Hard Light Productions Forums

Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Solatar on May 15, 2008, 03:11:05 pm

Title: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: Solatar on May 15, 2008, 03:11:05 pm
...to transfer several gigs of music/files from one computer to a laptop? I'd like to back it all up because my desktop isn't very predictable or stable and I want to make use of my large laptop hard drive. Is there a quicker way than burning it on CDs?
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: Jeff Vader on May 15, 2008, 03:17:01 pm
An external HDD?
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: Solatar on May 15, 2008, 03:25:58 pm
I was thinking about, but I didn't want to invest money. However I could probably use it in the future and justify the expenditure. Any other ideas?

There's no way I can plug my computers together via USB and copy and paste over to the laptop was if it were an external HDD is there?
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: Herra Tohtori on May 15, 2008, 03:36:19 pm
LAN?
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: Flaser on May 15, 2008, 03:50:58 pm
A crosslink UTP cable....

...or a serial cable (that connects the serial AKA printer port on both machines) and use Norton or Total Commander...

...removing the laptop's hard-drive and temporarily plugging it into your desktop.
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: haloboy100 on May 15, 2008, 06:57:09 pm
LAN?
Yeah, link a CAT-5 (ethernet) cable between two computers and do it that way. I managed to transfer 5 seasons of doctor who (~10 GB) in under 10 minutes on a 10mb/sLAN.
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: Kosh on May 15, 2008, 07:07:08 pm
USB 2.0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: haloboy100 on May 15, 2008, 07:26:18 pm
USB 2.0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:nod:
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: blowfish on May 15, 2008, 07:28:08 pm
Gigabit ethernet is faster than USB 2.0 (assuming both your computers and your hub/router have gigabit :nervous:)
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: Scuddie on May 15, 2008, 08:53:46 pm
And assuming your drives can transfer 110MB/s continuously.
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: S-99 on May 15, 2008, 10:02:40 pm
I use skype file transfer to send really big files large distances at fast speeds over the net to people. Skype is free for use for basic stuff like IM, computer to computer calls, and file transfer. Maybe videochat too. The skype file transfer is great.
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: Tyrian on May 15, 2008, 10:12:14 pm
I say use a null ethernet cable.  That's usually the quickest.
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: FUBAR-BDHR on May 15, 2008, 10:26:50 pm
Quickest transfer would probably be to remove the drive from the laptop an hook it up to the PC directly as another HD.  Of course you would need the necessary cable/converter to do so.  Quickest as in easiest would be the Cat5 cable or using an existing network.  These days if you have a laptop and PC and internet you probably have them on the same LAN anyway. 
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: Stealth on May 15, 2008, 10:44:10 pm
(http://www.usbfirewire.com/Parts/usblink2.jpg)

'nuff said :)
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: Nuke on May 15, 2008, 10:45:58 pm
LAN?
Yeah, link a CAT-5 (ethernet) cable between two computers and do it that way. I managed to transfer 5 seasons of doctor who (~10 GB) in under 10 minutes on a 10mb/sLAN.

use a crossover cable

USB 2.0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:nod:

that would be intresting to watch since you cant hook a host controller up to another host controller without a gizmo in between.

Quickest transfer would probably be to remove the drive from the laptop an hook it up to the PC directly as another HD.  Of course you would need the necessary cable/converter to do so.  Quickest as in easiest would be the Cat5 cable or using an existing network.  These days if you have a laptop and PC and internet you probably have them on the same LAN anyway. 
you can get an adapter for this

...or a serial cable (that connects the serial AKA printer port on both machines) and use Norton or Total Commander...

:lol: i hope you like twiddeling your thumbs! the only thing i transfer with serial cable in network drivers. use a parallel cable instead its slightly faster, so you wont have to twidle so long
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: FUBAR-BDHR on May 15, 2008, 11:05:49 pm
Quickest transfer would probably be to remove the drive from the laptop an hook it up to the PC directly as another HD.  Of course you would need the necessary cable/converter to do so.  Quickest as in easiest would be the Cat5 cable or using an existing network.  These days if you have a laptop and PC and internet you probably have them on the same LAN anyway. 
you can get an adapter for this

Adapter converter whatever.  I just wish I new where the heck mine is.  Saw it once in the last 5 years and forgot where I saw it.
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: Ashrak on May 16, 2008, 01:41:29 am
just get a crossover CAT5-e or CAT6 and be done with it, byfar the easyest, plug it into your pc and then straight into laptop both of them will get an ip adress like 196.254.c.y and then you can just browse by that adress.
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: Mars on May 16, 2008, 07:23:12 am
Yeah, what's with all this other stuff?

Put down $10 on a CAT-5E or CAT-6 crossover cable and it'll be done in under 20 minutes.
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: Solatar on May 16, 2008, 10:30:48 am
Thanks for the advice guys, seems like the ethernet cable wins the day.
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: S-99 on May 16, 2008, 10:50:29 am
Sounds like both of your computers don't have wireless. If they were, you could much easier create an adhoc network and connect one computer to the other with relative ease and do the transfer.
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: Stealth on May 16, 2008, 06:03:09 pm
to transfer several GIGs?

1) a wireless network is too slow
2) serial - are you kidding? lol
3) parallel - ?

your best bet is cable between the two... either USB (see the picture i posted), or ethernet
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: S-99 on May 16, 2008, 08:52:18 pm
Damn, just plop one hard drive into the other. Or use an ethernet cable. There you go. Do one.
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: Nuke on May 16, 2008, 10:04:39 pm
like i went to install a wireless nic on my laptop and i didnt have the driver cd for it, just the files on another computer, 15 minutes of serial transfer time and i got the drivers copied and installed, then i enjoyed my usual bandwidth and put the serial cable in the back of the closet.

ive seen an option of using a parallel port instead of a serial port and supposidly it gives you transfers 8x better than serial. the net drivers for dcc connections in newer windows versions as 'direct cable connection'. i think you can git em up above 1 mbit. be sure to set maximum baud rate in the device manager panes.
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: Stealth on May 16, 2008, 10:34:57 pm
the alternative to transferring a 3MB file for 15 minutes over a serial connection, is to just bust out a thumb drive (flash drive) and transfer them that way ;)
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: Nuke on May 17, 2008, 01:16:45 am
thats assuming you own one. some of us are cheap ass bastards you know :D
if i was gonna transfer a file id start with the fastest option available and work my way down the list until something works. sometimes you hit rock bottom in the process. at least i didn't have to create a spanned archive over a bunch of floppies. that would have been barbaric.
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: S-99 on May 17, 2008, 01:36:26 am
That's how i got the fs1 demo onto my upstairs computer back in late 99. 20 trips up the stairs that was :nervous:
Title: Re: Does anyone know the quickest way...
Post by: Nuke on May 17, 2008, 04:45:49 pm
i install dvd burners in all my computers. at a few pennies a disc its not all that bad, even if toss em when you're done. i also install wireless nics. so most of the time i can move files around.