Dial-up Internet

daniel2013

I have an old computer which I need to get online via dial-up. I know I can use one of the pay as you go ISPs like eircom net, and pay for it, however I have broadband internet at home. If I were to buy a dial up modem for my modern PC (just a few months old), would it be possible for me to connect the two modems together, and share my internet connection from my modern PC to the old PC? I understand the speed would be limited to 56k or below, but is it possible? I would not be adverse to installing linux if this was necessary.

gouche

How old is the PC?

Surely you'd be better buying a NIC for it and connecting it to your router rather than trying to find a 56K modem for your newer machine?

Freddy Smelly

just buy a usb wifi dongle or a network interface card. and get your old pc connected via your existing broadband connection

daniel2013

The pc is from the early 90s, it runs Windows 95 and has no free expansion slots or USB ports for that matter. I am aware it is not considered a good idea to connect it to the internet, however it needs to be done.

And in reply to "gouche", I already have a 56k modem for both my old (a serial modem) and new (a USB modem) PCs, both of them connect via eircom net perfectly.

gouche

daniel2013 wrote: »

The pc is from the early 90s, it runs Windows 95 and has no free expansion slots or USB ports for that matter. I am aware it is not considered a good idea to connect it to the internet, however it needs to be done.

And in reply to "gouche", I already have a 56k modem for both my old (a serial modem) and new (a USB modem) PCs, both of them connect via eircom net perfectly.

There was a thread on here recently about getting a Win95 PC online.
Wasn't met with a lot of enthusiasm:pac:

Why exactly do you need to get it online?
If you're adamant that you do you might be better installing a lightweight Linux variant on the machine - it should at least be more secure than Win95.

But you're going to run into issues trying to render almost any website.
The internet has changed a lot in 18 (!) years and so has the technology.

daniel2013

I am not going to be using it for the web, I am going to be using it for other internet applications. I am not going to be able to install Linux on it, as the computer does not have a CD drive, it has only a 5.25" and a 3.5" floppy disk drive (Windows 95 was installed from the 13 floppy disk upgrade version), and I do not wish to modify it in any way as it is in immaculate condition for its age and only software, not hardware has been modified. I will run a firewall on my modern computer blocking all unused ports so it should be somewhat safe.

I mean no disrespect to anyone on this forum when I say this, but I would prefer if I did not get answers such as "change to linux" or "why use it online" as I do know what I am doing, I just need to know how to do it/if it is possible.

Thanks

Laviski

bottom line its gonna be hard, have you thought about linking your pc through a serial connection? that is your modern pc still has it... create and share the internet connection that way maybe.....

daniel2013

Laviski wrote: »

bottom line its gonna be hard, have you thought about linking your pc through a serial connection? that is your modern pc still has it... create and share the internet connection that way maybe.....

My modern PC is a laptop, so no.

I have found and tested a 'telephone line simulator' on instructables, which involves attatching a 9v battery and a resistor in series along the red wire, i
When this device is plugged in between two telephones, it allows you to talk to the person in the other end perfectly, so it should work with modems.

This would supply enough power to ensure the modems can communicate (the modems only send tones, not power). The need for a dial tone can be disabled.

Ergo, I only now need to find a way to share the internet connection over this "telephone line", as the hardware is fully sorted.

Feathers

daniel2013 wrote: »

I do not wish to modify it in any way I would prefer if I did not get answers such as "change to linux"

You said in your OP that you wouldn't mind changing to Linux :S

daniel2013

Feathers wrote: »

You said in your OP that you wouldn't mind changing to Linux :S

I meant I would not mind changing my modern PC to Linux (in reality it would be a dual boot)
I will not modify my old PC in any way, apart from software, but it would be next to impossible to find a floppy based linux installer.

Torqay

Clone the the drive with Sysinternal's Disk2VHD and use the image with VirtualBox or VirtualPC. Voilá, you're "old PC" is now part of the world wide web.

daniel2013

Torqay wrote: »

Clone the the drive with Sysinternal's Disk2VHD and use the image with VirtualBox or VirtualPC. Voilá, you're "old PC" is now part of the world wide web.

This in no way whatsoever answers my question. I do not wish to use a virtual machine, if i wished to do that, i wouldn't have asked this question

Torqay

Well, Windows 95 does not support Internet Connection Sharing. Good luck finding some old version of WinGate (current version only works from Windows 2000 onwards). Needless to say, connection sharing does require a network card which is supported by Windows 95.

daniel2013

Torqay wrote: »

Well, Windows 95 does not support Internet Connection Sharing. Good luck finding some old version of WinGate (current version only works from Windows 2000 onwards). Needless to say, connection sharing does require a network card which is supported by Windows 95.

