Transferring large files from one computer to the other ?

[Boris]

Here's a dump little issue I'm having.

I want to transfer a shait load of my music files (lets say 50GB) from the desktop to my laptop but don't know how to go about it. The desktop is running XP while the laptop Vista, if that matters. Only portable storage device I have is a 4 GB memory stick which could do the job but would take a long time.

Last night at office depot a guy there sold me a USB to USB cable with some Windows 7 specific software that I'm a little afraid of using. Somehow I don't trust that old guy at office depot and wouldn't want to lose all my files with some untested hookup.

So what would be the best way ?
Is there some way to wire the 2 together ?
Would I be better off using a bit torrent site ?
Or just stick with the memory stick ??

I know this is trivial but I want to get my music in order and the laptop is my only hope.

 

[SuperJETT]

Network the 2 together, either with a hub/switch/router or a direct crossover cable, run the home networking wizard so they can access each other, and copy directly from one folder to the other.

Or, take the laptop hard drive out and plug it into the desktop and transfer directly---that's the fastest.

 

[BruceSki]

Last time around I used a flash drive. They make them bigger than 4 gigs now. Took me about two hours to do it. drank a couple beers and waited.

 

[IS0LD0UT]

Using a network is the way to go. It does take a little knowledge to configure the permissions. Windows 7 makes it much easier though.

 

[madscientist]

dump them on to an external and just keep the music externally. attach it to either comp any time you want . it will also allow you to store other vital info in case of a fire you grab the drive and run

 

[Boris]

I networked the 2 together (thanks JETT) and it seams to be working just fine.
Copying the first folder right now but that will take 3 hours and 55 minutes. Damn, only 3 folders to go.


I know it sounds stupid to dump so much crap onto a laptop but for the next few weeks I will be doing a lot of baby sitting at work with absolutely nothing to keep me out of trouble. Though I might as well organize my music collection while I watch others work.

 

[SJBrit]

dump them on to an external and just keep the music externally. attach it to either comp any time you want . it will also allow you to store other vital info in case of a fire you grab the drive and run

X2. You can get a terabyte external drive for next to nothing these days - take a look on newegg. I like the Western Digital Drives - all my media is stored on one of them and I can take it anywhere.

 

[SJBrit]

Wow: they really got cheap. 500MB for $60!! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136466

 

[Boris]

Thats sort of why I want to organize some stuff.
Right now I have 3 drives in my desktop for storage, it's time to clean house and get things ready so that I can transfer it all onto one large one. Finding the time for the much needed spring cleaning has always been an issue but it looks like I'll have a few weeks of nothing but time. You watch, 3 days into the cleaning I'll get sick of it, toss the laptop aside and go help the monkeys. I hate babysitting.

 

[Boris]

That is cheap.
Should pick it up just to have.

 

[oxnard111]

Wow: they really got cheap. 500MB for $60!! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136466

You're kidding right??? You can get 1tb portable for that price on the right day with a sale. I've seen 2tb desktop harddrives going for $85 shipped lately also.

check out slickdeals.net on a daily basis... you'll find all kinds of good deals.

 

[SJBrit]

You're kidding right??? You can get 1tb portable for that price on the right day with a sale. I've seen 2tb desktop harddrives going for $85 shipped lately also.

check out slickdeals.net on a daily basis... you'll find all kinds of good deals.

Not kidding no. Just misinformed apparently. You have to watch out for reliability on some of these drives: I've been running WD foe several years without a single glitch. So, that to me is a good price for a reliable drive. If similarly reliable drives are available cheaper and with more capacity then awesome, but I am leary of super-cheap products, especially when it comes to digital storage.

 

[Boris]

I'm partial to Western Digital myself.
Have one that is 8 years old and one that is 7. The other 2 are young-ins compared at about 4 years and not one issue. Have lost other drives in the past but never a WD.

 

[SuperJETT]

WD is the only hard drive manufacturer that I've had to download/install their repair tools for. I use Samsung, Toshiba, WD, Seagate, Hitachi drives at work and rarely ever have problems with any of them, and unless it's a laptop, they run 24/7 in a work environment.

 

[SuperJETT]

BTW, if you have files you don't want to lose, get a cheap hosting account and use it for remote backup along with on an external hard drive at home ***that you keep unplugged unless actually using it****. Lightning can be a bitch, don't leave it plugged in to anything at all unless actually using it for backup.

 

[Boris]

OK, so what in your opinion is a "good" external drive ?
Let's say in the $100 range and at least 500GB.

 

[oxnard111]

For my home network, I have our two laptops backing up to a 4TB (2x2TB) NAS running as RAID 1. All of my media is stored on the NAS (mostly movies/tv shows and some archived files that don't need to be on the laptops). Everything from there is backed up to an cloud backup once a day (Mozy Home). The NAS acts like a media server to stream content to various devices in the house as well as being accessible from the internet. I'm using the Synology DS210j as my NAS.

I also have most of the movies also on a 500gb portable harddrive that I carry with me, so most of my movies/tv shows are on 4 separate hard disks.

 

[Boris]

For my home network, I have our two laptops backing up to a 4TB (2x2TB) NAS running as RAID 1. All of my media is stored on the NAS (mostly movies/tv shows and some archived files that don't need to be on the laptops). Everything from there is backed up to an cloud backup once a day (Mozy Home). The NAS acts like a media server to stream content to various devices in the house as well as being accessible from the internet. I'm using the Synology DS210j as my NAS.

I also have most of the movies also on a 500gb portable harddrive that I carry with me, so most of my movies/tv shows are on 4 separate hard disks.

Hamana hamana hamana, Ed Norton ?

I need to study some before I get into these discussions with you guys.
Sheesh.

 

[SuperJETT]

Any decent brand is good enough for people that aren't OCD about it. Look on amazon.com for external hard drive, get into a category and sort by bestselling and look at the ratings. That will give you a good idea.

If you buy one online, make sure to post the link in the Online Ads forum then click that link after it's posted so we can get a commission---very few people actually do.

 

[SuperJETT]

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digit...1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1289327215&sr=1-1