Connecting New Computer to Old Troubles

[chamith7]

I recently got a new laptop running windows xp and want to hook it up to my old desktop that runs windows 2000 professional, for the sake of transferring over files. I have a ethernet cord running from the ethernet hole in my laptop to a converter thing that sends it into my old computer via usb. I've tried some of the wizards and can actually get files from my new computer onto my old, but I need to do it the other way around and I never 'find' my old computer on my new one. Any suggestions?

[gsnedders]

Check you've got the same workgroup name on both computers.

[oracleguy]

Are you making sure you are using a crossover ethernet cable?

[chamith7]

They are on the same workgroup. I don't know what sort of cable I have. It just looks like a phone cord with two ends that each go into an ethernet port.

[Jason]

look at the ends of the cords, the parts that plug in. They are coded using the colors of wires. If its the correct cord (a crossover cable) then the colors should be on the same on the outsides working their way in. Otherwise you have the wrong cable.


Jason

[chamith7]

The guy at best buy said i might have bought a one way cable, and need to turn it around, lemme see if that works.

[chamith7]

Well that didn't work. The cable is yellow, it says "cross-over" on one end, and has written on it "belkin components category 5e patch cable..." and the colors are not the same. If I need a new cable, can you please tell me what to get.

[gsnedders]

You need a "cross-over" cable, so a cable with cross-over at both ends.

[Roy Sinclair]

Well that didn't work. The cable is yellow, it says "cross-over" on one end, and has written on it "belkin components category 5e patch cable..." and the colors are not the same. If I need a new cable, can you please tell me what to get.

That sounds like a cross-over cable to me. Beside, if you can move files in one direction then the hardware network connection is functional because traffic has to go in both directions for that to work. The problem is on the software side so you can forget all this "what cable" stuff and start looking at the file and printer sharing stuff. But first have you considered trying the "File and Settings Transfer Wizard" (Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools) program?

It's a tool designed specifically to help you transfer all sorts of things from older systems to your new system.

[chamith7]

Doesn't work. I bought a firewire card and isntalled it in the desktop and it said it was working, but when I plugged the cord into the laptop, it said "error code 10: cannot start" on the desktop computer.

[Jason]

try hooking the two computers up with the crossover cable you have and make sure the IPs work together something like 192.168.1.1 for one comp and 192.168.1.2 for the other while the netmask on both is 255.255.255.0 then that should put both computers at the same level. If the cable is right like assumed then you should see each computer from the other.


Jason