Need some PC expertise here quick!

[damronjr]

OK, I was supposed to leave today to head back to TX, but due to some things I still need to get done here and a couple of shows I want to go to before I leave, I am waiting until next week. 1 of the things I need to do is get about 65-68GB of files from my PC to my lap-top so I can take it with me. I have tried numerous things, but can't seem to get anything to work. I have a USB drive but it is only 512MB and many of the files I am transferring are much bigger than that. All the small stuff I already got using that. I don't have a lot of $$, so a Mobile HD is kind of out of the question unless someone knows where to get 1 cheap. I went and bought a CAT-6 Crossover cable but can't seem to get my PC's to connect. I have a Sony VAIO desktop and a Toshiba Satellite laptop, both running XP Home. I have been trying to find something on the web and nothing seems to work. I called the Geek (Useless!) Squad, and they told me they would have to come to the house for $300! Then they told me to call the store, which got me no where as well. Anybody have the time and PC/Network-intelligence to help me out with this?!?

[joholste]

see if this will help at allhttp://www.geekgirls.com/windo...k.htmhttp://c ... etwork.asp

[vibe-04]

1) Cross over cable should work. Check setting such as if guest account is active. You need it emnables to share. Also MS File and Printer Sharing and of course TCP/IP. Do a google search.2) Burn to DVD your file (assuming you have a DVD burner) which is about DVDs.3) Buy another HD and add it to the bus and copy all your files.Gotta go.Good luck

[Mrizzle05]

you could burn CDs... longer process but youll have a backed up file and you can just copy it off the cd.Dont know if DVDs can transfer data files.*you got a lot of PORN!!! 65GB...

[damronjr]

Quote, originally posted by Mrizzle05 »you could burn CDs... longer process but youll have a backed up file and you can just copy it off the cd.Dont know if DVDs can transfer data files.*you got a lot of PORN!!! 65GB... Hey now, no need to call people out here! And it's not ALL porn! CD's would be slightly faster than the Thumb drive, but not much being as how large the files are and how long it takes to burn the stuff.Quote, originally posted by vibe-04 »1) Cross over cable should work. Check setting such as if guest account is active. You need it emnables to share. Also MS File and Printer Sharing and of course TCP/IP. Do a google search.2) Burn to DVD your file (assuming you have a DVD burner) which is about DVDs.3) Buy another HD and add it to the bus and copy all your files.Gotta go.Good luckI tried everything under the sun with that cable. I checked all the settings and I am the admin on both comps, but still no go. Don't have any DVD-R's, they are expensive!Quote, originally posted by joholste »see if this will help at allhttp://www.geekgirls.com/windo...k.htmhttp://c ... rk.aspI'll check those out and see what I can find. Thanks!

[vibe-04]

Regarding crossover cables, also turn off the XP firewall, use the Run command (Start then Run)and type hostname to access the other computer.

[Navtrtl]

I'm sure this wouldn't get to you in time, but, you could find an enclosure for your laptop hard drive that would connect to your pc via usb. Or even an adapter set that allows you to take your lap top drive out and just plug it into the wall and your pc without an enclosure. Just usb. Then you could just transfer the files to the drive and replace it into your laptop when you were finished. It should cost less than $20. Do a search on http://www.tigerdirect.com for enclosures. I saw a bunch to choose from. For future reference, dvd burner drives can be found for around $35 now. I have an NEC dvd burner that works great. Check Newegg.com for an OEM NEC drive. Watch sales adds for Staples and OfficeMax for DVD's on sale. They can be had for $15 for 50 blanks. Just stick with name brand discs.

