Hello Steve,

Has the avenue ever been explored with an I.t professional/programmer about moving the game exe from Windows 98 to the latest version of windows?

Games can be moved and ported. Would mean a new printer could be purchased with a very easy supply of inks. The game would run quicker on new hardware and it would future proof the game and the business.

Thanks

Steve said

No, I can simply buy the same printer again. There are plenty available refurbished. The one I use now is not the original one. 

Steve said
I thought I would start a new thread for this as it's clearly a bit more than a 'printing problem' so I wanted to explain what has been happening, how I have been trying to resolve the problem and when I can restart the game.

In a nutshell the Summit software is legacy software, it runs on a Windows 98 PC connected to a HP LaserJet 4+ printer which prints at 14 pages per minute and prints 800+ pages in one session. The PC has no network or internet connection.

I went to my normal supplier to order replacement cartridges for the printer only to find that they had discontinued them. So I found them at another supplier who said they had them in stock and ordered two which they delivered.

Printing the last League to go out, League 3 Week 22 the ink ran out as I was printing the last of the turnsheets. I didn't bother to change the print cartridge as the printed turnsheets are not sent back anyway.

Roll on a few days I process League 1 Week 18 and plug one of the new cartridges in. It won't print and neither will the other. I order from a different supplier and they say after a few days that they have sourced an original HP cartridge and will send that to me. I put it in the printer and it dumps the entire toner contents inside the machine on the first attempt to print a page. I'm still cleaning it. I'm also still fighting for refunds as they want photos and descriptions and goodness knows what else.

I've learned a lot about these cartridges now... firstly that they have a shelf life of around 3 years and HP stopped manufacturing original toner cartridges more than 15 years ago so obviously these suppliers without stock are finding someone somewhere who has 15+ year old boxes on the back of a shelf somewhere just to fulfill my order on their accounts.

Also that these items are dropshipped. So basically if you buy from 'Buy A Cartridge.com' then they don't stock any themselves. They just pass your order on to a importer who sends it out and 'Buy A Cartridge' has no other involvement. So basically this means that at the moment the cartridges are on a cargo ship somewhere between here and China and once one supplier gets them in stock they all will.

I have looked at alternatives ie connecting my other printers to the Summit PC but drivers are not available. I have looked at sourcing different printers that Windows 98 can cope with but they either have the same ink supply problem or are usually Epson dot matrix which simply won't do the job even temporarily.

So what next? I have one supplier whose customer service has been superb and that will be my main supplier from now on for all print supplies. They haven't sent me any expired product as the others did but have kept me informed all the way. They say that the ETA for new cartridges is 20 September but is more than likely to be before that. I have no reason to disbelieve that as they have been up front with me all along.

Obviously once this new stock is available I will order several and keep a couple in hand. A cartridge lasts a couple of months of printing Summit so if I have two in hand that I know are fresh stock it should negate any future supply problems. It's not an issue I had anticipated but it's a simple fix.

If anything changes I will post on here but I hope this rather lengthy explanation will let you all know what has been and is likely to be happening.

Thanks ... Steve  

I wouldn't  think the local computer shop would nesessary have the skills or know how to transfer or even rewrite code so that software could work on later versions.

You would need to hire a software developer. Could be done.