I have just returned from a three week sailing trip across to Tasmania and cant get my head around a little computer problem that I have, any assistance would be most appreciated.
I have an ARL 3460 OES Spectrometer which is controlled by proprietary software (WIN OES v2.1) which is can be loaded into Windows 95 environment only. The upgrade to Windows 7 software (OXAXIS) costs about $15k and is out of the question at that price. On Monday when I went to fire up the old Windows 95 computer things remained blank. Most probably the graphics card but it was pretty full of mouse droppings and dust in the case. Tried a whole assortment of cards but none seemed to work. None of the local computer stores or SH computer shops have stuff for old computers anymore. I installed the hard drive into another old retired computer and got part of the way through booting up before it hung up.
I then downloaded Virtual Computer 2004 which is host compatible with Windows XP and guest compatible with Windows 95. Downloaded Acronis Image Maker and made a backup of the spectrometer W95 hardrive. What I have is a fully functional hardrive with W95 OS, the Spectrometer Software and all of the callibration data and results for the past several years. I also have the original Spectrometer Software CD and callibration data on floppy discs. I do not have a Windows 95 installation or boot disk.
I think that I need a Windows 95 installation disk. Anyone know where I can get one? Then can anyone guide me through the process of setting up a Windows 95 virtual computer on my XP host. Is it possible to restore the backed up spectrometer W95 hardrive in the virtual computer and then as if by magic simply press start and see it boot up.(with or without the W95 installation disk). I have set up a virtual W95 computer but am really out of my depth already and it keeps asking for the boot disk.
Cheers
Frant

I reckon you're on the right track with the virtual machine idea -- I know of at least one program that's written in BASIC on an Apple ][e which is still in production... of course the hardware is long dead but it keeps on trucking inside a virtual machine. Funny thing is it runs a million percent quicker now

Do a google for Win95 Boot Disc image and you should be able to connect the image to the virtual machine's 'floppy drive', which should put you back in business...

kiteboy dave said...

Try posting on the 'broadband' forum that sounds like a washing machine, there's a lot more computer nerds there...

'Whirlpool forum'?

Have you tried turning it off and then turning it back on again?".

Mark _australia said...

I wanna know why you have a spectrometer - just something you have in the shed ?

Probably next to the GC mass spec, particle accelerator, MRI machine and a small prototypre fusion reactor?

Windows 95.. sounds like a high tec terrorist lol...

yes , last time i looked [about 30 years ago] a spectrometer was something that anolized the particals in any substance.
interesting gadget to carry on the yacht frant!

Hmmm, I wonder if it would run in "wine" in linux?
That's a program that provides a windows environment, for windows programs.
I've just checked mine, and I can set it to windows 95.

I've just purchased the January edition of Linux Magazine, it has a live DVD of Knoppix with it.

If you're interested I can check if that has "wine" installed if so you could run your computer with the knoppix DVD, and use wine to simulate windows 95.

It's not guaranteed to work, but it's only $15 to find out.

frant said...

Decrepit, for $15 I can buy 3 bottles of red wine. Will share them with you if your idea works!

OK I'll go and plug the DVD into my old spare computer and see if wine is on it.

OK, it does have wine on it and I was able to run an old windows scrabble game on it.
But I did have trouble trying to find the floppy drive, so I just used a program from the hard drive.

You may have to copy the calibration data from floppy and the software from CD on to the hard drive, unless you have separate DVD and CD drives. (The DVD has to stay in from boot to shutdown)

Also be aware that there are 2 operating systems on the DVD, fedora 14 and knoppix.
Fedora isn't a "live" system it's for installing fedora.

Feel free to PM me if I can help.

Geez.
It sounds like the future of the free world depends on it.

I hope you get it going.

im impressed !

frant said...

Mark _australia said...

I wanna know why you have a spectrometer - just something you have in the shed ?

Probably next to the GC mass spec, particle accelerator, MRI machine and a small prototypre fusion reactor?

Mark, This would be funny if it wasn't true. I do actually have the spectrometer in the shed at home, (set up as a lab). Another bit of my business designs and builds radiation protection equipment for Positron Emission Tomography facilities in the Nuclear Medicine Department of hospitals. PET uses a cyclotron to accelerate particles (electrons) and bombard a target element which then becomes a short lived positron emitting radio isotope. These isotopes are manipulated in a reactor housed inside the equipment that we build, the QC is carried out using a mass spectrometer and the product is then administered to a patient and a scan using a Gamma Camera which is awfully similar to an MRI machine is used for diagnostic purposes. There are various plans and bits and pieces of prototype equipment in my shed at home next to the spectrometer. And just to keep Buster happy the Spectrometer was bought in the late 90's when we had contracts to supply Kuwait with magnesium anodes after all their infrastructure was destroyed in the Gulf war and the US and their allies were not welcome to bid on these contracts so it was a bit cloak and dagger.

And I am not a great deal closer to getting Windows 95 running again. You would be surprised or maybe not to realize that just about everyone chucked all their W95 stuff out about 10 years ago. The recycling places might just go back to XP if your'e lucky.

frant I can mail you an oem 95 disk if you want. Think someone else has already offered?

surprised you cant get it from the net..probably just not looking hard enough

I recommend shadow protect desktop....make an image of your functioning drive with this software, put the drive in a new pc and then do a hardware independant restore (feature of this software). You can also edit the image and it still works.
Load the drivers for the new pc. presto.
you can download a trial from the net but I dont know if it has full functionality. There are cracked versions or it costs under $100. best backup program for home pc anyway.

I have just installed a brand new Gigabyte G Force 6200 Graphics Accelerator and it works!!!
My primary problem is solved. Let analysis begin.

Just been at home installing the computer back on the spectrometer. Turned the spectrometer vacume pump on and smoke poured out of the motor setting off the fire alarms. Now I am waiting on an urgent courier delivery of a new pump motor. The original Alcatel vacume pump motor is a 0.37kW motor with a 14mm dia shaft but standard mounting flange for a 0.18KW motor. Will have to machine an adaptor flange to mate the new motor to the pump body. But at least you can see what you are doing with mechanical stuff unlike those damn computers.

Mark _australia said...

Thumbs up for the last sentence. Give me something I can SEE and bodgy up with JB weld and a coathanger, or manufacture a new part, anyday

The irony of posting a message like that on an internet forum isn't lost on some people

Mark _australia said...

nebbian said...

Mark _australia said...

Thumbs up for the last sentence. Give me something I can SEE and bodgy up with JB weld and a coathanger, or manufacture a new part, anyday

The irony of posting a message like that on an internet forum isn't lost on some people

Haven't you seen my coathanger wire and JB weld PC?

OMG!!