copy files from PC to Mac

In article <hFDye.24334$B_3.7900@fe05.lga>,
"JB" <jbrandonbbremove.TakeThisOut@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Does it still work to connect a PC to a Mac using an Ethernet cable to move
> files over and does anyone have a link for how to do that -- what to do on
> the PC and the Mac? Also, is that a crossover cable or standard? And is
> there any other cable that works? Wish that FireWire or USB let you do that
> but somehow I doubt that works.
>
> - J

Depending on the age of the Mac (and/or PC) the ethernet ports should be
autodetect such that they will automatically perform the cross-over
service. Older systems may require a cross-over cable, or the use of an
ethernet hub or switch (rather inexpensive devices http://dealmac.com).

Assuming Mac OS X 10.2 or later, then use the Mac OS X Finder Help and
search for "SMB". The resulting information should get you started.

Bob Harris

In message of 5 Jul, "JB" <jbrandonbbremove.DeleteThis@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Does it still work to connect a PC to a Mac using an Ethernet cable
> to move files over and does anyone have a link for how to do that --
> what to do on the PC and the Mac?

No to the link question but (a) is is quite easy and (b) it differs
between operating systems, both Windows and Mac ones.

(I got a Mac a fortnight ago, it was my first Mac ever and I soon got
it networked OK. That's what I meant by easy!)

> Also, is that a crossover cable or standard?

This depends on the hardware. More modern hardware (and the associated
firmware) will sort out the cable and you can just use an ordinary patch
cable.

> And is there any other cable that works? Wish that FireWire or USB
> let you do that but somehow I doubt that works.

Can't answer that. Ethernet is easy and fast so there is no need to
try USB for this. Don't all machines have Ethernet? Will machines be
produces without ethernet?

--
Tim Powys-Lybbe                                          tim@powys.org
             For a miscellany of bygones: http://powys.org

In article <94d6ea854d.tim RemoveThis @south-frm.demon.co.uk>,
Tim Powys-Lybbe <tim RemoveThis @powys.org> wrote:

> In message of 5 Jul, "JB" <jbrandonbbremove RemoveThis @hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Does it still work to connect a PC to a Mac using an Ethernet cable
> > to move files over and does anyone have a link for how to do that --
> > what to do on the PC and the Mac?
>
> No to the link question but (a) is is quite easy and (b) it differs
> between operating systems, both Windows and Mac ones.
>
> (I got a Mac a fortnight ago, it was my first Mac ever and I soon got
> it networked OK. That's what I meant by easy!)
>
> > Also, is that a crossover cable or standard?
>
> This depends on the hardware. More modern hardware (and the associated
> firmware) will sort out the cable and you can just use an ordinary patch
> cable.
>
> > And is there any other cable that works? Wish that FireWire or USB
> > let you do that but somehow I doubt that works.
>
> Can't answer that. Ethernet is easy and fast so there is no need to
> try USB for this. Don't all machines have Ethernet? Will machines be
> produces without ethernet?

See the Help file on the Mac. Look for Sharing Files. You will get a
number of Help articles telling you how to do this.

Bill

--
For email, remove invalid.

In article <nospam.News.Bob-31B4FD.19062805072005.RemoveThis@news.verizon.net>,
Bob Harris <nospam.News.Bob.RemoveThis@remove.Smith-Harris.us> wrote:

> In article <hFDye.24334$B_3.7900@fe05.lga>,
> "JB" <jbrandonbbremove.RemoveThis@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Does it still work to connect a PC to a Mac using an Ethernet cable to move
> > files over and does anyone have a link for how to do that -- what to do on
> > the PC and the Mac? Also, is that a crossover cable or standard? And is
> > there any other cable that works? Wish that FireWire or USB let you do that
> > but somehow I doubt that works.
> >
> > - J
>
> Depending on the age of the Mac (and/or PC) the ethernet ports should be
> autodetect such that they will automatically perform the cross-over
> service. Older systems may require a cross-over cable, or the use of an
> ethernet hub or switch (rather inexpensive devices http://dealmac.com).
>
> Assuming Mac OS X 10.2 or later, then use the Mac OS X Finder Help and
> search for "SMB". The resulting information should get you started.
>
> Bob Harris
PS. Of course there is always a USB MemoryDisk. It maybe "sneaker
net", but it will do the job if you do not need to transfer stuff often.

