PC help: Zipped up files

Q I am having trouble transferring files that were stored on Zip disks on a computer running Windows 95 to a new PC running Windows XP. Can you help?

A As you were using Windows 95, the old Zip drive won’t have been a USB model. If it’s an external model that connects using the parallel port you should be able to connect it to the new computer, assuming the new one has a parallel port.

You can download the drivers for Windows XP from the Iomega website. You may find it easier to buy a USB Zip drive and connect that to the new computer ­ new drives are available online for about £50, but cheaper second-hand drives can be found on Ebay.

The usual warnings apply about making sure you are buying from a reputable seller, and that the drive is the correct model. There are several types of Zip disk, and if your files are stored on a 250MB disk, for instance, the disk will not work in a 100MB Zip drive. Again, you can download the drivers for the USB drive from the Iomega website. The smaller-sized disks will work in the newer drives.

Once you’ve got the files on the new computer, remember that you may need the application in which they were created. If the files are text, Word documents or Jpeg pictures, you can of course view them in any appropriate program, but if they were created in a specialist program you’ll need that program on the new computer to be able to use them.