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transferring data via USB cable
Hello All,
a newbie here, My wife is getting a new computer this Christmas which will have Windows 8 OS loaded in. Her old computer is running Windows XP. I seemed to remember reading that Windows 7 had a program by which you could hook your new computer together to your old computer using a (special?) USB cable and transfer data from the old rig to the new one. I also thought it said that program could be installed on any old OS if it didn't have it? Does Windows 8 also have that program whatever it's called? Albert |
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transferring data via USB cable
Albert wrote:
My wife is getting a new computer this Christmas which will have Windows 8 OS loaded in. Her old computer is running Windows XP. I seemed to remember reading that Windows 7 had a program by which you could hook your new computer together to your old computer using a (special?) USB cable and transfer data from the old rig to the new one. I also thought it said that program could be installed on any old OS if it didn't have it? Does Windows 8 also have that program whatever it's called? No idea what that might be, but you can network the machines together (either via a regular wired network, a crossover cable, or a wireless connection) and do the transfer that way. No special programs or drivers necessary. -- I didn't put you in a prison. I just showed you the bars. |
#3
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transferring data via USB cable
"Albert" wrote in message ... Hello All, a newbie here, My wife is getting a new computer this Christmas which will have Windows 8 OS loaded in. Her old computer is running Windows XP. I seemed to remember reading that Windows 7 had a program by which you could hook your new computer together to your old computer using a (special?) USB cable and transfer data from the old rig to the new one. I also thought it said that program could be installed on any old OS if it didn't have it? Does Windows 8 also have that program whatever it's called? Albert "Windows Easy Transfer" Save to an external drive. Chris |
#4
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transferring data via USB cable
Albert wrote:
Hello All, a newbie here, My wife is getting a new computer this Christmas which will have Windows 8 OS loaded in. Her old computer is running Windows XP. I seemed to remember reading that Windows 7 had a program by which you could hook your new computer together to your old computer using a (special?) USB cable and transfer data from the old rig to the new one. I also thought it said that program could be installed on any old OS if it didn't have it? Does Windows 8 also have that program whatever it's called? Albert There is an article here on Windows Easy Transfer, and it mentions the "Easy Transfer Cable". At one time, that was referred to perhaps as a "Laplink USB cable". Apparently, Microsoft has a driver for it, loaded in some OS. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Easy_Transfer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easy_Transfer_Cable http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/w...-easy-transfer http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/w...other-computer "... Windows Easy Transfer can't transfer files from a 64-bit version of Windows to a 32-bit version of Windows." Hmmm. So far, I'm not getting the impression it's "universal enough" for usage. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928634/en-us I also read one report, where someone used WET from the WIndows7 page, to transfer files between two Windows 8 installs (Developer Preview to Consumer Preview). So maybe it does work for Windows 8 as well. At least Microsoft has this stuff well documented. It's possible a move from WinXP to Windows 8, might have a problem because of the OS "bitness". 32 bit on WinXP, and perhaps 64 bit on Win8. ******* If you really want the Easy Transfer cable, I can find a number of manufacturers of it on the Newegg site. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812200198 The reviews there are mixed, because many of the people don't realize the software is a Microsoft package. The chip inside the "bump" in the middle of the cable, is typically a Prolific USB2 chip. The chip is simple in design, and has bidirectional mailboxes. (Other companies made similar chips, but at least one of the companies got into patent trouble. I don't know who owns the patent.) At one time, Microsoft had no software for it, and crude utilities were included in the box. One utility provided what looked like an FTP utility. Another utility provided what looked like networking (so one machine might end up as 192.168.1.1 and the other as 192.168.1.2). And when the machines were networked, you could then transfer files with file sharing. This is the only kind of chip, which allows connecting two PCs directly to one another over USB. Normally, USB chips are only "host to peripheral". Host to host isn't normally allowed. This cable fakes it, in a way, by doing "host to peripheral" and "peripheral to host" in the same cable, such that the cable looks to the user like it's host to host. All that each computer knows, is it puts something in a mailbox, and something comes back in the other direction "magically". In a way, it's run like a "prisoner exchange" :-) "PL-25A1 USB2.0 Host-to-Host Bridge Controller" http://www.prolific.com.tw/US/ShowPr..._id=34&pcid=43 I don't see a download link on that site anymore, so perhaps you can't get the old software for it. That leaves WET from Microsoft. The 25A1 is the current device, while the older one is the 2501, as described here. The 2501 predates WET software, while the 25A1 seems to use WET instead. http://web.archive.org/web/200610060...e%20091102.pdf "Support both Peer to Peer and Network functions" --- 2501 with homegrown sw. So that's a tiny sampling of the history. Laplink still sells the cable as well. http://www.laplink.com/index.php/ind...dows-8/cables/ HTH, Paul |
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transferring data via USB cable
Hi, Albert.
