windows - File transfer via ethernet cable

07
2014-07
  • icelix

    I have read that ethernet cable (normal, not cross-over) transfer is faster than normal USB transfer, and I'm trying to do just that – transferring from Windows 7 to Windows 8.

    However, after turning on file sharing for both computers and connecting the cable, I can't seem to access files. I troubleshooted the ethernet connection, and it said that I have an invalid IP address.

    • Windows 7 ethernet IP: 169.254.212.219
    • Windows 8 ethernet IP: 169.254.95.183
    • Answers
  • Keltari

    It almost seems like you are getting APIPA addresses, but not correctly.

    Manually set the IPs on the machines to 169.254.255.10 and .11 and you they should be able to communicate.

  • Martin

    Assuming you use windows, try \\{Computer name} or \\{local ip}, i.e. \\Foobar or \\10.0.0.26, if you've turned on sharing no more hassle is necessary. Whether the transfer speed is greater or not depends on a lot of factors, but if both computers are connected through gigabit cables, it'll usually be faster than usb 2.0.

    Dunno why this has been downvoted, I regularly transfer files between my computers, using a gigabit switch, and files are transferred with a stable speed of +/- 80 MB/s, up to 125 MB/s when both computers used SSD's, using Windows shares.


    • Related Question

    windows - Transferring dmg files from a PC to an Apple
  • Lee Carlton

    I have dmg files on my computer that I need to put on my friends new Macbook. When I try to put the files on an external hard drive it says that they are too large to transfer (each file is about 8 gigs).

    Just trying to figure out the best way to do this transfer. We started doing it with an Ethernet cable last night, and transferred about 8 gigs over the course of a couple of hours.


    • Related Answers
  • heavyd

    What filesystem does your external hard drive use?

    Typically external media such as flash drives and external hard drives use the FAT32 filesystem because it easily interoperates with both Macs, Windows and Linux.

    FAT32, however, has a 4GB file size limit. You could reformat your hard drive to use NTFS (on your Windows machine) which supports larger file sizes and according to this question your Mac should be able to read the files just fine.

  • William Hilsum

    As heavyD said, this is most likely down to Filesystem limitations - most external media is pre formatted with Fat.

    Personally, as much as Windows shares are supported, I sometimes find it more trouble than it is worth to set up.

    If you can put both computers on the same network, the quickest thing you can do is simply install a FTP server on your PC such as Filezilla (which is free), then create a new user with a home directory of the place with the .DMG Files.

    You may need to unblock FTP on your system firewall.

    Next, on the Apple machine, simply go to the ftp location and you should be able to transfer direct from machine to machine!