Dongle & DOS - Suggestions needed

[jaspen-meyer]

I'm trying to revive a dos program, which runs with a 25-pin dongle in the printer port (25 pin D-Sub DB-25), for someone abroad who no longer owns a printer port. I am to get the necessary hardware, software and OS to run the program - and, it should be as light (not heavy) as possible.

Anyone with dongle experience able to give me some direction? I have never used, or seen, a dongle.

Suggestions?

Brainstorming I came up with the following possibilities:

HARDWARE

a) thinkpad
- T41 + 72w power adapter is 2.36 kg (5.19 lbs)
- anything lighter?

b) thinkpad + dock
- x60s + 65w power adapter is 2.21 kg
- x21 + dock + adapter is 2.90 kg

c) parallel port <-> usb adapter?? I can't imagine this'd work



SOFTWARE

a) FreeDos on usb. Am not sure if it'd work with the dongle
b) xp on hdd

[dr_st]

For a DOS program, I assume you do not care about performance in any way. I believe the X3x series is a good candidate. People often forget that they have a parallel port on the chassis (no dock needed). They weigh about 1.6-1.7kg. Of the three (X30/X31/X32), the X31 is by far the most common, and should be pretty affordable.

If you go far enough back, you can get lighter models, like the 10.4" 240/240X, but these are harder to find, and will most likely cost you more, and may be less reliable due to extra aging. With X31/X32, even if something fails, replacement parts are more readily available.

[rkawakami]

My understanding is that in a general sense, a dongle (DB25 connector) is meant to be used as a "key" or "license" which allows the DOS program to function correctly on one machine at a time; i.e., a hardware-based software copy protection system. The dongle is wired in a specific manner that the program expects. This can be done simply by interconnecting the I/O and/or handshaking signals present in the parallel port or by using some active electronic circuitry embedded into the connector.

My suggestion would be to start with a plain old DOS system (e.g., bootable floppy) and not trying to run the program in a DOS box under Windows. Most old DOS programs talked directly to the hardware and putting Windows in the middle can confuse things. If you can verify everything works with DOS-only, then you could try seeing if it works in a DOS box.

The previous suggestion about X3x systems is good but you could probably also get away with using an X2x (X20-X24) system as well, along with T2x if you would like a larger (13" to 14" screen).

[dr_st]

X2x do not have the parallel port connector; a dock / ultrabase would be needed. For a bigger system, T2x/T30 would be fine, but a T4x 14" would be slightly lighter, weight-wise.

I support your suggestion to try everything in pure DOS first. But then you need to have a FAT16 partition, or the program itself on a floppy. For Win2K/XP, PortTalk/AllowIO will allow direct passthrough for the physical printer port. I know because I have done it myself for a similar program that requires the physical dongle. For Vista and later I do not know of such a solution.

[jaspen-meyer]

By the way, the machine will be used only for the dos program -- formating the drive, or a partition, to FAT16 is no problem.

I'll dig up my copy of DOS and install it on a few drives (sata, pata, usb) and see they each work in an
x2x || t41 || x6x.

[snip](x31) weigh about 1.6-1.7kg.[/snip]

With or without battery? The weights I gave above were without batteries.

The articles I found about weight of the x31 don't specify if weight is with or without battery. For example, "it weighs just 1.66kg (2.04kg with the power cord and the AC adapter)."

[rkawakami]

X2x do not have the parallel port connector; a dock / ultrabase would be needed.

Ah, you're right. Sorry, I had a brain f@rt from spending three days out in nature .

[dr_st]

[snip](x31) weigh about 1.6-1.7kg.[/snip]

With or without battery? The weights I gave above were without batteries.

With. A laptop weight is always with a battery, unless explicitly stated.

[jaspen-meyer]

x22 battery, I assume it's similar to an x31's battery, weighs 0.34 kg.

So x31, with adapter and without battery, is 1.7 kg .
0.5 kg less than x60 + base + adapter. I wonder how much I could cut off of the x60 base without breaking the parallel port ...

Is a pcmcia parallel port adapter a workable solution?

[dr_st]

Now you are just being silly.

You have perfectly workable native solutions, and you are thinking to go down the kludge / voodoo path? Why?

I'd understand if you already had the system in question, and wanted to reuse it rather than shop for a new one, but that is not the case, if I understood you correctly.

[jaspen-meyer]

Now you are just being silly.

You have perfectly workable native solutions, and you are thinking to go down the kludge / voodoo path? Why?

I'd understand if you already had the system in question, and wanted to reuse it rather than shop for a new one, but that is not the case, if I understood you correctly.

