- Transfer Files From One Computer To Another Via Usb Cable Port
- Usb File Transfer Cord
- Usb To Usb File Transfer
- Transfer Files Over Usb
A very easy way to connect two PCs is to use a USB-USB cable. By connecting two PCs with a cable like this, you can transfer files from one PC to another, and even build a small network and share. Transfer files between your computer & Android device You can use your Google Account or a USB cable to move photos, music, and other files between your computer and phone. Important: Some of these. An ordinary USB cable cannot be used to transfer files, there are special USB cables available on the web for that. Depending on the amount of files to be transferred, methods for transferring files from PC to PC are, USB Flash drive External Hard Drive Upload the files to the cloud (OneDrive, DropBox.etc.). Transfer the files by clicking on the 'Transfer' option on the USB cable software window. Depending on the software you have, you may also be able to click and drag the files from one computer to another or copy and paste the files. When the transfer is complete, you will see the icons for the transferred files on your new computer's desktop. Turn on both of the computers, log in and wait for the desktop to load. Install the USB cable software that came with the USB cable on the computer where you will transfer the files. Insert one end of the USB cable into a USB port on one of the computers. Insert the other end of the USB cable into a USB port on the other computer.
A very easy way to connect two PCs is to use a USB-USB cable. By connecting two PCs with a cable like this, you can transfer files from one PC to another, and even build a small network and share your Internet connection with a second PC. In this tutorial, we will explain you how to connect two PCs using this type of cable.
The first thing you should be aware of is that there are several different kinds of USB-USB cables on the market. The one used to connect two PCs is called 'bridged' (or 'USB networking cable'), because it has a small electronic circuit in the middle allowing the two PCs to talk to each other. There are called A/A USB cables that, in spite of having two standard USB connectors at each end, don't have a bridge chip and cannot be used to connect two PCs. In fact, if you use an A/A USB cable, you can burn the USB ports of your computers or even their power supplies. So, these A/A USB cables are completely useless. A/B USB cables are used to connect your computer to peripherals such as printers and scanners, so they also won't meet your needs.
Figure 1: USB-USB bridged cable.
Figure 2: A close-up of the bridge located in the middle of the cable.
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As for speed, the bridge chip can be USB 1.1 (12 Mbps) or USB 2.0 (480 Mbps). Of course, we suggest that you buy a USB 2.0 bridged cable because of its very high speed. Just remember, the standard Ethernet network works at 100 Mps, so the USB 2.0 cable will provide a transfer rate almost five times higher than a standard network connection.
We decided to open the bridge located on the middle of our cable to show you that this kind of cable really has a bridge chip, and that's why it is more expensive than a simple A/A USB cable that doesn't have any circuit at all.
Figure 3: Bridge chip used in our cable.
Now that you know the kind of cable that you should buy (on the top of this page we are listing several places you can buy this cable online), let's talk about its installation.
This cable can work in two modes: link mode and network mode. In link mode, it will work just like the very old 'lap link' cables, i.e., it comes with software which enables you to select files, drag, and drop them to where you want to move or copy them to or from the remote computer. If you just want to copy files, that's the mode we recommend you use, because it is easier and quicker to install and utilize.
In network mode, you will create a small network between two computers. After creating this network, you can share folders, printers, and Internet access. This mode is recommended if, besides copying files, you want to have access to a printer located on the other computer (or any other computer on the network, if this computer is connected to a network) or want to have Internet access.
The cable installation process will depend on the cable manufacturer. You will have to install the programs and drivers that come with the cable on a CD-ROM. This procedure must be performed on both computers, with the cable detached.
So, don't install the cable yet; leave it unplugged from the computers.
Some manufacturers ship two different setup files, one for the link mode and another for the network mode. Other manufacturers ship just one setup file valid for both modes. Then you need to select the mode you want to use during the installation or inside the transfer program that will be installed.
Figure 4: Choosing the mode during installation.
Figure 5: Choosing the mode inside the transfer program.
After you have installed the corresponding drivers (link mode or network mode), you should install the cable on the computer. Windows will recognize it and install the correct drivers.
If you installed the program and drivers with the cable attached to the computer, you should remove it from your computer and install it again. This will make Windows recognize it and install its drivers.
You should repeat this process for the other computer now.
If you want to change the mode under which your cable is working, you should run the setup program for the other mode or select the mode change on the transfer program, depending on the cable model. This should be without your cable attached to your computer. After changing the mode, reinstall the cable and the system will recognize it automatically. If you run the setup program or changed the mode with the cable attached, simply remove the cable from your computer and install it again to force Windows to install the correct drivers (the drivers used on link mode and network mode are different). You should repeat this process for the other computer.
