PC to Laptop Transfer

[Supernova9]

Ok,

I have a laptop, I Have a PC, I have 5GB of (obviously legal) MP3 files.

I want them to go from the PC to the laptop. I don't want to waste CDs.

How please? what sorta cables/software would I need?

Any and all suggestions welcome. (Though not converting the files to word docs and typing them over please.)

I have till Sunday.

[w2k]

do they have network/usb/serial ports?

[JetLinus]

There are different sorts of links:

• WLAN (wireless, requires two wireless lan-cards obviously... check network settings)
  
  
• LAN / Ethernet. 10 / 100mbit, both fine. You'd need a twisted pair ethernet cable, crossover for direct connection. Or attach them both to the same network (via hub or switch or similar)
  
  
• USB-Direct-Connection cable
  
  
• CD-RW, just "wasting" one disc, using it multiple times?
  
  
• DVD-Writer? DVD-R etc?
  
  
• USB Sticks?
  
  
• Smart- / FlashCards? Probably not... But might work ^^
  
  
• Parallel connection cable (goes to the printer port, quite fast)
  
  
• "Null Modem" cable, serial cable (goes to serial port, very slow, about DSL / cable internet speed, or worse)
  
  
• Swap Hard-Drives? I.e install both in one machine, and copy all files over locally through IDE (prolly won't work as one is a laptop)
  
  
• MP3-Player as temporary file storage?
  
  
• AudioCable analogue realtime recording: Play on one machine, record / encode on the other. Takes as long as it gets, you are busy typing the filenames, AND you get worse quality.
  \o/
  
  
• Comedy floppy disk / ZipDisk option

[Luckeh!!!!]

with 5GB, I'd definitely consider the cross over cable solution. @ 100Mbit it is the fastest solution and very futureproof too, WLAN is painfully slow, cross over cable is piss cheap aswell.

or you could just use a fast burner, but using CDRW will take time to erase them, far longer than writing it, or just burn several CDRs and keep them for future use. DVDRW would pwn @ this too btw.

you could try plug in your laptop HDD into your main comp and transfer, fastest method I'd say, might need converter/adapter thingy though.

everything else is way too much hassle.

[JetLinus]

Originally Posted by Luckeh!!!!

with 5GB, I'd definitely consider the cross over cable solution. @ 100Mbit it is the fastest solution...

USB 2.0 could be faster. As well as a parellel-direct-cable-connection, depends on both machines speed though.

Originally Posted by Luckeh!!!!

...WLAN is painfully slow...

54Mbit, about half the speed of 100Mbit ethernet... I wouldn't call that painfully slow.

Originally Posted by Luckeh!!!!

...cross over cable is piss cheap aswell.

That's right, but air is cheaper!

Originally Posted by Luckeh!!!!

or you could just use a fast burner, but using CDRW will take time to erase them, far longer than writing it...

No. Deleting a CD-RW using Nero takes less than 1 minute (using a 12x-speed-RW-writer). Even reducing the speed to 4x doesn't really slow down the deleting very much. Writing 700MB with 12x takes about 8min btw...

Originally Posted by Luckeh!!!!

everything else is way too much hassle.

Well, see above (e.g. my list)...

[meglamaniac]

Originally Posted by JetLinus

54Mbit, about half the speed of 100Mbit ethernet... I wouldn't call that painfully slow.

54mbps is a maximum theoretical speed (real-world is more like 30mbps tops) and assumes you're using 802.11.g equipment. Air may well be free, but have you seen the price of 11.g cards recently? Especially PCMCIA ones for laptops - you'd be nuts to buy that sort of gear just to transfer MP3s. As you haven't mentioned a wireless switch or router I guess you're talking about ad-hoc wireless, which from my own experience is notoriously flakey and can work fine on one occasion, then when you return an hour later, refuse to connect point blank.
In comparison, a 1 meter cat5e network cable is about £5 from the most expensive of places, the laptop almost certainly has built in ethernet, and I'd be surprised if the PC didn't. If it doesnt, a wired ethernet card is about a tenner.

Wired-LAN wins.

[JetLinus]

Yeah, ok, I can follow you. And that's all true.
Hm.

I was more replying to the points seperately. I.e. wireless speed is not too bad, even if it's only 1/4th of the bandwith of 100mbps-ethernet.

And IF you have wireless cards (most new computers do have them built in in my experience), you don't need cable...

Also you could check (given the case that there aren't network ports on both machines) the price of an USB cable versus network cable + network card.

Ah well

[Structural Integrity]

You know, I think it's interesting to invest in a wireless card.
A friend of mine went wardriving with his laptop a few blocks from his house, and in that small area found a few dozen unprotected wireless networks. Imagine being able to leech MP3's and other files from open directories.... Free internet... distributing virusses...
The last one is going to be a MAJOR problem in the future. If those networks are wide open like that. It makes a virus writer untrackable.

[JetLinus]

Well, it makes him sort of "physically / geographical" trackable. You know that the person has to be at a certain location -- which you DON'T really know from IPs (can be spoofed etc).

Or imagine traps, with angry people waiting behind the next corner, as soon as someone breaks into their fake-open-wlan...

[Luckeh!!!!]

Originally Posted by meglamaniac

54mbps is a maximum theoretical speed (real-world is more like 30mbps tops) and assumes you're using 802.11.g equipment. Air may well be free, but have you seen the price of 11.g cards recently? Especially PCMCIA ones for laptops - you'd be nuts to buy that sort of gear just to transfer MP3s. As you haven't mentioned a wireless switch or router I guess you're talking about ad-hoc wireless, which from my own experience is notoriously flakey and can work fine on one occasion, then when you return an hour later, refuse to connect point blank.
In comparison, a 1 meter cat5e network cable is about £5 from the most expensive of places, the laptop almost certainly has built in ethernet, and I'd be surprised if the PC didn't. If it doesnt, a wired ethernet card is about a tenner.

Wired-LAN wins.

I reckon its just down to bad drivers/packaged software tbh.

I just use WinXP wireless zero config service/inbuilt wireless options, and my ad-hoc network always works flawlessly, using the packaged software is totally hit and miss.

[CjC]

Ive been testing some wireless kit for an office where we dont want to be plagued with Cabling issues. So far the kit seems good, and has only cost us £70 odd for the bridge (Which is also a 4 port switch, fw and dsl router) and £35 ea. for four cards. Thats a small biz office desktop lan in wireless mod for about £200.

This sounds expensive, but it does mean expansion and moving the office furniture around is dead easy in the future as I dont have to rewire anything, lay more cabling, or be tied to specific system locations.

For transferring MP3's, yes a tad expensive just for that task.

[flapjack]

I'm using a wireless accespoint for connecting my laptop to the rest of the network, simply because i'll be adding more wireless computers later. I know that using a 54mbit connection with Overboost feature (and with LOS on short range) you can get up to an amazing 108mbit, beat that without going into full duplex on a 100mbit lan (which then runs @ 200mbit).

And i really have had some bad experiences with wires and connecting/disconnecting a lot, they tend to break down after a while.