Companies aren't going to chuck out their machinery just because Microsoft upgraded Windows. I'm a retired Controls Engineer and we face this sort of problem (or much worse) as part of the job. The reason for this is because you are going to need to run the software in the virtual box that you have Windows XP setup in.Īnd remember, you still have to find a card, specifically a 'Brother' card, for it.

Be sure that the driver supports Windows XP and earlier. eBay has them for as low as $7.77 with free shipping. The serial port issue can be solved by getting a cheap USB to serial converter. So download the software from the the boxes site.ģ) New PCs don't have a serial port these days.

Remember what I said about the boxes looking the same? There's a good chance that either version of the software will work with either box. I would caution you not to set up the Windows XP side to connect to the Internet since XP won't last long on the Internet these days. Not a problem, go here and (legally) get Windows XP for free: Follow their instructions for installing it to a virtual machine. It probably will still work, but I would want the seller to lower the price to reflect the condition of the box.Ģ) The software for these devices is old and will not run on a modern 64-bit PC. And there currently is an auction for a box that has a broken power connector. The serial cable is most likely a null modem cable and the USB to serial adapter should be able to plug directly into the box without the cable. Be sure that it comes with it, but if the price is really good these can be replaced rather easily. I've seen them for sale on eBay without the 'wallwart' power supply. But you're going to have a few issues:ġ) Be sure that the cables are included. And with luck you will get the card as well. Second, backing up your virtual box is as simple as making a copy of the 'machine' (a file usually around 50GB or so) and using the most recent copy to restore your virtual box OS.įind yourself a cheap Magic Box/Amazing Box (they are the same hardware from what I can tell). The virtual box is nice for a couple of reasons, the first being that what happens over in the virtual box stays in the virtual box and won't mess up your main OS. Is the issue that you are having Windows refusing to install the drive because it isn't 'signed' by Microsoft? If so, drop down to #2 and install a virtual box on your PC (or Mac). My pleasure, here's (most of) a post that I made on Youtube as to how to create a work-around:

Ped basic driver