How to handle these files.

[Martyn]

I just gained a client that has taken me back in time I get a phone call about his computer isn't working and he has to do his accounts by the following Monday. Anyway I go to this 'company' and find this 80 year old man in his 'office' which is a cabin in a metal storage container. His computer is a 12 year old Win 98 build running xp, 256mb ram, 20GB HD with a parallel dot matrix printer attached. He has a dial up modem for Internet along with Wordstar 4 Pro for word processing. He has Sage Accounts and Sage Payroll on it along with Wordstar. The computer is completely gone and he didn't want to buy a new one so I sold him an XP laptop. His data files were on the old hard drive and also on a series of floppies. Getting him to change was difficult but I've got him onto the laptop with a USB 3.5 disk reader. I've managed to get the Sage packages working along with him ordering broadband. He had a brother inkjet printer being used as a fax/copier on the other side of the room so I connected it by USB and that is the stage I'm at. My problem now is do I try to get Wordstar to print to either the dot matrix printer via some sort of USB to parallel converter or do I try to convert the Wordstar files to something modern and hope he takes to it. Probably it will be easier for him to stay with Wordstar as he has been using it for years.

Any ideas or suggestions?

 

[Kitten Kong]

Cripes, wordstar brings back some haunting memories!. I remember using that back in '86-87, when I was on my YTS scheme, on day release, at the college.

I would suggest the USB to Parallel cable. It would be far easier for him. No learning curve as such, and being the grand age he is, I very much doubt he would even want to learn a new wp, such as word. (Even though there are minor differences, it simply won't look the same).

 

[Martyn]

Yes that's what I'm thinking Nige. I connected the inkjet up and he is already asking about templates etc as he had these already setup in Wordstar. I'm wondering if I can get Wordstar to output to usb, some sort of redirect to the inkjet and not use the dot matrix printer?

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Some old programs that only print to LTP....and you don't have that port for a printer, sometimes this trick works...

share out the printer...
net use command to bind LPT to that share name with the persistent flag.

 

[Martyn]

Some old programs that only print to LTP....and you don't have that port for a printer, sometimes this trick works...

share out the printer...
net use command to bind LPT to that share name with the persistent flag.

Thanks it's actually all coming back to me now. I used to do that many moons ago. Shortly after I posted the original post he phoned me desperate to have his dot matrix printer working and to use his Wordstar. I've ordered a USB to parallel converter and am going back there next Tuesday when the broadband is active.

 

[carrcomp]

Thanks it's actually all coming back to me now. I used to do that many moons ago. Shortly after I posted the original post he phoned me desperate to have his dot matrix printer working and to use his Wordstar. I've ordered a USB to parallel converter and am going back there next Tuesday when the broadband is active.

Just hoping it works ... I've had a hard time with those converters

 

[Painless]

I just used a centronic to USB cable from StarTech for a customer using XP and an old Deskjet. It worked a treat. I decided not to try an adapter as there would be too many connections.

 

[Martyn]

Just hoping it works ... I've had a hard time with those converters

Yes I also have a plan B as he wants to carry on using Wordstar and at 80 years old he doesn't want change. I have an old Dell tower that will suffice should I get no further with the adaptor.