I have two computers connected by an Ethernet cable and I need to transfer a few files several gigabytes in size. I don’t want to spend the money to buy a “memory stick” large enough to accommodate such files.
So, how do I transfer files from computer A to computer B? The “from” computer’s OS is XP, the “to” computer’s OS is Vista. As mentioned, I have them directly connected with an Ethernet cable.
Thanks!
Are the computers part of a home network, or something similar, or did you just connect them with an ethernet cable?
If the former, they are part of a network. It’s then relatively simple to grant access to one computer and allow the other one to grab those files to copy/move them.
If you merely connected an ethernet cable between the two machines, it will not work, and you will have to use a different method.
A standard Cat5e patch cable (which is what I assume you have) won’t work. You need a crossover cable. After you have one of those, follow these instructions.
Aren’t all modern NICs auto-sensing these days? You probably don’t need a crossover cable if the computers in question were built within the last few years.
If you need to do this on a continual basis, you can get the free MS SyncToy (one of the few bits of MS software I can actually recommend, even though it has such a silly name).
Once set up, it syncs anything that is new or has been modified from one computer to the other (giving you the choice of which way) and deletes any you’ve cut out of one on the other. It works very well.
For a reasonable price (I forget how much now), you can also get GoodSync Pro, ver 7-1-5. It has a few features SyncToy does not, and gives you a good look at what is going to be synced before you go ahead and do it.
They both work just like syncing your PDA with a computer, quickly and accurately. Using these, I keep my laptop just like a clone of my desktop.
So MS has ‘re-invented’ rsync and has the utter temerity to charge for it? :rolleyes:
Most NICs are only “auto sensing” in terms of speed, I believe (10/100). You will still need to make (or buy) a “cross over” cable.
In a standard cable, the wires go straight through, pin 1 to pin 1, etc.
A crossover swaps a pair.
The dumb (nonprogrammable) hubs I got have one port that can be switched from standard to crossover.
It’s possible that the latest and greatest switches or routers can autosense the cable mapping, but he is probably just trying to go peer to peer with a Cat-5 cable, I assume, with no other devices involved.
Edit: You may need to “share” the folders so that the other PC can “see it”, and you might need to mess with the IP’s.
Write them to DVD
My computer has a Terabyte of disk space. Where can I find a 1TB DVD? 
That’s not the situation in the OP, in which only a few gigabytes of files need to be transferred.
Did you not see the part where MS Sync is free? :rolleyes:
OK. So how about a USB flash memory stick, as long as any one file doesn’t exceed the device’s capacity? Fast and erasable, too. A very handy gadget to have around.
As you’ve already been corrected on the price, I’ll also add that there is an enormous difference between rsync and SyncToy from the point of view of the average user. To most people, rsync would be completely useless because they’d never figure out how to use it.
From the OP:
Cost of the last 2GB USB flash mem I bought: $12. Cost of a long Ethernet cable: $15 and up. Cost of a single 4.7GB DVD writeable disk: less than $1.
I guess that’s what I’m asking:
How do you set up a network which allows file sharing. Yes, right now, I merely have an Ethernet cable connect between the two, which I assume will be part of any network.
The smallest file is 3GB. The biggest capacity I’ve seen on a DVD-ROM is 900MB. Of course, my knowledge is limited.
Price…and use. As I mentioned in the OP, I don’t want to buy what I believe to be a pricey memory stick (as I said, the smallest file is 3GB, so the stick would have to be pretty large in terms of memory), especially for a one-time operation. I’m trying to unload important files (no, not pornography) from a computer I am selling.
Well, that doesn’t seem too bad. I was hoping for a quick, easy solution; but I guess that doesn’t exist. I really have no need for a large-capacity memstick (I already have one at 500MB) and a few of the files are over 4.7GB, so the DVD solution wouldn’t work, unless there are ones with larger capacities (are there?). Anyway, I think I will take your (and others’) advice and buy the large capacity memory stick. Even if I don’t use it much beyond this one operation, at least I’ll have the insurance that I won’t have this problem again.
Thanks for all the assistance everyone.
Yes, there are double-layer DVDs, provided your burner can use them.