Transferring Files Between Computers

So, i've just got a new computer and i want to transfer files from my old laptop and the home desktop, this is music and pictures etc..

i want to transfer my favourites from both computers onto the new one, can i do this? i aslo want them organised by date added, as they are on this computer but the other one arranges them by name. is this fluke or is there a way to set it?

i have a double-ended USB cable (as in two of the flat rectangual ends) can this be used to link the computers? or do i need other cables/software?

Thanks in advance guys,
Chris.

i've always transfered files the old fashioned way.... 4GB usb drive.
how you organise/view files is tucked away in

view -> arrange icons by...

unless that's not you're talking about.

as habit and because of office practices, I tend to rename all photos once they're off camera and it's a little bit of work but makes sense in the long term.
Something like acdsee does this very easily.

as i've mentioned before, i'm not most computer minded but i was always under the impression that pc to pc would involve setting up a network of some sort; you don't just plug them together.

i have a 1gb USB drive, but i want to transfer ~30gb of files, and i don't want to go back and forth 30 times. i'm considering buying an external hard drive to keep my pictures on (DSLR + contunious frame = ~3,000 pics) i just wanted to transfer my music and stuff from My Pictures easily, without the need for external drives.

i know about arranging files (i personalise every folder to get it just how i want it) but i don't know if it works the same for Favourites folders. i'll have to try arranging by date modified.

this is the new computer..
http://vaio.sony.co.uk/view/ShowProduct.action?product=VGN-TX5XN%2FB&site=voe_en_GB_cons&category=VN+TX+Series

There's a few things you can do, a Crossover cable works. It a special ethernet cable that works between 2 pcs. You can buy a USB to USB adapter from Radio Shack, it's special because it has transmitter/reciever in the middle of the cord.

What I do is use an external Harddrive to transfer files from PC to PC via USB. Mini Flash drives work also.

wow... that looks like a lot of money for not a lot of laptop.....

can i use a standard ethernet cable?

i've got an ethernet cable and the double-ended USB cable.

wow... that looks like a lot of money for not a lot of laptop.....

haha, it's my birthday, so i didn't pay...

it's actaully pretty amazing, weighs nothing, screen is amazing the whole thing is pretty impressive.

when i meet you to get the 3D design stuff i'll bring it and show you.

I wanted to do something like this as well.

You could also set up a network on those computers. That way you can just click and drag to the laptop.

when i meet you to get the 3D design stuff i'll bring it and show you.

which reminds me....
got to get some more dvd roms first.
next week is good.

I wanted to do something like this as well.

You could also set up a network on those computers. That way you can just click and drag to the laptop.

i'm trying to, maybe Vista and XP won't work together to do this.

the biggest pain in the ass in all of this is that the network connections things are so different. on XP you can easily find the thing to set up a direct connection between two computers. seems with Vista there's some "sync" thing for it.

ARGH!

ok, so the new computer recognises the old one. in the network thing in Vista it's found the device "YOUR-908..." which is the full computer name of the old one (as according to My Computer properties)

now it wants a username and password. both computers know me as "Chris" for my account, and they both have the same password. yet when i type that in, it doesn't work. it says login unsuccessful.

any ideas?

i went into the guest thing on the host computer, for some reason it already has a password for guest, 15 characters and i don't know what it is. if i type my own one and confirm it, when i go back it's reverted to the 15 character long one.

how do i fix this?

as far as I know, the guest account in xp doesn't have a password....

i tried the option where guests don't need a password, but when i try to do anything it asks for my username and password.

If you're authenticating from your new (Vista) machine to your old (XP) machine, make sure there is an exception in the firewall for File and Print sharing in the XP machine, and that you're using a valid local administrator account.

A good program to backup your existing files and settings is Fab's Autobackup Win:
http://fabs.dyndns.org/autobackup/autobackup.php?lang=en

Post if you get stuck.

i gave up and borrowed my dad's external hard drive. i'm going to have to buy myself one at sometime for all my pictures and stuff, and i don't want to fill the new computer's hard drive up with them.

Windows XP has an export option, which lets you save and then export a huge number of your settings, favourites, My documents etc.

I just did a recent XP reinstall, and one of the screens its shows during the install made a big deal of it.
I have no idea where to find it though, but I imagine it won't be to hard with a little digging.

MicroShit Exploder also has its own export function for exporting favorites etc, and both outlook and outlook express can export everything including emails and even appointments.

I don't know how much of the exported information will be compatible with Vista, but the splash screen during the install made the point that the feature was added to make it easier to upgrade either the hardware, or to a new OS.