2 laptops..temporarily tranferring data to one

Hi all,

I have 2 E1505 lappies. I got some spyware ect on my computer tonight and just could not rid myself of it (don't have a lot of expertise here, I've never really had problems with this stuff). So I think now maybe I'll just reformat my HD after my mighty struggle today. My wifes E1505 had a hard drive that is 75% empty. Is there a way to connect both laptops together so I can just transfer files from one machine to the other until I'm done with the re-format then send them back?

Don't want to buy an external drive right now for two reasons. Money and we are tight on space as well and I don't have an office to put it in.

 

i've never connected two laptops together, but will a usb cable work? and you could always use ethernet cables crossed over or connect them through a router. but you'll have to set up a LAN to do that.

 

USB requires a special transfer cable. An ethernet crossover will do the trick if both have ethernet and you don't have a router. I can talk you through that, its pretty simple and a crossover cable is only about $10. USB is usually more expensive, I think $20-$30 and it'd be slower than ethernet.

Grand Admiral

 

Maybe buy a external harddrive and backup files to that instead? Doesn't require too much and is very handy for storage of music and picture files.

 

Yep, I would first go for the external drives, but if you don't want to spend the money on that, you can just transfer files over your network because I'm sure that you have both laptops connected to your network. You'll just need to enable file sharng and set folder permissions.

 

You could also just set up a ad hoc wireless network between the two computers. THen you can enable file sharing and go from there.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/expert/bowman_02april08.mspx

 

Can I pick up the crossover cable at my local Best Buy ect? I do have a router in my house which both machine are connected to wirelessly.

I don't think I want to spend the money on an external drive...

 

Actually, I do have a Linksys router which both computers are connected to individually.

 

Then enable file sharing (share the root of the drive) on one laptop and access and copy the files through the other one.

 

If I may ask a stupid question....how does one enable file sharing?

 

I was just reading an article on this site about building your own external drive. I do have a brand new hard drive sitting in my garage....maybe I should just buy an external case from new egg...

 

right click on your hard drive, choose share root of drive, then on the other laptop search your network places.

 

Dont forget to disable any firewalls if present. They make sharing more dificult unless properly configured.

 

If you have XP, follow the directions from above. If you have Vista.....

http://www.home-network-help.com/simple-file-sharing.html