.com/

    http://offbyone.com/offbyone/index.htm

    -Richard

    Should we maybe give one of these other 2 browsers a try?

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-05-05T08:08:34+00:00

    Or maybe we should scrap trying browsers in the Windows 98 pc and instead, disconnect the internet input to the router for safety and add the Windows 98 to our home network?

    Then since I already have the USB thumb drive's driver on me Win 10 Dell, that Add Hardware Wizard could be navigated over to the Dell to get the driver so  it can install it.

    Then I could easily grab my data off the old pc with a thumb drive.

    It sounds like this odd networking can be done. I hope that I haven't already suggested this but my mind is spinning.

    It sounds like maybe it can be done but I'd need help as I  haven't messed with adding a computer to our Davis_home network in a long time. I don't remember where you even do that & I looked & couldn't figure it out.

    I saw someone say they'd done it with Win 10 & Win 98 at https://forum.level1techs.com/t/file-share-between-windows-10-and-windows-98se/125001/9

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-05-06T09:46:21+00:00

    If it were me I would go with a Universal hard drive docking station to install the removed hard drive into (tools needed: a screw driver and or a 1/4" nut driver or socket) and then be done with it. (A Universal hard drive docking station as opposed to a dedicated cable kit is much more versatile toward future use).

    Below I've linked to a good example, for case at hand, based on price and the base requirements involved here.

    Here is an overview of the specs with a link (for more info) to the example product beneath:

    Aluminum external enclosure USB v2.0 for 3.5" IDE or SATA hard disk

    Compliant with USB v2.0 and USB v1.1 (backwards compatible with USB Revision 1.1 products)

    Compliant with IDE-PATA PIO/DMA/Ultra DMA 66/100/133Mbps hard drives

    Power SATA and Molex cable, SATA cable and PATA cable included

    ON/OFF switch. Powered by 2A external power adapter

    Data transfer rate up to 480Mbps

    https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817801061&Description=pata%20external%20enclosure&cm_re=pata_external_enclosure--17-801-061--Product

    The above is supplied for example purposes only, there are other comparable products out there. (I know that you seem to prefer to use your local Fry's store for such purchases which is why I included the specs above for you).

    The upside? You then not only have a portable HDD but it can be used for any other (internal type) 3.5" HDD (up to 3TB) as well in the future.

    Follow the above supplied information and recommendations by your own choice and at your own risk.

    -Richard

    Standard Disclaimer: Any non-Microsoft websites provided here appear to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for any ads on these sites that may advertise products frequently classified as PUP's (Potentially Unwanted Programs). Thoroughly research any product/program advertised on any site before you decide to download and install it.

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