# Question for OLD op system



## grief (Jun 7, 2006)

I have a 1997 Dell computer. It runs Windows 95 operating system..

On that computer I have my family history information - 100 pages +.

The printer I got with the computer died. All the printers I have looked at (so far. all new.) won't work with the Windows 95 o.s.

HOW can I download that family history info to put on another computer?

Please give me every idea that you can think of. I've sought advice from some people who should have come up with a solution and none have worked.
I'm hoping that maybe someone on this forum will have a solution that WILL work.

I have a solution, if there IS no solution. I'm going to go back to using my trusty typewriter. AND NOT SPEND BIG BUCKS ON A COMPUTER THAT HAS AN INTENTIONALLY OBSOLETE OPERATING SYSTEM.

(Above caps are my frustration with this situation!!)

Thanks for any help you can give me.
grief


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## boonieman (Dec 28, 2005)

You didn't give much info that would be a help in solving your problem. 
So, what format is this family history, type of file? What is the extension on the file name? Can you display the history on your computer? If so, have you tried cutting it and pasting it as a text file? I believe 95 had notepad that you can paste text files to. Text files will print on most any printer, new or old. The margins and all that may be messed up, but at least you will capture the info and can straighten out the mess later.


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## comfortablynumb (Nov 18, 2003)

ummm....

they are called "floppy disks".

make sure they copy correctly onto the new computers HD then burn them onto Cdrs or dvdrs.

and 95 was obsolte quite a few yrs ago.
Upgrades are not all that expensive, really.

you could even plug in a CD burner to the old computer, if you found a used one that was 95 friendly.
I just tossed one in the trash a few weeks ago while cleaning out the parts bin.

also, you could set a new HD ot slave, and copy everything off on to it.

then put it in a new computer as a data slave.

you could use zip 100 disks.....

or go buy a printer.

you have lots of options.


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## boonieman (Dec 28, 2005)

The reason I suggested cutting and pasting as a text file is that your family history program may or may not run on a newer version of windows. 2000 and up started having issues with some of the older programs. So if you take the entire program and copy it to another computer, it may be a total waste of time. Once you have a text file saved, and copied to floppies or whatever, (as Comfortablynumb suggested) it will at least hold your important info and you can load the file into Word or another word processing program or another family history program of your choice.


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

What kind of program was used to create the history? 100 printed pages isnt much data
Does the program have an export feature, will the program run on XP or vista?
The easiest way to save the data is take the drive out of the old computer and put it in a USB enclosure. PLug that into your new computer and all your data is now visiable to the new system. 

As for Obsolete OS, First its 10 years old and there is NOTHING wrong with the OS IT appears to be working fine, The fact that your printer stopped working and new one is no longer support should be a beaf with the printer folks. IF you look around you will find some printers will still support 95, but they are not the low ball cheap printers.


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## midwsthomestead (Nov 8, 2005)

We had a similar problem earlier this year in that we had files on our old Dell that needed moving to the new computer--I had a SanDisk media card reader that connected to the computer via USB port(the one thing that was not obsolete lol) so we plugged that in with the media card, loaded the files onto the card and then took the card to the new computer and transferred the files. 

Clear as mud??

The card reader and card we bought at Staples, I don't recall the price but I do know it wasn't terribly expensive and is something we use alot.

Hope our experience helps! 

Don't be discouraged about computers in general, just realize that Windows 95 is quite ancient (so to speak) and with technology growing by such leaps and bounds, even Windows 98 is becoming difficult to keep going. New stuff just isn't compatible. 

~~


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## comfortablynumb (Nov 18, 2003)

oh if the daata is IN an old 95 program....

thats different, not much of 95 runs well in xp/vista if at all.

text copy the data os a good suggestion, and save it all ar simple .txt files.

most all OS versions will read .TXT files with no problem.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

grief said:


> I have a 1997 Dell computer. It runs Windows 95 operating system.


Ca you give us more info on the system, such as processor speed and amount of memory? You can usually find that by right-clicking on the My Computer icon and selecting Properties. You'll find the info on the General tab under Computer.


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## Stann (Jan 2, 2005)

Since you mentioned that you spoke to knowledgeable people, then I'm assuming that the most straightforward solutions aren't workable. I'm also guessing that you're using a program for data entry that doesn't store the "family history" file in standard ascii.

Since nobody has suggested this solution yet, here goes. I'm assuming that you're certain the the printer is toast. I'm assuming that you're certain that you're "family history" files and program aren't "cost effectively" transportable to another computer.

If I remember right, I think that you can "print" your output into a text file (ie. ascii). In a similar fashion to sending out faxes by using "a printer output", you also have an option to create a file of what your printed output would look like.

Something like -> Control Panel -> Printers -> Add Printer... then go through the wizard and set the options to "SEND THE OUTPUT TO A FILE".

Then use the program to print the output (the family history), but select the printer as your newest "Print to File" printer, give it a file name and output. Then you can copy the text file to a floppy disk, and then use wordpad (or similar) to edit the file on another computer.

Hope this helps, somewhat.


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## lharvey (Jul 1, 2003)

Well since Grief hasn't answered some of the basic questions, I'd say that they must have it solved.

