If I were to copy files from a server running Paradox onto a server that is not running paradox, but have clients running the Paradox Runtime Module do I need to have Paradox running on the server in order to do view the data?

If I also want to convert the data to another DBMS (MySQL) do I need Paradox installed anywhere?

Hope this is not to confusing

Not at all.

Paradox does not "run on" a server. It is strictly run on each client workstation. The common set of shared files that represents the database is often stored on a file-server. You do not need to have the Paradox product installed on the server unless the person at the server console also uses it. (Note: it is critical for the BDE configuration on the server to specify LOCAL SHARE=TRUE if this is done, so that the server-console user will treat the files as "shared" even though they're on his "local" disk drive.)

If you want to convert the data, you do not have to have Paradox installed anywhere, although you will probably find it very convenient as a tool for getting the data where you want it to go. Paradox "plays well with others." It has fine SQL support. And the Paradox ODBC drivers you might encounter, say with MS-Access, can be quite buggy.