I'm sorry, but you clearly haven't read my original post. I am NOT looking to share an internet connection FROM the Windows 95 machine.
I am looking to share the internet connection from my NEW computer to my old one

Torqay

daniel2013 wrote: »

I'm sorry, but you clearly haven't read my original post.

Windows 95 can't connect to the internet via a shared dial-up connection without 3rd party software, period. It requires a network connection (though DCC might be possible) a server (to be installed on the computer connected to the internet) and a client to be installed on the Windows 95 computer. One such solution is Wingate.

Further requirements on the Windows 95 PC are WinSock 2 and the TCP/IP protocol.

alyssum

daniel2013 wrote: »

I am not going to be using it for the web, I am going to be using it for other internet applications. I am not going to be able to install Linux on it, as the computer does not have a CD drive, it has only a 5.25" and a 3.5" floppy disk drive (Windows 95 was installed from the 13 floppy disk upgrade version), and I do not wish to modify it in any way as it is in immaculate condition for its age and only software, not hardware has been modified. I will run a firewall on my modern computer blocking all unused ports so it should be somewhat safe.

I mean no disrespect to anyone on this forum when I say this, but I would prefer if I did not get answers such as "change to linux" or "why use it online" as I do know what I am doing, I just need to know how to do it/if it is possible.

Thanks

could you post a pic?

daniel2013

alyssum wrote: »

could you post a pic?

i'll try to

5uspect

You're making it very difficult for people to help you. You're being very cryptic so it's hard to advise you about what you want.

Why on earth would you want to get such an old machine like that online? Is it just because you have it sitting around?
If there is a specific reason that this machine in its current state, without modification, needs to get online then fine, if its just for the heck of it then say so.

alyssum

daniel2013 wrote: »

i'll try to

ok you don't have to say if you don't want - are you planning to use as a hardware firewall.? just curious no need to answer

daniel2013

5uspect wrote: »

You're making it very difficult for people to help you. You're being very cryptic so it's hard to advise you about what you want.

Why on earth would you want to get such an old machine like that online? Is it just because you have it sitting around?
If there is a specific reason that this machine in its current state, without modification, needs to get online then fine, if its just for the heck of it then say so.

alyssum wrote: »

ok you don't have to say if you don't want - are you planning to use as a hardware firewall.? just curious no need to answer

The machine is owned by my parents, they bought it new at the time (1994/5) for office work, and around the turn of the millennium they connected to the internet. For some reason, after a while they stopped using it. It has been sitting there unused since then, being switched on occasionally just to check if it still works.
A good friend of my parents has emigrated to Australia and he wishes to keep in contact by email. As I never move my laptop, my intention was to leave it running, and leave it connected to the old computer via a telephone wire through the attic.
This way they could simply switch on their computer and connect when they needed internet access. This would save them the 5c/minute charge for dial up. As they will only be using email, the speed would not matter hugely. As I have already said, I will use a firewall to only allow the ports used for POP and SMTP.
Neither they nor I can afford to buy a new computer, or a somewhat modern used one. As the computer is old and still in original condition, they do not wish to modify it.
I would much rather let them use my computer, but they are afraid of damaging it.

5uspect

daniel2013 wrote: »

The machine is owned by my parents, they bought it new at the time (1994/5) for office work, and around the turn of the millennium they connected to the internet. For some reason, after a while they stopped using it. It has been sitting there unused since then, being switched on occasionally just to check if it still works.
A good friend of my parents has emigrated to Australia and he wishes to keep in contact by email. As I never move my laptop, my intention was to leave it running, and leave it connected to the old computer via a telephone wire through the attic.
This way they could simply switch on their computer and connect when they needed internet access. This would save them the 5c/minute charge for dial up. As they will only be using email, the speed would not matter hugely. As I have already said, I will use a firewall to only allow the ports used for POP and SMTP.
Neither they nor I can afford to buy a new computer, or a somewhat modern used one. As the computer is old and still in original condition, they do not wish to modify it.
I would much rather let them use my computer, but they are afraid of damaging it.

It's not really worth the hassle to be honest. Consider getting them a Raspberry Pi for €35 plus an SD card for the OS. USB to PS2 adapters for keyboard and mouse and whatever cable you need to convert HDMi to VGA for your old monitor. They can just use the web browser for everything. They should have zero need to worry about screwing it up since you can just reimagenthe card. Heck you could even use the old computer as an oversized case.

