I need computer help!

[Not_Giving_Up]

I need to transfer files from one hard drive to another. Can I slave one to the other if one is running XP and the other one is running 98?

My parents got a new puter and gave me their old one (better than mine). Mine is going to the kids, and I need to get a boatload of files off of it first. I'm on dialup, I'm not downloading all those files again. Burning to CD would suck, it would take a million, and in this slow machine, it would take forever.

Help me DU'ers, you're my only hope!

[Not_Giving_Up]

1. Come on, somebody out there, please help me! n/t

[BattyDem]

2. Sure!

Windows XP includes step-by-step instructions in the help file. Open the Help and Support file. Search for "network" and select "Walkthrough: home networking" from the list. It tells you everything you need to do.

Basically, all you do is run the Network Setup Wizard in XP and then copy the Network Setup Wizard files to a floppy and run them on the Windows 98 machine.

:-)

[Not_Giving_Up]

4. Cool, thanks! n/t

[frylock]

7. in order to do that, you need a hub or a crossover cable

if you use a serial connection, it will take forever.

[UL_Approved]

3. Are you using IDE drives?

If you are using IDE drives, you can just find an empty spot and put it in. You have to have a power cable as well. Just make sure you leave the drive on Cable Select (CS). This should take care of any confusion.

[Not_Giving_Up]

5. Yep, IDE drives n/t

[UL_Approved]

6. Home version or XP professional?

If you have XP Pro, you can just hook it up and read it directly, no problems. If you have XP Home, well, you may have to import the drive. You have to access from XP regardless, due to file system issues.

[Not_Giving_Up]

8. I think it's XP Home...I haven't turned it on yet

This is getting really confusing!

[frylock]

9. ensure the jumper settings are set correctly on the slave drive..

there should be a diagram on the HDD to show you the proper configuration. If the CD-ROM is slaved to the primary storage device, just unplug the IDE cable and power supply, and hook it up to the drive you want to copy the files from.

[Not_Giving_Up]

10. OK, I'm going to get off of here and try this

[pnorman]

11. I recently bought a 40GB external HD for ~$150

It's really small, and is powered off the USB port (USB 2, but compatible with USB 1). Both my XP and Me computers recognized it as a drive, with no further installation. Almost all my important stuff (including downloaded programs) is on "My Documents", and amounts to ~8GB. It took a while to save it there, but I'm now ready for CLEAN reinstallation of Operating system, (or disaster). $150 might seem like overkill for this, but that drive could come in real handy for other purposes, including adding 40GB to an older system.

pnorman