Transferring files between laptops without a cd rom

[~hellbaby~]

What is the best way to move files from a Portege tablet notebook computer without a cd rom, to another computer?
I've been copying the stuff onto those little photo chips, transferring them to the other laptop, deleting the files from the card and doing it again. I'm not making a lot of progress. I was thinking of emailing some of the nonpersonal stuff to myself or uploading to the web, then downloading into the other machine. They both sound like dimwitted ways to do this.
Any ideas?
http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/travesmilies/smilie_help.gif

 

[Weird Harold]

I've been copying the stuff onto those little photo chips, transferring them to the other laptop, deleting the files from the card and doing it again. I'm not making a lot of progress.

If you select "Move" from the right click menu instead of "Copy" you can save the "delete" step.

Just get one or two bigger chips -- or a "USB Drive." You can get "Photo" chips as big as one Gigabyte and USB drives as big as five GB which is more memory at one time than a 650MB CD-RW.

Another option is to connect the two computers together in a temporary network -- or log both into a wireless network if they have wi-fi cards.

How you set-up the temporary network depends on what hardware the two computers have and whether you can find the right cable to connect them.

If both have "Ethernet" network connections, then all you need is a "crossover" ethernet cable -- it looks the same as the cable used to connect to a router or cable modem but it's cross-wired so each computer sees the other as a "router." Windows has a "network wizard" that makes setting up a temporary "peer-to-peer" network simple once you've got the right cable connected.

 

[Nightbird]

Harold can't you just go USB port to USB port via a cable?

 

[Weird Harold]

Harold can't you just go USB port to USB port via a cable?

Yes, you can set up a network using the USB ports; it's slower than a Ethernet connection but faster than using the serial ports and a null modem or a direct modem to modem connection. I'm not sure, but I think a USB network also requires a special "crossover" cable.

It's also possible to set up a peer-to-peer network through the printer ports with a special cable (sometimes called a "Laplink cable.")

However, if both computers have ethernet network cards -- which many laptops do have -- that's the fastest connection and easiest to set-up.

 

[footlongish]

Fastest/easiest way is to connect them both to router. They probably have wifi, right ? Or at least ethernet cards. Connect them to the router, share the folders and copy away.

Second fastest/simplest way is to use a USB thumb drive. You can get 1GB thumb drives for $25. Set the machines up side by side and copy away.

If you do direct machine to machine USB or Ethernet, you'll need a crossover type cable. USB Crossover cables aren't very common and they are more expensive than the thumbdrive. Ethernet crossover cables are less expensive.

I'd just find someone/someplace with a router.

 

[~hellbaby~]

QUICK UPDATE I'm almost done, and so is this machine, it is similar to huddling around a relative's deathbed, waiting for them to die. Gasp, no heartbeat, a few thumps on the chest and the tickers ticking again.
It keeps freezing or crashing then it gets stuck on that window about starting in safe mode so I just cut the power and let it sit. Then it may or may not get stuck on the windows' screen. The same thing happened to 2 other laptops. I'm extremely rough on them so I figure I deserve it. Is there some way to fix that, there is no drive to run 'recovery' on. I never figured out why they give you a disc with a machine that cannot run it.
Thanks for the advice, especially Weird Harold telling me to move the files instead of copyiong and deleting. That saved a lot of time. I have two 2gig cards and a bunch of 256mb ones so I think I'm almost done.

 

[akatrex]

If both have "Ethernet" network connections, then all you need is a "crossover" ethernet cable -- it looks the same as the cable used to connect to a router or cable modem but it's cross-wired so each computer sees the other as a "router." Windows has a "network wizard" that makes setting up a temporary "peer-to-peer" network simple once you've got the right cable connected.

One of the cheapist networks there is. $5.00 whole dollars.
Peer to Peer. 10/100 Base T.

I keep a shorty and a long long one in the bag.

My company uses this method when migrating from older laptops to new ones.