Torqay

5uspect wrote: »

Consider getting them a Raspberry Pi for €35 plus an SD card for the OS. USB to PS2 adapters for keyboard and mouse and whatever cable you need to convert HDMi to VGA for your old monitor.

For less you'll get a supermodern P4 with 1 GB RAM on Adverts... but they can't afford it.

5uspect wrote: »

Heck you could even use the old computer as an oversized case.

They do not wish to modify it.

5uspect

Torqay wrote: »

For less you'll get a supermodern P4 with 1 GB RAM on Adverts... but they can't afford it.



They do not wish to modify it.

Where's the fun in that? I gave away my old Northy system, I'm sure the OP could blag a freebie somewhere.

daniel2013

5uspect wrote: »

It's not really worth the hassle to be honest. Consider getting them a Raspberry Pi for €35 plus an SD card for the OS. USB to PS2 adapters for keyboard and mouse and whatever cable you need to convert HDMi to VGA for your old monitor. They can just use the web browser for everything. They should have zero need to worry about screwing it up since you can just reimagenthe card. Heck you could even use the old computer as an oversized case.

That was an idea, but a HDMI to VGA converter costs over 150 euro, so that is not going to work.

daniel2013

5uspect wrote: »

Where's the fun in that? I gave away my old Northy system, I'm sure the OP could blag a freebie somewhere.

I assure you, they are not interested in modification and would certainly not find it fun :P

GreenWolfe

Are your parents willing and/or able to go to a library or a net café?

Or a second-hand netbook and a PAYG 3G modem, maybe? (assuming they have mobile coverage in their area)

Actually using the ancient PC to get online in any way, shape or form simply isn't worth the trouble.

5uspect

daniel2013 wrote: »

That was an idea, but a HDMI to VGA converter costs over 150 euro, so that is not going to work.

Is you're Google broken? http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0088K7QUQ

Torqay

daniel2013 wrote: »

I would not be adverse to installing linux if this was necessary.

daniel2013 wrote: »

I mean no disrespect to anyone on this forum when I say this, but I would prefer if I did not get answers such as "change to linux"

What is it now?

daniel2013 wrote: »

I am not going to be able to install Linux on it, as the computer does not have a CD drive, it has only a 5.25" and a 3.5" floppy disk drive (Windows 95 was installed from the 13 floppy disk upgrade version)

Who says, you'll have to "install" Linux. Copy a Puppy Linux image onto the hard disk drive. In Windows 95, use Shutdown > Restart computer in MS DOS Mode, then fire up the Puppy image with linld (a Linux loader for DOS). This can be done with a simple batch file.

daniel2013 wrote: »

I am not going to be using it for the web, I am going to be using it for other internet applications.

Where do your parents, who are allegedly opposed to modifications, fit into this?

daniel2013

Torqay wrote: »

What is it now?

I would not be adverse to installing Linux on my own laptop, if that was what was needed to connect the old computer to the internet.

Torqay wrote: »

Who says, you'll have to "install" Linux. Copy a Puppy Linux image onto the hard disk drive. In Windows 95, use Shutdown > Restart computer in MS DOS Mode, then fire up the Puppy image with linld (a Linux loader for DOS). This can be done with a simple batch file.

Which would involve removing the hard drive, putting it in an enclosure, copying the image, putting it back. Which to my parents would seem like modification.

Torqay wrote: »

Where do your parents, who are allegedly opposed to modifications, fit into this?

As I have already said, they want to use it for email. Which, in my opinion is another application of the internet.

I'm sorry that I sound like I am being awkward, but none of us have the money to buy a new computer and at their age, it is impossible to explain obsolescence or that taking out the hard drive isn't modification. I would love to be able to get them a new computer or get that one running Linux, but with them, it's not going to happen.

Torqay

daniel2013 wrote: »

Which would involve removing the hard drive, putting it in an enclosure, copying the image, putting it back. Which to my parents would seem like modification.

You can transfer the image via the network connection.

If the computer does not have a network controller, you are entirely SOL anyway, as there is no way to connect the computer to the internet other than through a direct dial-up connection. Of course, fitting a network card is a heavy modification and thus out of the question.

If you're parents object so strongly to any modifications, they'll have no choice but to pay the 6c/min or whatever the costs for dial-up is these days.

Or, since they're afraid to use your computer, you may print the mails from their friend, let them type the reply on their own computer, find a way to transfer the document to your laptop and send it from there.

Overheal

If you can handle the technical crap that we've discussed in this thread yourself, and you can't explain obsolescence to somebody, then I don't even-

I mean are they hiding a body inside the case or something?