Weight = convience. If there is a solution which weighted 100g (pcmcia card + usb disk & a donor pc on location) that would be ideal -- allows one to ship program next day air for nominal fee, for example.

Yes, you were right, I have a stack of x6x's and do not have any x31's. So, if I can use the x6x, I don't need to shop for anything and I can replace a broken machine quick. Also, my x6x monitors have LED backlights and I've already tested the machines. I've even got an x60s with a keyboard in the user's native layout, which'll make them happy each time they use it. In short, if I can get the x6x to be lighter than the x31 I'll use it; otherwise I'll use the x31.

Chopping the unnecessary bits off of the dock is voodoo? It's just dead weight no one wants to walk around carrying - like the feet and head of an afternoon's lunch.

[dr_st]

No, I was referring to PCMCIA-->Parallel as "voodoo", because although these adapters exist (there are adapters for almost anything), they tend not to work well in any non-standard situations (much like USB to parallel/serial).

Chopping unnecessary bits off the dock is a kludge.

Had you presented your actual conditions in full when your started this thread, you may have gotten more focused responses. From your first post it seemed like you are designing this solution from scratch, without any existing hardware / software on your hands.

If you want to take advantage of your existing stack of X6x, it makes sense, but you will have to use the Ultrabase. Under no circumstances will you get X60 or even X60s + Ultrabase to weigh less than the X31/X32. But the difference in weight will not be big, so it may be worth it to avoid buying a new laptop.

Two things to keep in mind when using a laptop with an Ultrabase permanently attached: (1) it will make the system run a little hotter, (2) it raises the system and changes the angle of your hands when you type on it. Some may find it more comfortable, but the majority would find it less comfortable.

Finally, I must say that now I am not sure I fully understand what you need. I was under the impression that the goal was to help one person to run one specific program on one specific system. And I don't see where "donor PC on location" and "ship program next day air for nominal fee" fit with this.

Good luck, and do keep us updated with whatever solution you converge to in the end.

[RealBlackStuff]

Just in case, I have two X31 for sale.

Are you talking about a Boot-Block Jumper as with the Crisis disk?
http://www.manualslib.com/manual/71795/ ... ml?page=59

[jaspen-meyer]

Chopping unnecessary bits off the dock is a kludge.

Chopping unnecessary bits off the dock is a prototype docking-port to parallel-port adapter?!

From your first post it seemed like you are designing this solution from scratch, without any existing hardware / software on your hands.

I was digging up facts - which machines are lightest, what OS is needed... With that I'll 'design' a solution, which is to say pick between an x60s with the fan likely constantly running in DOS or an x31 with a dull screen.

Under no circumstances will you get X60 or even X60s + Ultrabase to weigh less than the X31/X32.

Reading that I had a vision of a bare x60 mb, a keyboard and the ultralight display connected together in a half-opened manila folder, held open with sewing thread tied to the top corners of the display and the near corners of the motherboard. I saw broken bits of black plastic from the dock littering the area, and I was wearing a big grin.

I don't see where "donor PC on location" and "ship program next day air for nominal fee" fit with this.

There is one user, until they sell the program and need to send it 'overnight delivery' someplace.
They will travel by plane often, between 3 locations, with the program and hardware. Lugging around a 'one-trick pony' notebook & adapter is a burden so I was considering ways to let them travel without carrying the notebook. Easy solution is to leave an x31/x61 at each location.

[twistero]

If your client relies on such an exotic piece of old software, then carrying a "one-trick-pony laptop" is a reasonable price to pay, I would say.

Several things come to mind:

It may be possible, although unlikely, that the software actually works in the DOSBox emulator with some kind of parallel port passthrough. You may need to hunt down specific builds or drivers or whatnot.

W.R.T. leaving a computer at each location: does your client not need any local data to travel with the program? Remember that removable storage pretty much means floppies under pure DOS, so if the client edit files at Location A and need those files at Location B, he would have to carry the dongle plus the files, and you will need floppy drives at each of the locations, and that floppy discs lose data if you look at them wrong, etc etc.

You could probably also LED-mod your X31 screens if you decide to go in that direction.

Of course, also consider upgrading the software or cracking the dongle.

[jaspen-meyer]

Good luck, and do keep us updated with whatever solution you converge to in the end.

Sent a T43 -- didn't see any x31's on ebay in the uk. No word yet whether it worked or was too heavy.

[Johan]

@ jaspen-meyer:

I am using several DOS-programs with ("security") hardware-dongles attached to the parallel-port on a T42p, in a DOS-shell under Windows 98, as discussed in the tread Can Windows 98 be installed on a T42?

Also, I run several DOS-programs on my Windows-7 (64-bit) PC, using DOSbox... works very fine.

Johan