Transfer Files between Laptops

[maratik999]

What is the best way to transfer files between 2 laptops. What sort of cable would i need. Standard USB or a specific sort of cable. Thanks. Writing to CD isnt an option. Thanks for all your input.

 

[PrincessGuard]

If your laptops have Infra-Red ports (if laptops still come with those) or Ethernet ports, then you're already set. Just need a crossover Ethernet cable, if applicable.

USB-USB network adapters are easy to use (once you've installed the drivers on both computers) and cost about $50. You can't use just a normal USB cable.

Old 10Base-T PCMCIA and USB Ethernet adapters are very cheap now, if you can find them. If you don't mind lugging around a bunch of extra dongles and adapters, this is probably cheaper than the USB-USB cable from above.

If you only need to transfer a small amount of data, a Flash memory drive would work.

 

[maratik999]

Thanks for your input. Will try to do it with the crossover cable. There is about 4 gigs worth of data i need to transfre from a friends laptop. What are the steps i should take with ME and XP to make the transfer possible. Thanks so much for your input.

 

[TheCorm]

1. Laplink Cables (Serial Parallel) - Speeds around 4mbps (cheapest)
2. USB Networking Cable (As Mentioned) - Speeds around 6/7mbps I think (easiest)
3. Crossover Network Cable with 10 Base-T or 10/100 network cards - Speeds from 10mbps to 200mbps (full duplex) (quickest)

I think all of the above options work like networking....the laplink works as direct connection though. USB option should come with appropriate software.

You will need to setup both PC's with the same workgroup and enable sharing of the relevent drive. Generally it will easier for the XP machine to get at the ME machine due to security enhancements on XP. So you should work on the XP machine and copy files from or to the ME machine from there for the 4 gig transfer.

Corm

 

[maratik999]

Great, thanks for the helpful input. Have a good one everyone.

 

[Latts]

I usually use a USB network cable to go from my desktop to my fiance's laptop (she doesnt have a network card in her laptop)

It works really well.