Yes, there was such a cable. I tried it once, about 10 years or so ago. But the cable hookup was not very straightforward and the transfer rate was abysmal. I finally gave up and use floppies and "sneakernet". :( But, as Chris said, the program you want is WET (Windows Easy Transfer) and it is included in each Windows since about WinXP, including Win8. And, yes, the newer WET can be run on the older Windows. Choose your transfer media: USB thumb drive; external hard disk; floppy (if your computer still has one - mine doesn't); or even that transfer cable. My favorite (since I have multiple HDDs and many partitions on them) is to use a location on my disk - but make sure that it will not be reformatted during the Win8 installation and will be accessible from the new OS. Run WET twice: First run WET from the "old" system, to transfer your data, settings and tweaks to that safe temporary storage space. The program will guide you through the process, which can take minutes or hours, depending on how much data you want to transfer. Then boot into the "new" system and recover as much - or as little - of the saved material as you want. You don't have to do it all today; you can do it in stages; WET will "hold your place" between sessions. WET can't transfer everything. It can move all your data and most of your settings and some of your tweaks. And it can help you remember which apps you need to re-install. But you will need to re-install each of them so that its setup process can write the proper entries into your new Register. RC -- -- R. C. White, CPA San Marcos, TX Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-2010) Windows Live Mail 2012 (Build 16.4.3505.0912) in Win8 "Albert" wrote in message ... Hello All, a newbie here, My wife is getting a new computer this Christmas which will have Windows 8 OS loaded in. Her old computer is running Windows XP. I seemed to remember reading that Windows 7 had a program by which you could hook your new computer together to your old computer using a (special?) USB cable and transfer data from the old rig to the new one. I also thought it said that program could be installed on any old OS if it didn't have it? Does Windows 8 also have that program whatever it's called? Albert |
#6
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transferring data via USB cable
I've done the numerous times for clients but haven't yet needed a cable.
You have to download and install "Windows Easy Transfer" software from MS to your XP computer (google it.) Run the program on the XP computer and select the device you want to save the file the programs compiles to. The best choice is an external drive - if you have one. The second best is a USB drive if you have one big enough. When you've completed the above, plug the device you chose into the Win8 computer. Type Windows Easy Transfer into the search box. Optionally you may find the program on the Metro page. Right click on the Metro page and select the All Apps ? in the lower right corner. You should be able to see the programs in the list. In any case, run the program and select "This is My New computer" when prompted. Browse to find the file created from the XP computer. If you have a lot of pictures, video or mp3 files this all could take a long time and create a huge file. Good Luck "Albert" wrote in message ... Hello All, a newbie here, My wife is getting a new computer this Christmas which will have Windows 8 OS loaded in. Her old computer is running Windows XP. I seemed to remember reading that Windows 7 had a program by which you could hook your new computer together to your old computer using a (special?) USB cable and transfer data from the old rig to the new one. I also thought it said that program could be installed on any old OS if it didn't have it? Does Windows 8 also have that program whatever it's called? Albert |
#7
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transferring data via USB cable
On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 16:20:25 -0700, Albert
wrote: Hello All, a newbie here, My wife is getting a new computer this Christmas which will have Windows 8 OS loaded in. Her old computer is running Windows XP. I seemed to remember reading that Windows 7 had a program by which you could hook your new computer together to your old computer using a (special?) USB cable and transfer data from the old rig to the new one. I also thought it said that program could be installed on any old OS if it didn't have it? Does Windows 8 also have that program whatever it's called? Albert I want to thank everyone here that's taken the time (promptly I might add) for all this information. I do have a hard drive enclosure that I could use and I also have a network set up (hardwired) between my wife's computer and mine. Anyway again all want to thank everyone for their input and it's been all very informative and just exactly what I needed to know. Again thank you, Albert |
#8
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transferring data via USB cable
Albert wrote:
