Question about using Windows Easy Transfer.....

[chaoscreater]

Ok so i bought a Belkin Easy Transfer cable to use the Windows Easy Transfer feature, the reason being is that I have several PCs in the house, 2 of them are gaming PCs, the others are HTPCs, I also have a laptop and not to mention my sister & dad uses one too, so I often have to copy files across one another, whether it's a movie, game or whatever.

The files i copy and share across the PCs are usually large in size, so the best way i found was to use an external hardrive to copy files to it, and then transfer the files to the PC i want to copy to.

But doing this is slow and annoying, and my external hardrive is a piece of crap and often gets corrupted (it's a cheap Seagate brand and unreliable).

So I thought, maybe I should buy a cable that lets me connect 2 computers through USB port, and transfer the files that way. So I did, I got the Belkin Easy Transfer Cable yesterday and it works really nicely, transfer speed is fast and no setup is required unless you're using Windows XP, but it's not complicated to setup anyway as it gives you a manual guide with pictures showing you what to do.


Anyway it works fine except that it takes a few minutes to establish connection and scan for the files on the system. Basically, you connect the cable, and you choose the system you want to copy the files "FROM" as 'Old Computer', and you choose the system you want to copy the files "TO", as 'New Computer', and then it'll start scanning for all the files you can copy on from the 'Old Computer' (because you're copying files "FROM" it). The scanning takes quite a bit of time, depending on the size of your hardrive and how many GBs of files you have on it, for me it took about 5 minutes since it was on a laptop with 150GB HDD.


So my question is, is there any option to bypass this scanning process?? Because I only want to specify a certain amount of folders to be scanned as those are the folders that I copy files from all the time, there aren't any options on how to change this during the Windows Easy Transfer process.


Also, is it possible for me to right click on a file or folder and send to the other PC through Windows Easy Transfer this way, instead of connecting them both and let it scan, and finally be able to select the files i want to copy??

Basically, i'm looking for any fast or shortcut way to do this, because the scanning part during the process is a bit slow and annoying...

 

[number13]

get a router and use a CAT 5 cables to connect them together, much faster than USB

 

[chaoscreater]

I don't have the money to buy one, and my computers are all over the place, my house is quite huge so we have one in gaming lounce, work office and bedrooms etc, so that means i'm gonna have to buy super long cables just to connect them. And no i don't plan on moving them around either, i just wanna take my laptop (as my main PC that i use to download files, and then transfer files to other PC if need be) and use the Easy Transfer Cable to do the job.


Please focus on my question instead of giving me extra advices, i know there are other methods of doing this, including the one you suggested, but right now i just need a solution for what i asked.

 

[number13]

I am not sure that the scanning for the open connects can be hurried

 

[chaoscreater]

ya which is why i'm looking for any shortcuts or faster way of doing this. I can't believe there is no right click context menu to send specific items or folders to easy transfer.....it's a good way of transferring files, but the scanning part is unnecessarily since it scans all the files on your system.

 

[number13]

I use a NAS and SATA connection to my computer and Cat 5 to the other computers, but mine are all in the same room

 

[snowgoer1998]

I agree with Number13...somewhat...

I think you chose a poor method of transfering...

For only a few dollars, get a 5-6 foot CAT 5 cable and use shared folders...


Or even easier...buy a USB flash drive and then you have complete control over what and when gets transferred.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227331


With so many computers in one house, it seems odd that a wireless network has not been established.

You shoud really do a little research on setting up a home network...it may be a little more involved, initially, but in the end your file transfer situation would be so much easier..

 

[chaoscreater]

I appreciate your suggestion & advice guys, but please can someone just focus on the questions I asked?

First off, I do have wireless network setup, and i don't think it has anything to do with transferring the files if i do use a CAT 5 cable, since it's gonna be used to connect the PCs together anyway.

2ndly, as i've said already, if i wanted to get a CAT5 cable, i would. I don't live in USA, i live in NZ and those cost A LOT. I find it a waste of money to buy those, and again as i've said, the main problem why i can't use those is because they have to be connected to the router, as you said, you setup shared folders and you have to buy at least 2 of CAT5 cables to connect 2 PCs to the router, and then transfer the files that way. Maybe i'm incorrect on this but this is as far as i know since this is the way i've done it in the past for my friends who had one. Anyway, the problem as i've said already, is that i have several PCs in the house, and i'm gonna have to buy long lenghts of the CAT5 cables just to connect them to my router, and that i have to buy 2 of those when they cost a lot for even just one.


The reason i bought an easy transfer cable is because i only need to connect 2 computers through one cable, and that lengths won't be a problem here because i use my laptop as my main PC to download files from, and that i transfer files from my laptop to my other PCs, so i only need to carry my laptop around the house and that's it. It's very simple and easy, and that easy transfer cables are a lot cheaper than CAT5.

As for USB flash drives or external HDDs, I do have them but they stopped working, if u read my first post properly u'll see i stated that already. I plan on buying another one soon but right now i'm just lazy and trying to solve this easy transfer problem. I've already got all the files i want to copy over sorted, i don't have anything to copy now so it's all good, but i just want to know if there is a shortcut way of doing this faster.

 

[bahnjee]

Yeah, I realize this thread is over two years old, but I can't believe no one told the OP that "you'redoinitwrong!" Windows Easy Transfer was never intended to be used in this way. WET is for moving files from your old PC to your new PC when you purchase a new machine. It's not intended as a daily file copy tool.

The best/fastest/simplest/cheapest solution is to map a drive to any/all other PCs in the house. Then, when you need to copy files, simply right click the file(s) > Send To > the appropriate mapped drive. Hell, once you've done the (simple) intial setup, you don't even have to get off your lazy ass to do the file transfer.

No matter how much chaoscreator stomps his foot and demands for a way around WET's scanning process, IT GONNA WORK THAT WAY!

 

[mfcmaster]

If you already have an Easy Transfer Cable, I would suggest taking a look at Easy Computer Sync, which is a different program designed for this cable

You can use it to drag and drop individual files/folders between computers with the Easy Transfer Cable

 

[Majestye22]

Yeah, I realize this thread is over two years old, but I can't believe no one told the OP that "you'redoinitwrong!" Windows Easy Transfer was never intended to be used in this way. WET is for moving files from your old PC to your new PC when you purchase a new machine. It's not intended as a daily file copy tool.

The best/fastest/simplest/cheapest solution is to map a drive to any/all other PCs in the house. Then, when you need to copy files, simply right click the file(s) > Send To > the appropriate mapped drive. Hell, once you've done the (simple) intial setup, you don't even have to get off your lazy ass to do the file transfer.

No matter how much chaoscreator stomps his foot and demands for a way around WET's scanning process, IT GONNA WORK THAT WAY!

Thanks so much for simplifying my life! I'm glad I read your post before I ran out to buy an WET cable, USB or anything else! Keep on posting!