File sharing via modem cable (not null)

Hi to all, this is probably ancient so I'm not expecting too much. Been on google for 1 hr with no luck. Anyway, here's the situation... I have a pc with no network card afaik, and a laptop. I wish to transfer quite a chunk of data from the pc to the laptop. Now I know the best thing to do is to buy and install a network card for the pc and a network cable, but I'm lazy, and was hoping there's alternative ways to achieve my goal. So, both the laptop and pc has win xp pro installed, and has working dialup modems. I'm wondering, how to setup the machines for the file transfer between the two using a modem cable I found lying around. And before you ask, there's no serial port on the laptop so null modem cable is not an option.
I've played around with HyperTerminal but... no luck. If there's a knowledgeable person out there, please help.
Ok to reiterate, I'm not asking for a remote control type of program like PCAnywhere... I'm just just trying to make a local connection between two machines using dialup modem cable. (come to think of it, this cable is strange... it has the same connection end for both ends, -the type that goes to the socket at the back of your pc)

 

OMG, this is old school. There used to be a software that let you do this over parallel cable. I'm guessing you don't have a CD burner on the PC, lol.

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

Hi bugingzi,
Are you asking if you can transfer files between two PCs using the "phone line" cable that connects from a modem to the wall outlet and instead of connecting one end the outlet on the wall, connect it to the other PCs modem? If this is what your trying to do, thn I think the answer is no I don't think that is possible. It is possible if both computers have serial ports(usually a DB9 connector)and using a Nul-modem cable. You still need some kind of software to control the transfer of the files.

jack

"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security" (Ben Franklin)
http://pbase.com/joneill

 

You said you were lazy???
That can't be true, a lazy person finds the easiest way to do something. The easiest thing to do would be to buy a network card for $5 and a network cable to transfer the files. What your trying to do is much harder and more time consuming; and the resulting transfer speed would be very slow.

I would call you ....Nostalgic[ ]

jack

"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security" (Ben Franklin)
http://pbase.com/joneill

 

To bootleg2go:
Yeah that's roughly what I'm trying to do. Except the normal phone line cables I've seen have different connectors at the two ends (which means you can't connect two machines together physically). But this cable is weird, - as in the two connectors on both ends are the same, and that's how I got the strange idea that it might be used for file transfer purpose. (Hey anyone know what the hell it's actually for?)
Anyway... regarding my definition of laziness in this case, it's the reluctance of ordering a network card and cable, having to PHYSICALLY open the computer case up and install the card MYSELF, then screwing the case back on again. That sounds like a LOT of work. On the other hand, I can live with a low transfer rate (did you know Test cricket games take 5 days to complete?)
So I guess I have to rely on my 128mb usb pen drive for this then... thanks for your help.

(and haha, Brian, good guess. must be your lucky day... buy the lottery! )

 

The old time software I think you are talking about was called "laplink" and would allow you to transfer files across serial or parallel ports with a special cable (female serial or male parallel at each end). I just checked and they company seem to still be around (though I'm not sure how) so odds are much lower that that old program will be sitting around in the public domain but there likely is free alternative out there somewhere if you are willing to go looking for it.

If you don't have all the parts of that solution sitting around, then I agree that going the ethernet route would actually be easier. And if you don't want to open the box then see if your desktop has a USB port. If so, there are plenty of ethernet adapters that just plug into USB so that you don't even have to open the box.

If you are steadfast against ethernet options and if you are just moving a few data files or something small, then it might be an option to just email the files to yourself as an attachment. Just dial up with the old machine, send the email, and then dial-up with the new machine and bring them back down. If there is more than that but you remain stubborn, then see if any friend has some hosted space where you could FTP everything up and back down again (just let it run all night I suppose).

Anyway, good luck to you whatever you decide.