[northvibe]

with cross over cables, you have to make sure both pc's are under the same workgroup. ASLO if you have windows XP on one there is a home network setup in the network icon in the control panel that will actually setup everything and even make a disk so you can have the same setup on the other pc be it win98-win xp. give that a shot, worked for me

[Jahntassa]

Actually, for crossover cables you need to do the following things.1. Make sure your network cards are actually lighting up and registering the connection. If they aren't, it's the wrong cable, and it wont work. 2. Set the TCP/IP settings manually for both computers to guarantee they'll be able to talk to each other.Go to Control Panel > Network ConnectionsRight click on the connection in question and go to Properties (This will probably be called 'Local Area Connection')Scroll down to "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)"Choose "Use the following IP address"Set computer 1 to: 192.168.1.10Set the subnet mask to: 255.255.255.0Set computer 2 to: 192.168.1.11Set the subnet mask to: 255.255.255.0Click 'Ok' to close the window, then 'Ok' again to close the properties.3. Now, if you have windows firewall on, you should temporarily turn it off.In the control panel go to 'Windows Firewall' and turn it to 'Off', also go to the 'Advanced' tab and deselect the checkbox next to the connection you're using. Hit 'Ok'.4. Open a 'My Computer' window, and type in 192.168.1.11 (if you're on Computer 1, type 192.168.1.10 if you're on computer 2) into the address bar where it says 'My Computer'You should then be able to see your shared folders. Typically in XP Home this will only be your printers and shared documents. To share a folder, right click on the folder, go to Properties. Then go to the 'Sharing' tab, and turn on sharing for that folder.When finished Go back and turn the windows firewall back on. Also go back to the TCP/IP properties and set BOTH radio buttons on the configuration to 'Automatic'.This is a fairly surefire way to get this done. Yes, it's complex, but I do this quite often and have yet to run into any problems doing it.

[damronjr]

Well, thanks for the info! Will make a great How-To for later or someone else down the road! I got as far as Vibe-04's last post before it somehow began to connect. Got everything transferred! Took about 1 1/2 - 2hrs or more, but it's done! Thanks for all the help!

[Navtrtl]

Just today I was asked to help set up a network of 5 computers for my wife's work. How would you alter your instructions to connect 5 pc's? First off, this is the set up. Cable modem to 4x hub. Three of the cables from the hub go to individual pc's, and on cable goes to a splitter which is hooked up to two pc's. They want to be able to share printers, files, and programs. I could install the program on each pc, but the info created on one pc needs to be able to be pulled up from another using the same program. Any ideas? I am going to check out the links mentioned above, but tend to work better when explained in more simple terms.

[AKLGT]

for about $100 you can get an external USB/Firewire HD. that's what we used when we killed Phil's old PC and replaced it with a new one 2 yrs ago. I've seen them come down in price...Walmart

[KrazyB]

If you have wireless connection between both of the computers you should be able to transfer everything you want with the files and settings transfer wizard it is located under accessories and then system tools. This is what I used when I had to transfer stuff between computers. I hope this works good luck KrazyB

[damronjr]

Quote, originally posted by KrazyB »If you have wireless connection between both of the computers you should be able to transfer everything you want with the files and settings transfer wizard it is located under accessories and then system tools. This is what I used when I had to transfer stuff between computers. I hope this works good luck KrazyBTried it, but you need a special USB cable for that which I did not have. I was using a crossover ethernet cable.

[vibe-04]

Quote, originally posted by Navtrtl »Just today I was asked to help set up a network of 5 computers for my wife's work. How would you alter your instructions to connect 5 pc's? First off, this is the set up. Cable modem to 4x hub. Three of the cables from the hub go to individual pc's, and on cable goes to a splitter which is hooked up to two pc's. They want to be able to share printers, files, and programs. I could install the program on each pc, but the info created on one pc needs to be able to be pulled up from another using the same program. Any ideas? I am going to check out the links mentioned above, but tend to work better when explained in more simple terms. Humm... there are many ways. First off, how long will this configuration be used? Is it a temporary solution or do they want a permanent setup? My ideas below are not intended as a permanent solution.1) Config one machine and use Symantec/Norton Ghost to image all the others. You may need to use sysprep but renaming each machine after the image should suffice. Make sure all accounts are of the same name and have the same password. Ghost is the best little program on a floppy you'll ever have. I use it daily for imaging and backup. Twice a year I image my home pc to DVDs as my system backup and monthly I do a data backup.2) Treat one machine as your "server" for it will hold the data needed to be shared and it will have a shared printer attached. Have each machine map their drives to the "server" PC to retrieve the data. Good luckAndrew

[Navtrtl]

It is supposed to be a permanent set up. I have them networked now, but I need them to all be able to use the same program. I am going to map a drive and install the program there. I think that it should work that way. Also, all the computers are hooked up to the same hub, but two of them won't network with the other three. Only to themselves. I don't know if this is due to the fact that they are both on the same cable with a broadband router as a splitter. But the three that will network together are on their own cables to the hub. so I have two networks. One with three computers, and one with just two. Any ideas?

