pc to pc file transfer

[blackmamba]

my brother and i are planning on transferring large files from my pc to his (we formatted and wiped it clean after a huge problem). i was looking for a fast way to do this and i'm having a hard time with all the options. i want to go the quickest route and i think a firewire or usb connection between the pc's is probably it?

we're both running xp, an hp and a dell pc.

some of my questions:

q: does windows use firewire target disk mode or is that just a mac thing?

q: i found usb pc link cables at a store offering up to 6-8mb/s speed, but not firewire "linking" cables persay, which would be much faster than that. can i just run a firewire from one pc to the other and transfer files without some special adapter between the pcs as well? do i need software to do this with firewire? (not transferring installed programs, just files).. on a dell and an hp, would i just use a 6pin to 6pin firewire?

if anyone can help i would be greatly appreciative!!! (i'm sorta in a time crunch and have been searching for these answers for 2 days)

thanks!!

 

[Sprooty]

buy 2 lan cards (if the pcs dont allready have them) and a lan cable this would be the fastest way with transfer speeds 10 times faster than usb.

or an even faster way is get your bros HD plug it into ur pc and transfer files that way.

 

[Nitestick]

yeh, network transfer is definitely the fastest and most failsafe way. failing that u could install the hdd you are copying to in the comp u are copying from and either using that as a slave and just booting then copying across or use command prompt.

 

[blackmamba]

thanks sprooty

so since i dont want to share an internet connection, can i just use the ethernet cable from my modem and not have internet access while we're doing this or do i have to buy a cross cable to do it instead? i dont have a router or anything.

 

[Nubius]

you can't use a regular CAT5 cable....you'd need a cross-over cable if you wanted to just plug from your NIC card to his

 

[blackmamba]

you guys are great, thanks

i found a cat-6 crossover cable at a store near me. this should do it?

 

[Nitestick]

yep