kinkyturtle: Laptop file transfer: advice please?

A.R.M. (

kinkyturtle) wrote,
@ 2008-05-02 20:23:00

Laptop file transfer: advice please?
Sooo... what's the best way to connect the laptop to this computer so I can transfer all my files over?

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	michaelmink 2008-05-03 01:39 am UTC (link)
	What is the speed of your USB connection? I assume you don't have Firewire, which is how I high-speed transferred from my old to new laptop. Do you have an external HD? (Reply to this)

	palabrajot 2008-05-03 02:07 am UTC (link)
	An external HD is a good option, both for transfers and backup. If you don't have, or don't want to spend $120 on one, some places do sell a special USB 'linking cable', which, with software on both machines, will allow a drag and drop between them. I have one I could sell you for $30. (Reply to this)

	strredwolf 2008-05-03 02:22 am UTC (link)
	Got Gigabit Ethernet on both? Then use a Cat5e Crossover cable or crossover dongle. Otherwize, Firewire. USB's a bit unreliable between two PC's, so that's the external HD route. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	zorinlynx 2008-05-03 04:12 am UTC (link)
	With gigabit, use a straight through cable. The concept of a "crossover" is obsolete with gigabit. It uses all four pairs and it uses all four of them bidirectionally. So just connect the gigabit ports together, enable file sharing on the drive with the data you want to transfer, and map it on the other machine. WHOOSH! (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	yakko 2008-05-03 04:45 am UTC (link)
	Keep in mind a proper network cable (i.e., one with ALL 4 pairs terminated) is needed. Some network cables bundled with equipment cheap out and are only 2 pair. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	vakkotaur 2008-05-03 02:24 am UTC (link)
	If you can network the two, that works quite well. I know you have some sort of home network I don't recall how it's set up and if that's an easy option. Transfer by USB or USB device is probably the next best means, assuming firewire isn't an option. Edited at 2008-05-03 02:25 am UTC (Reply to this)

	yakko 2008-05-03 03:06 am UTC (link)
	Windows has a settings transfer wizard, but I suggest getting the laptop on the local network, or just using an external USB hard drive to do the transfer, since you're probably still going to use the desktop. I think the external hard drive is easier as all you have to worry about there is making sure the drive is formatted properly. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	kinkyturtle 2008-05-03 03:48 am UTC (link)
	We have a cable modem, and a router plugged into it, and the computers are plugged into the router. Will it work if I just plug the laptop into the router, or do I have to do something else? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	yakko 2008-05-03 04:42 am UTC (link)
	Simply plug the laptop into one of the 4 ports on the router. At that point, you can share out the data you want to copy over, then map a network drive from the laptop. (Reply to this)(Parent)

yakko
2008-05-03 04:48 am UTC (link)

Also, if I was certain you had an admin user with a password on the desktop, I'd suggest mapping a drive from the laptop connecting to \\DESKTOP\C$ (if the files are on C: for instance). Then you just connect as the admin user and his password, and you've got access to the entire drive! You won't have to bother sharing a folder out and working out permissions issues then.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

mycroftb
2008-05-03 05:59 am UTC (link)

Windows XP defaults to Simple File Sharing. The way I'd suggest doing it is making a folder on the laptop, maybe in My Docs or something, and then sharing that on the network with full write permission. Then go to the full-size pc, open the folder, and start copying stuff to it. When you're done, unshare the folder on the laptop, and organize things at your leisure.

1. Get the laptop's name. You can get this by right-clicking My Computer, either from the desktop or the start menu, click Properties, then the Computer Name tab. If it's got an ugly name like PC16385736, you can even rename it from here.

2. Make a new folder on the laptop. Right-click the folder, and click Sharing and Security... under Network Sharing there should be something like a checkbox to share on the network, or a link to go through a wizard. Skip the wizard and just enable file sharing. Also check Allow network users to change my files. Make note of the sharename here.

3. Go to your fullsize pc. Click start, run, and type '\\(laptopname)' and ok. Right-click on the share, and click Map Network Drive. Choose any drive letter, as long as you remember it later.

4. Copy stuff! Basic file copying should be pretty easy. If you've got a lot of stuff, like a big mp3 directory, that will take a while. Alternately, you can run the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard (under Accessories, System Tools) and specify the laptop's mapped drive as your destination.

5. When you're done copying stuff, on the full-size PC, right-click the drive, and click Disconnect.

6. On the laptop, right-click the shared folder, Sharing and Security, and uncheck "share this folder on the network"

7. This step intentionally left blank.

8. Done!

(Reply to this)(Parent)

	palabrajot 2008-05-03 05:39 am UTC (link)
	Whatever solution you arrive at, an external HD is always handy to have around. They're sure cheaper per gigabyte than ever before. (Reply to this)

	nefaria 2008-05-03 12:01 pm UTC (link)
	I recommend the external HD option as well, you can use it for periodic backups once file transfers are done. Tweak the external HD so it works just like a HD, don't use any fancy software that promises to copy files for you, due to copyright laws it won't copy certain file types. (Reply to this)

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