On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 16:20:25 -0700, Albert wrote: Hello All, a newbie here, My wife is getting a new computer this Christmas which will have Windows 8 OS loaded in. Her old computer is running Windows XP. I seemed to remember reading that Windows 7 had a program by which you could hook your new computer together to your old computer using a (special?) USB cable and transfer data from the old rig to the new one. I also thought it said that program could be installed on any old OS if it didn't have it? Does Windows 8 also have that program whatever it's called? Albert I want to thank everyone here that's taken the time (promptly I might add) for all this information. I do have a hard drive enclosure that I could use and I also have a network set up (hardwired) between my wife's computer and mine. Anyway again all want to thank everyone for their input and it's been all very informative and just exactly what I needed to know. Again thank you, Albert I'll add a +1 to using WET. But in addition, since you'll be using an external HD, I would take a clone of the whole XP drive (if there's enough space). I've found in the past that despite all my well planned lists of files to transfer that I've kept going back time and again to get something I need. Then you can have the whole lot readily to hand at any time; accessed by mounting the clone as a virtual drive. Ed |
#9
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transferring data via USB cable
On Mon, 26 Nov 2012 12:03:45 +0000, Ed Cryer
wrote: Albert wrote: On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 16:20:25 -0700, Albert wrote: Hello All, a newbie here, My wife is getting a new computer this Christmas which will have Windows 8 OS loaded in. Her old computer is running Windows XP. I seemed to remember reading that Windows 7 had a program by which you could hook your new computer together to your old computer using a (special?) USB cable and transfer data from the old rig to the new one. I also thought it said that program could be installed on any old OS if it didn't have it? Does Windows 8 also have that program whatever it's called? Albert I want to thank everyone here that's taken the time (promptly I might add) for all this information. I do have a hard drive enclosure that I could use and I also have a network set up (hardwired) between my wife's computer and mine. Anyway again all want to thank everyone for their input and it's been all very informative and just exactly what I needed to know. Again thank you, Albert I'll add a +1 to using WET. But in addition, since you'll be using an external HD, I would take a clone of the whole XP drive (if there's enough space). I've found in the past that despite all my well planned lists of files to transfer that I've kept going back time and again to get something I need. Then you can have the whole lot readily to hand at any time; accessed by mounting the clone as a virtual drive. And another +1 for WET. Its only disadvantage is that it copies *everything* from *all of the drives* on your original system and reloads all of that onto your new system assuming same drive setup. You cannot copy just the system drive unless you unplug the others. I ended up with two copies of everything on my D: drive -- fred.pdf fred(1).pdf etc. -- Robin Bignall Herts, England |
#10
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transferring data via USB cable
Robin Bignall wrote:
On Mon, 26 Nov 2012 12:03:45 +0000, Ed Cryer wrote: Albert wrote: On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 16:20:25 -0700, Albert wrote: Hello All, a newbie here, My wife is getting a new computer this Christmas which will have Windows 8 OS loaded in. Her old computer is running Windows XP. I seemed to remember reading that Windows 7 had a program by which you could hook your new computer together to your old computer using a (special?) USB cable and transfer data from the old rig to the new one. I also thought it said that program could be installed on any old OS if it didn't have it? Does Windows 8 also have that program whatever it's called? Albert I want to thank everyone here that's taken the time (promptly I might add) for all this information. I do have a hard drive enclosure that I could use and I also have a network set up (hardwired) between my wife's computer and mine. Anyway again all want to thank everyone for their input and it's been all very informative and just exactly what I needed to know. Again thank you, Albert I'll add a +1 to using WET. But in addition, since you'll be using an external HD, I would take a clone of the whole XP drive (if there's enough space). I've found in the past that despite all my well planned lists of files to transfer that I've kept going back time and again to get something I need. Then you can have the whole lot readily to hand at any time; accessed by mounting the clone as a virtual drive. And another +1 for WET. Its only disadvantage is that it copies *everything* from *all of the drives* on your original system and reloads all of that onto your new system assuming same drive setup. You cannot copy just the system drive unless you unplug the others. I ended up with two copies of everything on my D: drive -- fred.pdf fred(1).pdf etc. WET is highly customisable. I select just system & Windows settings. Otherwise you end up with your *everything*, which includes all the dregs and dross. Some people might find that reassuring. I don't. I hate clutter that gets in my way and slows me down. Ed |