I'm thinking it was probably done in a specialty program written for Win95. This is why it won't work on other OS

My father had a genealogy program too that would not work on newer OS's

L


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## grief (Jun 7, 2006)

I'll have to look up the exact name for the family history program but it is an LDS program, Family Tree by name I think. I don't have my computer with me but will certainly get it to my present location and set it up and try to answer some of the questions that have been posed in order to help me.

The printer: Old one was put in garbage several months ago. After the fact, I think that was a serious mistake! SOMEONE might could have salvaged it. However, I kept/keep hearing that printers weren't/aren't worth the cost of repair. And, no, I didn't think that the newer versions would not support Windows95. Computers aren't my life, just a tool I use(d), primarily for that f.h. info. And, oh yes! Surfing the internet. I've looked at NEW printers in all price ranges and have not found any that would work with Windows95. Having said that, let me add that the possibility of one of them actually being what I need wasn't something I couldn't discern from what I read which was not the manual itself for the printer, just the info available in the phamplet on the shelf.

The family history program I have was too large to copy to a floppy. I tried that. However, I'll try all of the suggestions...even if it's the second attempt.
I want to get this thing copied, and transferred (maybe! maybe not! if "planned obsolescence" is the cpu/printer technology byword.) so that I can continue putting information into the f.h.

Some of the other ideas I read sound like I need to investigate them. I appreciate, very much, the responses. I haven't been back to homesteadingtoday.com to check on the responses until just now.

Printing the f.h.file to a text version is something I will (re-?) try. I think I tried THAT sometime back. It's been a while since I tackled this - frustration
abounded. 

I understand that Windows 95 is old. I also know that making something intentionally obsolete, that works quite well, and does all the things I need for it to do, is a marketing ploy. Which I don't have to buy into. As I said, I'm an excellent typist (spelling is sometimes screwed up!) and my handwriting is still very good. Both methods were used for family histories before the computer came along. The main advantage, as far as I can tell,
of being able to transfer information, is the probable reduction of errors.

Thanks!! for all the suggestions. I'll get back - probably next week, when I get the computer with the f.h.file - and let you know if any of the suggestions work. I hope one does. There are various family members who have - now - decided that they are interested in the family history info that I have accumulated. I most certainly want to share that information. Maybe one of us will actually remember some of it!!!

grief

I "previewed" this post and some of the sentences are separated in a way I didn't type them. Sorry for that.


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

Not sure why you basing the OS, Its working fine. Its the printer thats the issue. I personally think you could find a used printer like what you had on ebay. As for being obsolete. Windows 95 first ship was August 24, 1995, Your windows is 12 years old. Hardly something that is "intentionally obsolete" Do you complain that your CD will not play on your record player? I would hope not. THe OS is old, not supported and works fine. Just dont complain when you want to connect a modern device to it and it doesnt work.

Now to the actual solution to your problem. If your planning on getting a new computer and want to transfer the data then get your new computer, get a USB enclosure. Take the disk drive out of your old computer and put it in the USB enclosure. Plug the usb enclosure into the new computer and BINGO, all your data is there. You will need to reload the family tree software to get at the data but you still have the data.


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## LvDemWings (Sep 11, 2005)

Many times you can find older model printers at thrift stores. Canon bubble jet printers are fairly common there and many of them were designed for windows 95. Okidata dot matrix printers are another brand that were quite common. HP deskjet printers with model numbers under 900 have windows 95 drivers available on their website.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

Gee I sold mine old printer a few years ago to a friend that was still using 98 and because I moved up to XP and no drivers. Now they Moved ALL the way up to Vista, asked me what they should do with the printer, gesh i said the dumpster is a nice place.


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## 14yearpcmaker (Mar 11, 2007)

I don't get the whole old printer no driver thing.... I have a cannon buble bubble jet designed for windows 3.11 that I'm running on Vista basic! I just plug it in, and it locates the drivers automatically. I ahve used it on 98,2k,xp, and now vista. Nevere failed me at all! Best of all, they still make a cartridge that fits the printer! (some weird generic brand that you can buy at wally world for 10 bucks, and lasts ages!!) Am I just blessed w/ a heck of a printer?


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## donsgal (May 2, 2005)

LvDemWings said:


> Many times you can find older model printers at thrift stores. Canon bubble jet printers are fairly common there and many of them were designed for windows 95. Okidata dot matrix printers are another brand that were quite common. HP deskjet printers with model numbers under 900 have windows 95 drivers available on their website.


OMG I just threw away about 8 printers that I had that were "legacy" type (no USB connection - and my new computers do not have serial/parallel ports). I did keep my old HP Deskject 540 because I LOVE that printer and I will never throw it away. I even threw away my dot matrix printer - finally. 

BTW (getting back to the original gist of my reply, doh). I bought most of them at thrift shops and yes, I'm certain they would work with Win95 except you are going to have a tough time finding a driver for them! If you can get one try to find one that has the installation disk software with it. (good luck).

donsgal


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

Were you backing up your geneaology data as you went along? I made the awful mistake of having months worth of data lost, because of a hard drive failure. I had to retype in all of my data. Since then I backup any data that I enter on my computer on either another rarely used hard drive, on a cd, or dvd.

100 pages is a lot of data to lose.

Most gen. programs will export the entire file in many different formats. The current programs will still read the older programs files.


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