Now that your cable is installed, let's see how to use it in both modes.
As we mentioned, the link mode is the easiest and fastest way to connect two PCs using your USB cable for transferring files. If you want to have Internet access and/or have printer access, you should go to network mode.
After installing the cable as describe in the previous page, you should check if the cable is correctly installed on Device Manager (right click My Computer, Properties, Hardware, Device Manager). It should be listed under 'Universal Serial Bus controllers.' See Figure 6. (Our cable is listed as 'Hi-Speed USB Bridge Cable,' but your cable can use a slightly different name, depending on the manufacturer.)
Figure 6: USB-USB cable correctly installed using link mode.
To transfer files, you should open the transfer program that was installed when you ran the setup file. On our cable, this program was called PClinq2. This program must be opened on both computers.
The usage of the transfer program is really simple. On its left side, it will show your computer, and on its right side it will show the remote computer. Just select the drive/partition and folder/files you want to transfer, then drag and drop them to the desired location. It couldn't be easier!
Figure 7: Transfer program.
As we mentioned, in network mode, the computers will be linked in a small network, and the connection will work as the same as a network. This mode allows you to share the Internet connection, if it is available on one of the computers.
After installing the cable as described before, you should check if the cable is correctly installed as a network adapter on Device Manager (right click My Computer, Properties, Hardware, Device Manager). It should be listed under 'Network adapters.' See Figure 8. (Our cable is listed as 'Hi-Speed USB-USB Network Adapter,' but your cable can use a slightly different name, depending on the manufacturer.)
Figure 8: USB-USB cable correctly installed using network mode.
The next step is to configure both computers to use the USB cable as a network adapter.
First, you have to configure the computer that has access to the Internet. On this computer, open Network Connections (Start, Settings, Network Connections). There you will see the network adapters located on your computer. In our case, 'Local Area Connection' was the network adapter that connected our PC to the Internet (to our broadband router) and 'Local Area Connection 2' was the USB-USB cable. See Figure 9.
Figure 9: Network connections.
Right click on the network card that is connecting your PC to the Internet ('Local Area Connection,' in our case), choose Properties, and, in the window that will appear, click on Advanced tab. There, check the box 'Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection.' Depending on your Windows XP version, there will be a drop-down menu called 'Home networking connection,' where you should select the USB cable connection ('Local Area Connection 2,' in our case).
Figure 10: Enabling Internet sharing.
After you have done this configuration, you must restart your computer. After restarting it, everything should be working well. Try browsing the net from the other computer to see if everything is running properly.
To share files and printers, you should read our tutorial How to Share Folders and Printers on Your Network to see how this can be done. If you are not using a broadband router on the computer that has the Internet connection, you should be very careful, because sharing its folders can allow anyone on the Internet to have access to your files. Read more about this in our tutorial Protecting Your Computer Against Invasions. In this tutorial you will find some tips for preventing a hacker to gain access to your files.
If the remote computer cannot access the Internet, check if the USB cable is configured to get an IP address automatically from the network. Go to Start menu, Settings, Network Connections, right click the cable connection ('Local Area Connection 2,' in our case), select Properties and then, in the window that will appear, double click on 'Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).' The two options available on the screen must be set on 'automatically,' as shown in Figure 11. Both computers should be configured this way.
Figure 11: TCP/IP configuration must be set to automatic on both computers.
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Over the years, Wi-Fi has grown tremendously but sharing huge files or for that matter, a whole drive is still not efficient. You get cramped up speed and your data is running through a public channel. I would any day prefer sharing a drive or transferring data over LAN cable. On that note, the following is the step by step guide to transfer files between PC's using an Ethernet cable.
Just in case, if the file you want to transfer is small and the systems are in the same network then consider doing it over Wi-Fi. Here are a few software to use to transfer data over Wi-Fi.
When to Use LAN Cable
Dropping an Ethernet cable makes things simple with faster data speed. The cheapest of CAT5e cable supports speeds up to 1000 Mbps. To give you some perspective, USB 2.0 supports speeds up to 480 Mbps. So, transferring data over Ethernet should be the obvious choice.
Related: 7 Ways To Access Your Computer's Files From Anywhere In The World
The advantage of LAN cable Over others
The main advantage of using the ethernet cable method is faster transfer speeds, at least faster than your regular flash drives and Wi-Fi. If you have a lot of data to transfer then using the ethernet cable is the best way to go. We have tested this on all mainstream Windows versions. i.e, on Windows 7, 8, and 10.