#11
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transferring data via USB cable
On Mon, 26 Nov 2012 17:30:31 +0000, Ed Cryer
wrote: Robin Bignall wrote: On Mon, 26 Nov 2012 12:03:45 +0000, Ed Cryer wrote: Albert wrote: On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 16:20:25 -0700, Albert wrote: Hello All, a newbie here, My wife is getting a new computer this Christmas which will have Windows 8 OS loaded in. Her old computer is running Windows XP. I seemed to remember reading that Windows 7 had a program by which you could hook your new computer together to your old computer using a (special?) USB cable and transfer data from the old rig to the new one. I also thought it said that program could be installed on any old OS if it didn't have it? Does Windows 8 also have that program whatever it's called? Albert I want to thank everyone here that's taken the time (promptly I might add) for all this information. I do have a hard drive enclosure that I could use and I also have a network set up (hardwired) between my wife's computer and mine. Anyway again all want to thank everyone for their input and it's been all very informative and just exactly what I needed to know. Again thank you, Albert I'll add a +1 to using WET. But in addition, since you'll be using an external HD, I would take a clone of the whole XP drive (if there's enough space). I've found in the past that despite all my well planned lists of files to transfer that I've kept going back time and again to get something I need. Then you can have the whole lot readily to hand at any time; accessed by mounting the clone as a virtual drive. And another +1 for WET. Its only disadvantage is that it copies *everything* from *all of the drives* on your original system and reloads all of that onto your new system assuming same drive setup. You cannot copy just the system drive unless you unplug the others. I ended up with two copies of everything on my D: drive -- fred.pdf fred(1).pdf etc. WET is highly customisable. I select just system & Windows settings. Otherwise you end up with your *everything*, which includes all the dregs and dross. I didn't notice that on the XP version, but maybe I missed it. Does 'system and windows settings' copy application settings and data? That was what helped do a clean install of Win 7 from XP. When I installed a program its data was in the right place waiting for it. Some people might find that reassuring. I don't. I hate clutter that gets in my way and slows me down. I de-cluttered XP before I ran it. I don't have much software that I don't use. -- Robin Bignall Herts, England |
#12
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transferring data via USB cable
Robin Bignall wrote:
On Mon, 26 Nov 2012 17:30:31 +0000, Ed Cryer wrote: Robin Bignall wrote: On Mon, 26 Nov 2012 12:03:45 +0000, Ed Cryer wrote: Albert wrote: On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 16:20:25 -0700, Albert wrote: Hello All, a newbie here, My wife is getting a new computer this Christmas which will have Windows 8 OS loaded in. Her old computer is running Windows XP. I seemed to remember reading that Windows 7 had a program by which you could hook your new computer together to your old computer using a (special?) USB cable and transfer data from the old rig to the new one. I also thought it said that program could be installed on any old OS if it didn't have it? Does Windows 8 also have that program whatever it's called? Albert I want to thank everyone here that's taken the time (promptly I might add) for all this information. I do have a hard drive enclosure that I could use and I also have a network set up (hardwired) between my wife's computer and mine. Anyway again all want to thank everyone for their input and it's been all very informative and just exactly what I needed to know. Again thank you, Albert I'll add a +1 to using WET. But in addition, since you'll be using an external HD, I would take a clone of the whole XP drive (if there's enough space). I've found in the past that despite all my well planned lists of files to transfer that I've kept going back time and again to get something I need. Then you can have the whole lot readily to hand at any time; accessed by mounting the clone as a virtual drive. And another +1 for WET. Its only disadvantage is that it copies *everything* from *all of the drives* on your original system and reloads all of that onto your new system assuming same drive setup. You cannot copy just the system drive unless you unplug the others. I ended up with two copies of everything on my D: drive -- fred.pdf fred(1).pdf etc. WET is highly customisable. I select just system & Windows settings. Otherwise you end up with your *everything*, which includes all the dregs and dross. I didn't notice that on the XP version, but maybe I missed it. Does 'system and windows settings' copy application settings and data? That was what helped do a clean install of Win 7 from XP. When I installed a program its data was in the right place waiting for it. Some people might find that reassuring. I don't. I hate clutter that gets in my way and slows me down. I de-cluttered XP before I ran it. I don't have much software that I don't use. Well, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, eh? Your way of doing the cooking seems to have worked for you. And I guess it would do for the majority of computer-users, given the large size of HDs these days. Does that copying of application program data across before doing the actual install on the new system work ok? It seems a bit questionable in theory, given the possibility of ending up with incompatible data for program version number. I can see two very different approaches here; yours and mine. Yours seems very trusting, mine is definitely UNtrusting. Ed |
