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Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!apple!fox!portal!cup.portal.com!ts
From: ts@cup.portal.com (Tim W Smith)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: connect a PC to a appletalk network
Message-ID: <24743@cup.portal.com>
Date: 6 Dec 89 04:20:05 GMT
References: <825@dukempd.phy.duke.edu>
  <1989Nov27.171638.15149@sj.ate.slb.com>
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Lines: 35

We've used TOPS to transfer files between our Macs and our IBM clones.
It works pretty well, but there are a couple things to watch out for.

First of all, they don't make it particularly easy to use LocalTalk
cards other than their own.  They say that it might work.

To use it with Apple's LocalTalk PC card, you need to run a program
that comes with the LocalTalk PC card called "compat" before you
run the LOADTOPS batch file.

I wish the TOPS manual had mentioned this.  Or the Apple manual, for
that matter.  If either did mention it and I missed it, then oops!

Secondly, TOPS has an annoying habit of swallowing the D: drive when
it is started.

The D: drive simply becomes an invalid drive.  There is a configuration
file that contains a list of drives, specifying which are floppies, which
are hard disks, and which are available.  By editing this to tell it that
D: was a hard drive ( by default it is marked as avaialable ) I was able
to sort of get it to stop making the PC forget about D:.

Again, I probably just missed it in the manual, but I wish there had been
something that explained this.

Other than these minor problems, TOPS seems to be a good way to go for
this sort of thing.

By the way, we ordered TOPS from MacConnection.  We called them at 4pm
Pacific Time.  That was 7pm where they are.

It was waiting for me when I got to work at 11am the next day.  That's
pretty damn good service!

							Tim Smith