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How to transfer large amt. of data between PCs?

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FCollinsBuckeye

FCollinsBuckeye

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Former Game Champion
    • I need some help here. I'd like to transfer a large amount of data between two PCs. What's the best way to do it? Could I use my iPod as a temp. external drive? 30g ought to do it... Is there an easier way? Like just connect them with a cable? If so, what kind of cable?

    Thanks in advance!

    edit:

    I've done some Googling and think I may be able to map a new network drive to the other PC and do the transfer wirelessly...

    Hopefully it works!
     
    Last edited:
    It's not exactly what you asked for... but do you need to have it stored on your other machine? External drives are so inexpensive... and they hold huge amounts of data.. that it could be a decent idea to keep that stuff on an external drive...

    I keep my kids media on an external...
     
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    FCollinsBuckeye;1198536; said:
    I need some help here. I'd like to transfer a large amount of data between two PCs. What's the best way to do it? Could I use my iPod as a temp. external drive? 30g ought to do it... Is there an easier way? Like just connect them with a cable? If so, what kind of cable?

    Thanks in advance!

    edit:

    I've done some Googling and think I may be able to map a new network drive to the other PC and do the transfer wirelessly...

    Hopefully it works!
    Click to expand...
    Fwiw you need an ethernet card in both computers and an ethernet cable.
    Those along with the same OS on both is is pretty easy to network the computers with a shared folder.
     
    Upvote 0
    NJ-Buckeye;1198569; said:
    It's not exactly what you asked for... but do you need to have it stored on your other machine? External drives are so inexpensive... and they hold huge amounts of data.. that it could be a decent idea to keep that stuff on an external drive...

    I keep my kids media on an external...
    Click to expand...

    I use a Maxtor drive. It has it's own install software right on the external drive itself. Takes no time at all and holds loads of data. I back up to it once a month.
     
    Upvote 0
    FCollinsBuckeye;1198536; said:
    Could I use my iPod as a temp. external drive? 30g ought to do it...
    Click to expand...

    Yes.

    Be sure to open iTunes and select "enable disk use" first.


    Is there an easier way?
    Click to expand...

    Yes.

    Like just connect them with a cable?
    Click to expand...

    Yep you could do that.

    If so, what kind of cable?
    Click to expand...

    If they both have a NIC (network card) you can


    Best Buckeye;1198571; said:
    Fwiw you need an ethernet card in both computers and an ethernet cable.
    Click to expand...
    CleveBucks;1198574; said:
    Connect them with a crossover cable over ethernet.
    Click to expand...

    If they are both connected to a hardwired network (via router, hub or switch) then you would use a standard Cat-5 patch cable (just tell the guys at the store you need network cable).

    If you are directly connecting the two machines via a single cable then be sure to follow CBs instruction and get a crossover cable.

    The only difference between a crossover cable and a standard cable are that two of the wires are switched (there is a transmit and a receive wire for each pair in the cable and the crossover cable switches out the pin so the transmit pin from one machine goes to the receive pin on the other and vice versa so they can actually talk to one another...routers/hubs/switches do this automatically).

    There are also crossover adapters that plug into the data jack on your machine and then you can plug a standard cable into them.



    I've done some Googling and think I may be able to map a new network drive to the other PC and do the transfer wirelessly...
    Click to expand...

    Both machines are on the same wireless network?

    In THAT case everything is much easier. :biggrin:

    What OS is running on each machine?

    The Microsoft Support page for setting up file sharing can be found HERE. It should walk you through the process painlessly.

    If you have any questions or problems just ask and someone here can take you through it step by step.
     
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    Thanks for the tips, everyone! I was able to transfer the data wirelessly through my router (the desktop is plugged in, the laptop is wireless). It took me awhile to get the PCs to 'see' each other - I needed to add each PC to the same workgroup. After that, it was very easy.

    Quick followup question about external hard drives. Can you run applications from them? I like the idea of storing my itunes library on an external, but would it simply be the music, or the music plus the itunes app? Also, any insight on the lifespan on an exernal HD?

    Thanks again!
     
    Upvote 0
    FCollinsBuckeye;1201201; said:
    Thanks for the tips, everyone! I was able to transfer the data wirelessly through my router (the desktop is plugged in, the laptop is wireless). It took me awhile to get the PCs to 'see' each other - I needed to add each PC to the same workgroup. After that, it was very easy.

    Quick followup question about external hard drives. Can you run applications from them? I like the idea of storing my itunes library on an external, but would it simply be the music, or the music plus the itunes app? Also, any insight on the lifespan on an exernal HD?

    Thanks again!
    Click to expand...
    Yes, you can run apps off an external drive, although I'd discourage doing it because the performance will be lousy due to the bottleneck of the USB interface, there can be additional power/reliability issues that come up, and you will probably, at some point, encounter an issue with the drive letter on an external drive changing, particularly if you move it around multiple machines.

    I'd suggest installing applications to the physical hard drive inside your computer and using the external drive for data only. There is no problem with putting your music files on the external then loading them into iTunes from there -- I do that myself with my laptop.

    As for longevity, external HDs are rarely any different from internal HDs. In most instances, they're the exact same drive mounted into a carrier with the USB and external power interfaces added. As long as you supply clean, continuous external power and care for the drive in transit, you should get many, many years out of it, and will probably outgrow its capacity/speed before it hits MTBF.
     
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    An external HD was one of the best investments I ever made.. mine actually, converts internal HDs into external.

    I've found 2 ways to transfer about 60 gigs worth of crap in a decently timely manner.. one being an external hard drive.

    The other being a network. I took all the files I wanted to transfer and put them in a folder for sharing. Then I got on the computer without the files, went into the network, and copied everything over.

    EDIT: just read the post where you figured it out

    Another thing with external HDs.. I made the mistake of reformatting a computer with an external plugged in.. biiiiiiigggg mistake. :)
     
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    Bleed S & G;1201255; said:
    The other being a network. I took all the files I wanted to transfer and put them in a folder for sharing. Then I got on the computer without the files, went into the network, and copied everything over.
    Click to expand...

    Yeah, once I got he PCs to see each other in the same workgroup, it was a breeze.

    Another thing with external HDs.. I made the mistake of reformatting a computer with an external plugged in.. biiiiiiigggg mistake. :)
    Click to expand...

    Yikes! Good to know! :p
     
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