#13
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transferring data via USB cable
On Mon, 26 Nov 2012 22:49:35 +0000, Ed Cryer
wrote: Robin Bignall wrote: On Mon, 26 Nov 2012 17:30:31 +0000, Ed Cryer wrote: Robin Bignall wrote: On Mon, 26 Nov 2012 12:03:45 +0000, Ed Cryer wrote: Albert wrote: On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 16:20:25 -0700, Albert wrote: Hello All, a newbie here, My wife is getting a new computer this Christmas which will have Windows 8 OS loaded in. Her old computer is running Windows XP. I seemed to remember reading that Windows 7 had a program by which you could hook your new computer together to your old computer using a (special?) USB cable and transfer data from the old rig to the new one. I also thought it said that program could be installed on any old OS if it didn't have it? Does Windows 8 also have that program whatever it's called? Albert I want to thank everyone here that's taken the time (promptly I might add) for all this information. I do have a hard drive enclosure that I could use and I also have a network set up (hardwired) between my wife's computer and mine. Anyway again all want to thank everyone for their input and it's been all very informative and just exactly what I needed to know. Again thank you, Albert I'll add a +1 to using WET. But in addition, since you'll be using an external HD, I would take a clone of the whole XP drive (if there's enough space). I've found in the past that despite all my well planned lists of files to transfer that I've kept going back time and again to get something I need. Then you can have the whole lot readily to hand at any time; accessed by mounting the clone as a virtual drive. And another +1 for WET. Its only disadvantage is that it copies *everything* from *all of the drives* on your original system and reloads all of that onto your new system assuming same drive setup. You cannot copy just the system drive unless you unplug the others. I ended up with two copies of everything on my D: drive -- fred.pdf fred(1).pdf etc. WET is highly customisable. I select just system & Windows settings. Otherwise you end up with your *everything*, which includes all the dregs and dross. I didn't notice that on the XP version, but maybe I missed it. Does 'system and windows settings' copy application settings and data? That was what helped do a clean install of Win 7 from XP. When I installed a program its data was in the right place waiting for it. Some people might find that reassuring. I don't. I hate clutter that gets in my way and slows me down. I de-cluttered XP before I ran it. I don't have much software that I don't use. Well, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, eh? Your way of doing the cooking seems to have worked for you. And I guess it would do for the majority of computer-users, given the large size of HDs these days. Does that copying of application program data across before doing the actual install on the new system work ok? It seems a bit questionable in theory, given the possibility of ending up with incompatible data for program version number. I can see two very different approaches here; yours and mine. Yours seems very trusting, mine is definitely UNtrusting. I just dumbly followed what I'd read on M$'s site. Installed 7 onto my system disk. Then installed drivers for my new mobo. Then ran WET. Then installed applications. Kaspersky's Pure was first, and upon activation it picked up all of its settings and I didn't have to tweak a thing. The only programs I had to tweak were those that keep their data on D:; I had to change the "start in" settings in their shortcuts. Dunno about trust; I had full backups of XP in case it didn't work. But it did. -- Robin Bignall Herts, England |
#14
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transferring data via USB cable
Easiest way is to buy a USB flash drive and copy stuff from old computer to
it... stick the flash drive in new computer and copy from it to the new computer. You can get a 16 GB flash drive for under $10 on Amazon and then you'll have it for back up space or any other use in the future. "Albert" wrote in message ... Hello All, a newbie here, My wife is getting a new computer this Christmas which will have Windows 8 OS loaded in. Her old computer is running Windows XP. I seemed to remember reading that Windows 7 had a program by which you could hook your new computer together to your old computer using a (special?) USB cable and transfer data from the old rig to the new one. I also thought it said that program could be installed on any old OS if it didn't have it? Does Windows 8 also have that program whatever it's called? Albert |
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