Laptop to desktop connection
 

What's the best way to connect together my laptop and big computer for file transfer etc? Both are equipped with ethernet ports; am I correct in assuming I need only need a hub and two cables and Robert's your father's brother? If not what are the options (XP operating system)? Is a serial back-to-back connection a goer?

DB6,

Your best option is a Hub/Switch and two Cat5 Cables. If you are going across a very short distance, you could just use a Crossover Cat5 Cable. (3 ft. or less.) The longer the cable is, when you are not using a Hub/Switch, the lower the Throughput.

Take Care,

Capt. Richard J. Gentil, Pres.
Naples Air Center, Inc.
Custom Computers of Naples, Inc.

P.S. A note if you have one or more comps connected to the internet: If you turn on sharing and share a Drive/Directory, remember to put on a Password on whatever you have shared, or you will have given anyone that sniffs your IP Address, access to your shared files.

If it's mainly (do you need to share the Internet?) for file xfer I'd said the hub/cat 5 option is not necessary - try a laplink data transfer cable - for XP you have a choice of serial or usb 1.0 (or 2.0 if it's backward compatible).

hth :cool:

This is slightly cheeky, but I would like to suggest a more expensive (not very), flexible and future proofing method. I've just finished upgrading two LANs to Broadband, Routing and Switching... with WiFi too and I'm very impressed.

So, if the funds will run to it why not fit a Wireless PCI card in the Desktop and a Wireless PCMCIA card in the laptop and configure them as ad-hoc peers?

The D-Link hardware is about £35 for each from Insight, dabs, etc. About £45 from John Lewis. Netgear, Belkin etc also make suitable items. This mini LAN will run for you at 22mbps. The LAN is extremely simple to set up. And you will have hardware that will have a life and a use for may years.

Needless to say, you retain some flexibility by being able to move around with the laptop.

Thanks for the tips. For the moment simple file transfer is the only requirement, possibly with printer sharing but not internet. The serial cable's probably the easiest although I'll need to find out the pins from somewhere.
Richard, is Cat5 the same as ethernet LAN?

DB6 - I recently transferred 350Mb of files from one laptop to another by using the embedded MS file transfer software and a serial file transfer cable. Here's what I said at the time:

"Thanks everyone for your advice.

The new computer (Dell Latitude X200) has a file transfer wizard; the instructions are very straightforward. Copy the relevant file and settings transfer program to a floppy, feed it to the old computer (Dell Latitude LT), connect the two together with a £20 serial file transfer cable and then watch the little dears merrily chatter away to eachother.

One snag - it took ages! I only wanted to transfer 350Mb of data from the folder I'd already prepared in 'My documents' - the transfer process took 16, yes, sixteen hours to complete!"

So - it's easy to do, but can take ages!

Simply connect a network cross-over cable, XP helps you set the 2 talking to each other, also internet and printer sharing can be set as part of this, and you don't need to play around with the slow x-over serial cabel, or expensive USB type cables or with any other programmes. Have same sort of set up at home.
1st run the setup from big computer then on the laptop.
You may require the firewall turned off during setup, then reactivate it.

Concur with allthatglitters. I have the same setup.

You have the network ability in your 'puters, as I understand it. Get a crossover network cable (only a few OZ$, so probably cheap in your domicile too), set up the network via the XP wizard and go for it. Easy peasy, cheap, simple and fast.

AA

Agree with allthatglitters and Ausatco. Cheap, fast and simplest for just 2 'puters. Make sure it's good Cat5 x-over.

You can always get a smart hub later if you need more than 2 on the network.

Went for the cat5e crossover option and they're chatting away merrily. Thanks chaps:ok: .

DB6,

That is great news!

Take Care,

Richard

Cross-over Ethernet operates exactly the same way as Ethernet through a hub / switch. It makes no difference to throughput how long the cable is, apart from the negligible effect of the speed of light not being infinite. (Noting, of course, the maximum distance which is 100 metres.)

If anything the cross-over cabling will be slightly quicker than a connection through a hub / switch.

That's the first time I've come across this particular "factoid" - I wonder where it came from?