Conversion of ClarisWorks files to Ms Office (Windows)

Charlie,

The Extensions Manager (control panel, spacebar) could be used to turn extensions on/off.

BTW, could you verify that ISO 9660 File Access was in the (active) Extensions folder? Also, make sure that the Apple CD-ROM extension is active.

Hello Charlie,

I cannot say anything about how InfraRecorder is today, but it worked fine many years ago when I used it on a Windows XP computer. The guide at http://www.howtoanswer.com/quick-guide-of-infrarecorder-free-cd-dvd-burning-soft ware--156.html could possibly be of interest (Write speed is shown in a Burn Compilation window near the end of the document).

I have used a PC with various Linux distributions (and their respective burning applications) to burn downloaded (.hqx or .bin) Mac files to a CD-R. These CD-R discs could be read without difficulty in an external Apple SCSI CD-ROM drive connected to a System 7.5.3 PowerBook 540, so I cannot imagine that a similar transfer between a Windows 7 PC and a Mac OS 8.6 Performa 6200CD would be impossible (of course, the Apple CD-ROM extension must be active on the Performa).

Cross-platform segmenting of a large file (onto several floppies) is not always easy. We do not want to damage the BinHex (.hqx) file and any self-extracting archive (.sea) inside. The BinHex encoding protects the Mac content (with resource and data forks). So, in this case, I recommend that you fully try the CD-R route first. Once on the Performa, StuffIt Expander can be used to decode the single large .hqx file (whereby the contents can be accessed).

Normally, unless there are special issues/conflicts (see, for example, the comment by Jeff above), it should be OK to have all Extensions and Control Panels active.

Jan

Charlie,

Is a file called Foreign File Access to be found under the active extensions?

Earlier operating systems had an extension called Apple CD-ROM. The Apple CD/DVD extension that you mentioned may be a Mac OS 8.6 substitute (right now, I do not have access to my machine running 8.6, so I cannot confirm this).

Also, I do not know whether that Apple CD/DVD extension would be the proper one for the original Performa 6200CD CD-ROM drive (which of course does not work with DVDs). It ought to be, providing that the 8.6 system software installation had been carried out (using the installer) directly from a retail system CD onto the Performa (not through some kind of manual copying, for example, from another computer's hard disk).

Does the CD-ROM drive of the Performa work with any other disc than the CD-R made on the Windows PC?

Charlie,

Good! Since you now know that the CD-ROM drive is working, the next step would be to try alternative burning programs/methods on the Windows 7 PC. Use a CD-R (not CD-RW) and burn the data disc (in one session) at a low speed.

Jan

Addendum

For the burning/transfer tests, you may possibly also want to try a change of existing longer file names to something short in a DOS format (for example, TEST1.HQX). It will probably not matter as far as file visibility is concerned, but could be used in order to avoid strange-looking truncated file names.

That's correct System 7 came on 1.44MB floppies.

Charlie,

It is difficult to say why this does not seem to work. The speed setting should not be that sensitive. All the necessary extensions and helper files appear to be present on the Performa side. You may want to again check the burning procedure to see if anything has been missed or could be changed. Could the contents of the CD (the downloaded file) be seen if the disc that you just made is read by the Windows 7 PC itself or by a third computer?

Charlie,

In order to again verify the method to transfer on CD-R, I just used a random version of a distribution called Puppy Linux in an old PC. I did not want to install a new system on the PC, so I started from a Puppy Linux Precise 5.7.1 retro "live CD" (that earlier had been made from a downloaded .iso-file). Once at the Desktop, I ejected the live CD (the entire system software remains in RAM) so that the CD drive would be free. Then, a burning application (Pburn, part of this distribution) was used to write a previously downloaded BinHex (.hqx) test file (TEST1.HQX) to a 700 MB CD-R in one session. That CD could be read without a problem in an AppleCD 600e (similar speed as the internal Performa drive) connected to a System 7.5.3 PowerBook 540. The .hqx file arrived OK, and could be decoded on the PB 540 (by dragging the file onto the StuffIt Expander program icon).

Jan

Hello Charlie,

I wish your mother and you luck with the file conversion and the transition to another computer. Windows 7 is not a bad operating system, and I can understand that you want to avoid Windows 8. However, if possible, do keep the Macintosh Performa 6200CD and its accessories and disks. One day someone you know may have to read an old 800K Mac-formatted floppy (and transform it into 1.44 MB), and then you can help; or you may discover that some ClarisWorks files have not been properly converted.

Kind regards,

Jan