Send files from a Power Macintosh 7600 to a PowerBook 180

Question

Level 1

28 points

Send files from a Power Macintosh 7600 to a PowerBook 180

Hello, I have a networking question...

I have a 7600/120 and a Powerbook 180 both running OS 7.5.3

I have some sizable files on the 7600 that I want to use on the PB. I connected a serial cable to the printer ports on each and have Appletalk, file sharing, and open transport enabled.

When clicking on Appleshare in the chooser there is nothing showing up in the file server box to the right.

I have successfully used a Stylewriter printer on the 7600 before. I don't know if the printer port on the PB works or not. I attempted to test it by connecting the printer but when I try to install the software it ejects the floppy disks.

Is this type of computer-to-computer connection even allowed and what could be wrong here?

Thank you

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Posted on Dec 18, 2023 10:28 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 18, 2023 1:00 PM in response to beigebox

LocalTalk. Think of it as 1/4 M bits/sec Ethernet. It plugs into the serial port. The easiest to use is farallon PhoneNet boxes, literally connected with telephone cords. These readily available on eBay and similar.

The ONE rule you need is to "plug every outlet" -- ether with a cable that connects another device, or with an RJ-11 mounted termination resistor, often sold with the little boxes.

Once connected, turning it on may require terms like AppleShare.

https://archive.org/details/1987-farallon-phonenet

https://wiki.preterhuman.net/Farallon_PhoneNET

https://archive.org/details/1987-farallon-phonenet

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Answer 2

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

24,403 points

Dec 19, 2023 2:14 PM in response to beigebox

Hi,

Yes, you could use a direct MiniDIN-8M to MiniDIN-8M Macintosh printer cable connection for file sharing. For only two Macintosh computers, this would be equivalent to a "normal" LocalTalk or PhoneNET network. Please check the settings.

http://www.applefool.com/se30/#serialdata (LocalTalk Networks).

Alternatively, you could use the same kind of cable for a plain serial null-modem transfer, provided that you have an appropriate terminal emulator with file transfer capabiities (such as Terminal 2.2) on both computers.

https://www.nic.funet.fi/index/mac/info-mac/comm/_Terminal/

http://manuals.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Manuals/desktops/0340013APM7600UMRV1.PDF

http://manuals.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Manuals/powerbooks/0302674APB160180UG.PDF

(also, SCSI disk mode, pp 230-235).

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Answer 3

beigebox Author

Level 1

28 points

Dec 20, 2023 8:46 AM in response to beigebox

Turns out I just needed to format the hard drive and install a fresh OS 7.5

The standard serial cable connected between the two printer ports is allowing the chooser to see both.

Thank you for the helpful information!

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Answer 4

Dec 18, 2023 5:32 PM in response to beigebox

if you have additional older Macs, the PhoneNet connection solution is multi-drop, and can support a whole flock of computers and a thousand feet of phone wire easily. You could connect everything.

It also deliberately dodges the wires in 4-wire phone jacks most likely to carry telephone conversations, so it can co-exist on regular phone wiring in the walls.

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