Bob Harris

One other approach -- and the one I used when I "switched" 2.5 years
ago -- was to get an external FW HD and format it in a way that both
Windows and Mac could understand (I forget the exact name, but
shouldn't be hard to find), copy the files from the PC (installing a FW
card if needed - cheap and simple) and then copy them to the Mac. MUCH
faster than Ethernet, which I've also used. At least the 100 Mbps
variety. And I then had a drive for backup purposes.

Two notes of warning:

1. At least when I did this, you were limited to 130 GB partitions in
the "dual use" format. A larger drive would format to 130 GB only.

2. Some files wouldn't copy and that usually stopped the copy command.
This problem disappeared later when I re-formatted the drive to Mac
only format. I posted something on it back then that might still be
accessible via a search.

Hope this helps.

Martin

"JB" <jbrandonbbremove.DeleteThis@hotmail.com> writes:
>
> Does it still work to connect a PC to a Mac using an Ethernet cable to
> move files over

Yes.

> and does anyone have a link for how to do that

No.

> -- what to do on the PC and the Mac?

Connect the two computers. Either with two straight cables and a hub
or with a crossover cable and no hub.

You may have to configure TCP/IP on the ports. If you don't configure
anything, Macs will auto-select addresses using Rendezvous. I don't
know if Windows has a similar capability.

Turn on file sharing on one of the computers. If you turn it on on the
Mac, be sure to turn on Windows file sharing. (Mac OS X supports the
Windows protocols very well. Windows does not support the Apple
protocols without third-party software, however.)

Mount the drive from the other computer.

Copy all the files you like.

When you're done, unmount/disconnect the remote drive and turn off file
sharing. (You strictly don't have to turn off file sharing, but it's
good security practice to not leave servers running if you don't need
them.)

> Also, is that a crossover cable or standard?

You should use a crossover cable if you are directly connecting two
computers together. Use straight cables if you have a hub in between.

With a modern Mac, it really shouldn't matter, since the computer will
auto-detect and configure itself appropriately. But sometimes auto-
detection doesn't work. Which is why I still recommend using the
correct kind of cable.

> And is there any other cable that works? Wish that FireWire or USB let
> you do that but somehow I doubt that works.

You can link two computers via FireWire. Mac OS will let you run a
small network this way.

You can not directly connect two computers with a plain USB cable - USB
busses don't work if there is more than one "root hub", which each
computer is.

There are, however, vendors that make USB network cables. This is not
just a cable. It's a pair of USB cables permanently attached to a
small network tranceiver box. When used with appropriate software,
this can be used to connect two computers. I have no idea how well
these work, if at all.

Personally, I think the Ethernet solution is the easiest one.

Note also, for quick impromptu file transfers, a USB keychain drive is
often more convenient than any kind of network-based solution.

-- David

hellman.DeleteThis@stanford.edu writes:
>
> One other approach -- and the one I used when I "switched" 2.5 years
> ago -- was to get an external FW HD and format it in a way that both
> Windows and Mac could understand (I forget the exact name, but
> shouldn't be hard to find)

This wold be either the FAT or FAT32 format. It is the old DOS-
compatible (or 32-bit variant thereof) format. Just about every
operating system on every computer has support for this format.

Do not format it as NTFS. Only Windows can write to this. (You can
software for read-only access from other opeerating systems.)

The other choice is one of HFS or HFS+. These are the native Mac
formats. Windows normally can not read them, but you can get
third-party software to allow Windows to use them.

IMO, FAT is your best choice.

> 1. At least when I did this, you were limited to 130 GB partitions in
> the "dual use" format. A larger drive would format to 130 GB only.

This is a function of the bridge chip inside the external drive.

FireWire has no such limit, but older IDE controllers do. External
FireWire hard drives are almost always an IDE drive and a "bridge"
controller that converts the interface to FW.

If you buy a large FW drive, you should have an appropriate bridge chip.
If you buy the case and build the drive yourself, make certain that the
chipset in the case supports large drives (aka "LBA-48" mode.)

> 2. Some files wouldn't copy and that usually stopped the copy command.
> This problem disappeared later when I re-formatted the drive to Mac
> only format. I posted something on it back then that might still be
> accessible via a search.

This is a bit weird. Chances are that one of the files had an illegal
character in the filename. FAT doesn't allow several characters that
Mac OS does allow.

If you're careful to make sure not to use any prohibited characters in
your filenames, there shouldn't be any problem. IIRC, the prohibited
characters are:
/ \ : > < | * ? and "

-- David