Copy files between PCs

[swiecima]

Hi, I am a PC novice at home recovering from knee surgery. I have 2 PCs and some time on my hands; the OLD one with Win98FE, and the NEW one with Win XP. I want to upgrade the old one to 98SE but first want to save all of my data files. I have CDRW on the XP machine; both machines have RS232 and USB ports. I want to write all the OLD data to a CD on the NEW machine, and if needed restore the files with the CD on the OLD machine after I screw up the upgrade process. How do I do this? Standby for other tech questions in separate posts! Thanks

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Cheers,
-mark/..

[integral]

To the best of my knowldege you cannot network 2 PCs vis USB. There is not enought time in the universe to transfer any real amount of data via your serial port, but that is all you have. In win98 the there is a serial cable link up program, not sure about XP. Your best bet would be to get a pair of Ethernet cards, NICs can be had for about $10. each and will enable you to set up a network which will transfer upward of 100Mbs.

BTW, I have never encountered any problems with the 98-> 98SE upgrade, don't sweat it.

[fixrupr]

One way that it can easily be done is to remove old drive and temporarily "intall" it in new machine as a slave. Just make sure that jumpers are properly set on the old drive and the master on that ribbon cable. It's not necessary to physically install slave in case, just set it on a non metal object next to case, or on top of case. From the slave you will be able to access those files that you wish to copy. If you have problems with new machine not "seeing" the slave, post back and someone will help. One suggestion though, it would be best to do a clean install of 98se, rather than upgrade from present OS. The process is not difficult, and guidance is available here.

[mjc]

I found this (http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=1&Product_Id=20963) and this (http://www.usbstuff.com/host2host.html)(an online store that shows several).

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

[swiecima]

OK, thanks for your feedback. I think fixrupr's brute force approach might be the way to go this time, but I enjoyed browsing the gadgets on the links from mjc too. If I can get up and around, maybe I'll try to go out and find out what kind of Ntwk Cards are available (Integral, what's a NIC, ntwk interface card?) - I already have 10/100 Enet on the new PC, does that make it simpler? Ultimately i want to ntwk the two PCs at home on a single DSL connection to the world - so i think I'll need to follow Integral's path anyhow in the longer term.

I am curious about upgrade vs clean install. With a clean install, I probably need to back up everything, not just my data files, right? I figured if I just dumped all of my data to a CD, that would be enough protection, even with the hassle of remembering what SW was installed and then finding those disks in the unlikely event of a water landing.

On the other hand maybe I need a clean slate. One of the reasons I want to upgrade to SE is that the current system is highly unstable. 90% of the time - really - I can't do a clean shutdown. I have to reset and then shutdown. And frequently I exit IE or Netscape or applications just by moving the mouse! Suddenly yesterday I could no longer print from yahoo email, but from other sites it's fine... every day there's a new quirk. There's so much weird stuff going on in the darn thing, I really don't know what to do, but thought an upgrade to SE would be a good first step.

summary: I'll do a hardwired data transfer, but I'd like to know if should really buy a fullup version of 98SE (assuming I find it!). In the long term, I'll need to ntwk the PCs. OH, and I might be dual (duel?) booting the XP machine with W2KPro... Thanks to all.

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Cheers,
-mark/..

[Rick]

If you already have 1 NIC installed.
The least expensive way to go is Buy a second card for the old system. ($11.00 each and up)
and a cross over cable $10.00 depending on length.

Install the card and copy the data files across the network.

If your old system is unstable.
A clean install is the best way to go with win98se.
Other wise you may be just adding more hassle for yourself.
It isn’t that hard If you plan ahead and download all the updated drivers you will need and copy them to a cd for easy instalation.


Also Dual Booting W2k and XP isn’t of that much use.
Dual Booting 98se and XP will give you more and better options

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To ERR is HUMAN
To REALLY screw things UP, YOU NEED a COMPUTER !

[fixrupr]

With conditions in the old girl being not good, I would keep transfers to a minimum. And be sure to virus scan that old drive before you start copying anything. Win 98se probably has adequate drivers to get the machine up and running after reformat, but It would be wise to document info re what ISA / PCI devices are there. Lots of cards are difficult to physically identify later. Device manager has that info now, and writing down the identity of those cards will simplify obtaining new drivers if required.
One last thing, before installing 98 (or any OS) remove all ISA / PCI cards except video card. Adding cards one at a time after 98 is installed will simplify identifying problems should they arise.

[fixrupr]

Just about totally missed the fact that you don’t own 98se. 98se has quite a few updates too, so updating has to be done regardless.
I don’t know if (98 + patches) = 98se.
I’ll bet that others can answer that, cause there’s some real smart fellas (and Kay) here!

Does (98 + patches) = 98se ……????????

[fixrupr]

I started new thread to get answer.
Go to:

How Does This Work...
(98 + updates) = 98se ?

[bassman]

Hello,
OK, you have an unstable system, you don't have SE but would like it over 1st edition(I recommend getting it),you want to back-up necessary items, and you want to create a network.
First, YES run a thorough virus scan.
Second, only backup YOUR files, programs are on disk already.
Third, as already mentioned, another NIC(network interface card) and a long enough CROSSOVER cable to reach the 2 machines(no hub required).

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Please go HERE (http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/Forum10/HTML/000225.html)

[swiecima]

bassman, thanks for putting the hay where the goat can get it. i'll let you know how it goes. question: how long of a cable run can i use when netting 2 PCs?

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Cheers,
-mark/..