[vibe-04]

Keep it simple: get them on their own segment with an 8-port switch (cheap, cheap. cheap, the cables will cost more ). I've had good experience with Dlink and some bad with Linksys: it all China anyway. Hubs do not route traffic as well as switches so you will get a performace boost. Do you have a firewall (not Windows XP)? Get a switch with one. Also the 8-port leaves some room for expansion. And you can add DMZ, port forwarding and all other more adanced features than a hub.What program do they need to share. Must be an accounting program (accountants, grrr). You will get permission problems if login names and passwords are not synced. I've only setup multiple program access using servers and with accountiing software. You may get concurrent session failures. I'm confused when you use the term splitter cause it sounds like you have two separate segments?Things to keep in mind:1) First check the physical layer: "is everything connected?" 2) Then check protocols: "can they all talk to each other using ping?" 3) Finally check permissions: " do the users have the correct access rights?"Good luck

[Navtrtl]

Basically, this is how it is set up. Cable goes into cable modem. Then the cable modem is connected to the WAN side of a 4 port Sysco router with firewall. Three of the four cable go to individual pc's, while one goes to a DLink broadband router. From the broadband router, there are two cables going to two pc's. It is this pair of pc's that seem to only want to play together and not with the others. Could the router be acting as a firewall? All pc's get to the web just fine. What if I disconnected the router and hooked up the two pc's one at a time and linked them to the network before putting the router back on? I don't want to have to run new cables through the walls all the way across the building, so getting a bigger hub is pretty much out of the question. Besides, the cheap people I am working for don't want to buy anything if they can avoid it.I did get the program sharing thing worked out though. Only on the three pc's that are networked together. I took the shared document folder of one of the pc's and mapped it as a "Z" drive. Installed the program on that drive, and put shortcuts on the desk tops of the other pc's. It worked perfectly.

[northvibe]

the problem Navtrtl it seems like you have two routers linked. both routers are making their own dhcp addy's for the computers on them and are on different gateways/dns's. what you need to do is log into the broadband router and turn OFF NAT and DHCP server and it will act as a switch instead thus allowing the router before it to make the ip's all on the same subnet/gateway/dns so all pc's will see each other on the network. you could also turn off the firewall on that broadband as i bet that sysco router has a decent firewall.

[Navtrtl]

It should have a decent firewall, it costs around $400. They didn't buy it though. It's part of some kind of over the web network setup. Could you explain your ideas in laymens terms. I've never done a network thing before. I'm a network virgin. Well, I was until this morning. How do you log into the router? Through hardware properties? I wish I was sitting in the office right now to try some stuff out.

[northvibe]

hahha yea $400 will buy you a good router w/ firewall! Ok now depending on which band it is, will change how you log into it. Usually you get on a pc that is directly connected to one of the ports on it. then the router will have an IP addy.For example my linksys here has 192.168.1.1 so I would type inthe internet explorer browser addy barhttp://192.168.1.1this would bring me to a login screen for username and password, if you didnt set it up it will be defaulted, usually to username: admin (or blank)password: admin (or blank)then you will be able to access once logged in, the settings which will be laid out in graphical form of tabs and a side bar of options. then choose the OFF for NAT, firewall and dhcp server and click save and restart router and whammy it should be done. it will restart acting as a switch, thus allowing your pc to be on the other routers network.If you have the brand look online on the manufacture website for the manual it should tell you the login info.

[Navtrtl]

Thanks. Sounds easy enough as long as someone didn't set up a pass word for the router. I'm sure no one has.

[vibe-04]

You can also reset a router to default by holding down the reset button on the back for more than 30 seconds (usually with the power off). This will default the login. Check the web for any specific login instructions..