Things You Need
- Two Windows computers obviously
- A LAN cable, CAT 5 will work fine
- A bit of time and patience (if it's your first time)
Also Read: Best Airdrop Alternatives for Android, iOS, and Windows
Share Files Between Two Computers Using LAN Cable
Step 1: Connect Both PCs With LAN Cable
Connect both computers to a LAN cable. You can use any LAN cable (crossover or ethernet cable); it doesn't matter on a modern computer. Because both of them use the same port and have very few functional differences.
Step 2: Enable Network Sharing on Both PCs
Now that you have physically connected both PCs with a LAN cable, we have to turn on Network Sharing on both computers to exchange files between them. It is a simple process step-by-step process. Make sure you do this on both PCs.
To enable sharing, go to the Start menu and search 'Control Panel'. Once you see it, click on it, to open it.
Once the Control Panel window opens, click on Network and Internet.
In the next dialogue box, open Network and Sharing Center. Alternatively, you can also type 'Control PanelNetwork and InternetNetwork and Sharing Center' in the search box of Control Panel and hit Enter key. This will redirect you from Control Panel to Network and Sharing Center.
On the left-hand side of ‘Network and Sharing Center' window, click on 'Change advanced sharing settings'.
Here, you'll find three networks – Public, Private and All Network. Public Network is for places like airports and coffee shops, Private network is for an organization or your home network and All Network comprises of both. To make sure, the setup is flawless, we'll recommend you choose 'All Networks'.
Next, expand All Networks by clicking on the drop-down icon. Here, we need to enable Public Sharing so that the PCs can access files from each other over the LAN cable. To avoid more configuration, just Turn off password protected sharing.
By doing so, you enable the other computer to access shared data without providing any credentials. This is not a good security practice by since you are sharing your data with people you trust, you can make this one-time exception. Once you are done with file sharing, make sure you Turn on password protected sharing.
Once done, click Save Changes. Just as I said in the beginning, repeat the same steps for the other PC.
Step 3: Setup Static IP
Now that you have enabled network sharing on both PCs, it's time to bring both the computers on to the same network. We will do this by setting a static IP address of the same class. Just like the previous step, you need to do this on both PCs. The following are the steps.
1. To set up a Static IP, open Control Panel, browse to Network and Internet and click on Network Sharing Center. Alternatively, you can also right-click on the Start Menu and select Network Connections.
Transfer Files From One Computer To Another Via Usb Cable Port
Office 365 for high sierra. 2. On the next window, you will see the active connections which should be Ethernet, since both PCs are connected with a physical LAN cable. Click on the Ethernet link. A new dialog box will open, here click on the Properties button.
3. In the next pop-up, select 'Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)'. Now, click on Properties. This will open another dialogue box.
4. Here, you need to configure the two PCs with different IP settings.
On computer 1, select the option 'Use the following IP address.' and, put the following values
- IP Address: 192.168.1.1
- Subnet mask: 225.225.225.0
- Default gateway: 192.168.1.2
Of course, it's not necessary you use these IP addresses. You can use any Class A or B IP address. In case you are not sure what this all means, better stick with this example.
On the second computer, do similar steps, but flip the IP address and Default gateway values
- IP address: 192.168.1.2
- Subnet mask: 225.225.225.0
- Default gateway: 192.168.1.1
What we are doing is keeping the subnet mask the same and changing the IP address.
Next, open your Window's File Explorer and click on Network tab at the left side of the window.
If you have set up everything right, both the PCs should appear in this Network window on both computers. Now, you can just click on the other PC's icon and browse the file. But wait, you still need to configure one last setting.
Usb File Transfer Cord
Step 4: Share a folder
Usb To Usb File Transfer
Assuming that you have connected the cable properly, enabled the sharing options, and configured the IP addresses. Now, it is time to send files from one PC to another. For that, you first need to share the target folder on LAN. I'll recommend, you can create a new folder on your desktop, and copy paste all the files that you want to move to another computer in that folder.
Transfer Files Over Usb
Next, select the folder you want to share and right-click on it. From the context menu, navigate to 'Give access to' and select the option 'Specific People.'
3. In the File Sharing window, choose Everyone from the drop-down menu. Click on the Add button next to it and finally hit the Share button.
Once you have shared it, the next window will show you the network location of the folder.
That's it. Just go back to the other PC from where you want to access the file, open the Networks panel and click on the other computer's name.
Here, you will see the folder you just shared. From there, just open the folder and transfer the files and folders as you normally do. i.e, by copy and paste. Similarly, you can repeat the same steps from the other computer.
Closing Words
In case of any queries, I would suggest you watch this video tutorial. The same process has been described visually.
This method would work only between Windows PC. For Mac or Linux, you need to use a different file sharing agent like Samba. What is a dmg file. If you have furthermore queries, drop down a comment and I will be happy to answer them.
Also read: 10 Ways to Share Files between Two Computers