 

That's weird, normal phone line connector should look the same RJ-11 jack, at least in the US anyway.
<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by buqingzi

 

Way back in the olden days, we used to do this with a null modem adapter and two RS-232C cables with a terminal program running on both machines. Set one machine to upload and the other to download, then choose the file you want to move. [ ]

 

null modem[?][?], from what you said it's more like a serial cable, connecting 2 pc via serial port. It's still being use to connect to console port on router, satellite, and other networking equipment. Some even use RJ45<>RS232 adaptor. ****, when I took a cisco class, I almost confuse, tons of RJ45 cable, CAT5 straight through, CAT5 crossover, then roll over cable(doesn't have to be CAT5). difference CAT offer difference speed, CAT3=10mbps, CAT5=100mbps, CAT5e/CAT6=1GBPS. have to be more carefull when reading the cable during the lab.
<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by animekenji

 

Just so you know, RS-232 is another name for serial. This was done back in the days when modems were mostly external. You would connect a serial (RS232) cable to each computer. You had to use the null modem adapter to link them, because the two cables would be the same gender at the loose ends, and the pinouts didn't correspond. All the crossing of wires to keep pin one connected to pin one, etc, was done inside the null modem adapter. Then you would use something like (get ready for it [ ]) PROCOMM- running under MS-DOS, on a first generation IBM PC or XT (who is old enough to remember using this?? [ ]), to do the actual transfer.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by animekenji
a first generation IBM PC or XT (who is old enough to remember using this?? [
<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>

I actually remember buying the Radio Shack TRS-80 with the top end full 16K of RAM and building "kit" computers before IBM made a PC. Sheeesh, I'm old. Thanks for reminding me. ;-)

 

hi buqingzi

i've been wondering exactly the same thing for a while... it seems like the other posters on the forum have missed the point that you are a) british and b) interested in doing things the unexpected way, for the sheer hell of it. just like me ;-)

i've got a very old (around 1989) Macintosh SE/30 with a 14.4 modem and a floppy drive but no ethernet, usb, cd drive etc., and an iBook with built-in 56k modem, ethernet, usb, cd burner but no serial port or floppy. so the only thing the two machines have in common is that they can talk to a phone line. i too could splash out on an ethernet adapter for the old machine, but even if they're still available (slim chance) I'd be laying out about 80 pounds or more. not worth it when I'm just doing this for kicks!

I THINK this site has the answer:

http://www.epanorama.net/documents/telecom/fax_to_modem.html

and as the author suggests, you might just get away with it without adding the 12V power supply, just make sure the wires get crossed over between one (US style) phone plug and the other. in your case, I think you'll have to chop your cable in half and rewire it with the crossover.

then it's just (!) a case of getting the right terminal software to make the machines talk to each other and exchange files. I have distant memories of doing this sort of thing in the early days of the internet, but since you're on XP and I'm on MacOS I know our solutions will be different.

would be interested to know how you get on!

dan

 

I don't know how much this will help...

Way back when (we're talking Commodore 128/64), there was a game I had (Jet Fight) that was multiplayer. You normally would dial in to someone elses machine but my father and I wanted to play locally. It's been so long I can't remember all of the specifics. But we basically used AT commands on each of the machines to initiate the connection. If my memory is correct, we did 'ATO' on one machine to put it online and 'ATA' on the other to complete the connection. It worked and we were in multi-player heaven...as much as you could have been at the time.

The one piece I forget is whether we plugged the phone cord directly between the two modems or just used them in the phone jack and waited for the line to go dead.

 

danhume: heh I've given up already on this... in the end I went with my trusty usb pen drive.
but thanks for the link, it certainly provides interesting info. I might try it "just for kicks" .

On another note, I'm interested in the technical name for the kind of telephone cable I've got here... on its both ends, there is the kind of plug that goes into the "modem socket" (well ya know what I mean), and part of the cable loops around a small box (half of cable inside, half out), which appears to be surrounded by magnets.
k apologies in advance if that was too confusing, I never was very good at describing stuff... let me try a different way: a piece of cable, make a loop. Align the two loose ends of the loop into a straight line, but in opposite directions. now encase the point of intersetion of the two ends with a box. Right... if I made it worse now, just ignore me. I don't know what I'm talking about. Really. Trust me.