I have various paperback XJS Jaguar manuals as well as a few CD ROM’s. I have to keep an old, slow PC laptop in the shop in order to run the CD’s for part number look ups, etc. Not only is that setup cumbersome but it doesn’t allow for any inquiries when away from the laptop.
Does anyone know of a way or possibly a service that can convert those CD’s into a useable PDF file that can be downloaded and carried on my IPad or iPhone?
Open the existing document and see if there is anything resembling a standard extention:
.txt, .pdf, .doc, etc.
My presumption is “not”.
Then check for a “Save As…” functionality" when viewing the document.
My guess is that the documents are in a proprietary format and not easily exported.
If anyone as a conversion tool, sing out, please.
The CD itself suggests that it is or should behave like a PDF but it does not. Instead it feels more like a manual type of operation when using it.
I’ll bet if this were a U.S. government CD it would already be hacked, copied, and sitting on someone’s desktop as an icon ready to be opened with the click of a mouse
Windows days are over but could you create an image or otherwise steal it?
Assuming the CD allows you to print, and assuming the Windows version is too old to have the built in print to PDF driver, download CutePDF and install. After it is installed, it will ask to install a related freeware package. Do that also. Then select print, select the CutePDF driver, and print. It will ask you what you want to name the file, and where you want it saved.
https://www.cutepdf.com/download/CuteWriter.exe
Some CD protection schemes are “smart” enough that they don’t allow using a pdf print driver, especially the built in Windows version. I found I could defeat that by renaming the CutePDF driver to something that did not contain PDF in the name, and then it worked.
Sometimes, you will find that a large file fails to create the entire pdf. You can print smaller numbers of pages to individual PDFs as a workaround. Or you can try one of the other freeware pdf printer driver’s that you can find on the web. There are also freeware programs to combine smaller pdf files into bigger ones.
Unfortunately, you’ve got a privately prepared CDROM built for commercial (profitable) use.
If it was mine, I’d attack it with a PC running Linux Server and take a peek at the actual file contents without a GUI. Then see if the file extensions fit any known common formats. Then try some of the shareware conversion tools…
Yikes 
!!! After all these years its kinda hard to believe that I am the only one complaining about using the CD’s, or seeking to find a useable solution for loading onto modern device’s. Sounds like the suggested path is a bit over my head, be nice if I could find a service for this type of conversion.
If you’ve ever installed a printer driver on a computer, then used the printer, the CutePDF method I discussed is that easy, maybe easier.
No, you’re not the only one complaining about an old pc for the garage just because the CD is that way… I prefer paper over this 
“create an image”
This is absolutely the way to go, at least at first. A disc image is trivial to produce and at least gives a backup or another viewing option for when using a pc with no optical drive, or whatever.
If you want, make an image of the disc using imgburn, and send it over to me. I can take a look inside and see what I can do about extracting the contents and converting it if necessary. It really depends on how they put it together.
Some Jaguar CDs require them to be activated over the internet, and are tied to a particular computer. Don’t know if that’s the case for this particular CD or not. If it is, a third party won’t be able to do much with it.
I used imgburn to create a mirror of the CD but that’s as far as I could go - I’m happy to send it over if you send me an email address.
I did the same with the X300 CD & could get into the mirror of that bur not the XJS mirror.
Andy.
+1 for the printer method mentioned by jal5678. You should be able to find one of several “Print to PDF” utilities on the internet which you can install. Then when you choose to print off a few pages of your ROM in the “select printer” option choose the new print to pdf option and you now have a new file that is also a PDF and contains all those pages but is no longer tied to that CD ROM. I used this method many years ago and now I even have all the ROM pages on my phone for quick reference if ever requried.
If this is a newer OTPubs CD that uses “FileZilla”, it is a little tougher than just adding a PDF driver printer. If the FileZilla program detects that your printer is just a PDF printer, you end up with a huge PDF of blank white pages. I can’t remember how I did it, but basically the computer knows the PDF printer isn’t really a printer, and you have to go change a setting so it thinks it is. Then FileZilla looks at that value and actually prints the page with text (but also adds a huge JAGUAR watermark) instead of pumping out blank pages.
As I mentioned, just change the name of the printer driver to something without PDF in it. Worked with CutePDF that way. I gave it an Epson printer name, a printer I don’t own, so I’d remember what it was.
If you are referring to the old CD-ROM’s that Jaguar was providing more than 10-15 years ago, which require Windows 2000 (no, they won’t work even on XP), then, I am afraid you are stuck with vintage PC.
I have one of them. If you actually “explore” the disk contents, you will see that each section is already a PDF. AdobeReader will read it and it can probably be transferred.
The problem is that the software that Jaguar uses to browse the contents and let you search is not amenable to any of the tricks mentioned earlier in this topic. Somehow, even though it is a rather primitive program, it won’t run if you change the operating system, try to create a disk image, and/or try to make a copy of the CD.
It only works from the original CD and only under Windows 2000 that runs native. I had tried it on a Mac that had a VirtualPC with Windows 2000, but the disk could not be used as intended.
After many years, I’ve given up oil the idea to transfer the contents.
There is a long thread on the V12 sub-forum, where a copy of all PDFs, bundled together is a single PDF can be obtained.
This 1000+ page PDF is not searchable, obviously, but all sections are in order.
That PDF can be read on any platform.
Hi Steve,
I think you are 100% correct. I had some time the other day so I tried the various methods suggested such as imgburn & cutepdf with both the 6.0ltr XJS CD & the X300 6.0ltr V12 CD.
Cutepdf was pretty much useless. Imgburn created images of both CDs & I could access the X300 CD but not the XJS CD. I also tried winrar & got nowhere with that. Each section is split up into a separate PDF.
I’ve got an old laptop that they will load on but having a more accessible version of them would’ve been good but it ain’t the end of the world - hey ho.
Regards
Andy.
I have the early CD ROMs (no DRM locks), from the Jaguar Classic site, for early XJ-S, late XJS and XJR (JHM1152, JHM1127, and JHM1176). I don’t have a Windows machine so I’ve only accessed the data on them as the raw PDFs from Linux or MacOS. There is no global index, so it is pretty clunky to find what you want, but gets the job done. For the workshop, I print off the pages for the job I am doing, so it doesn’t matter if the pages get messed up. I guess I could laminate the often used diagrams and instructions.
There is, only if you load the CD on an IBM-based PC running Windows 2000. Might also work on Windows 98.
As I stated earlier, Windows XP and newer - no luck.
Other operating system - same.
That’s what I did with my CD after after reaching out to locklizzard to no avail.
I eventually bought the new version on usb flash drive usable on any computer excluding Mac