File Transfer Wizard

[Starbuck1975]

I recently built a new system with more hard drive storage then I know what to do with. The problem is that this new system does not have a serial port.

I have a 4yo laptop I used in grad school that is well on its way to a slow and painful death...problem is, there are a lot of files on this laptop that I want to transfer over to my new system.

I noticed that Win XP has a files transfer wizard, but it requires that both systems have a serial port.

Is there any way to connect my laptop to my new system via USB or firewire such that I can simply extract the files I want to salvage before sending it to laptop heaven?

 

[Lord Evermore]

You can buy USB to serial adapters. This would be the cheapest option.

You can also buy USB "networking" cables which usually include their own software for file transfers, though some may also allow actual TCP/IP networking.

Or just connect the two via actual Ethernet networking. Get a USB Ethernet adapter for the laptop if needed, possibly a crossover Ethernet cable or just connect them both to a hub (some desktop machine's Ethernet ports may be smart enough to automatically detect that it is connected directly to another computer, so that a crossover isn't needed). This would be the most versatile solution since the laptop would have Internet access if needed, but speeds would be about the same as the direct USB connection.

You could also use a PCMCIA Firewire card. This would most likely provide the fastest transfers, as Firewire allows native TCP/IP networking, you can plug two computers together with a plain old Firewire cable and assign them IP addresses or let Windows auto-assign. Firewire is theoretically 400Mbps, in some tests transfer rates were a lot better than 100Mbps Ethernet, and a USB 1.1 laptop would be limited to 12Mbps theoretical (thus also limiting an USB Ethernet adapter to 10Mbps mode), while USB2 is 480Mbps theoretical but never could come close to that in reality.

I've used Firewire for networking just to transfer files. It's pretty neat, plug and play, and you can even daisy-chain the computers together through other Firewire devices that have 2 or more ports. I did it using an external drive enclosure.

 

[Starbuck1975]

Looking for the most cost effective option, which looks like the USB to serial port solution.

Don't really see a need to establish a home network and hubs, as the laptop is going into storage or the recycling bin once I manage to transfer my files from it.

Another quick question on File Transfer Wizard...it says you can extract files and computer settings...I only want to transfer files...as I haven't been able to get past the port detection step, is there a way to transfer files only and not computer settings through the Windows Wizard? Or should I simply use a 3rd party software option?

 

[Lord Evermore]

Once you have the connection available, you have the option to select whether you want to transfer both files and settings, or just one or the other. If you also want to modify exactly which folders and files are copied you can select that option.

I'm not entirely sure how the Wizard stores the files from the old machine to the new one when you use the direct cable connection. I assume it will just copy them to the same locations under the account for the username you're logged into on the new computer, rather than doing just a "copy" and storing them to a particular folder you select.

You could also skip the Transfer wizard entirely, and just use a Direct Cable Connection network type, if you know exactly what folders and you just want to copy them. If you use the New Connection Wizard in the Network Connections screen, it's an "advanced connection". You can configure it to use TCP/IP and transfer the files using Windows file sharing.

Don't forget that you need a null-modem serial cable regardless of which option you choose.