Transferring files and info to another computer

[B3M2W5i]

I have another computer I want to use that is just laying around and I figured I would give this one to my mom. The only thing is that she wants to keep everything she has on her current computer and I don't know how I could transfer the files and stuff. First I figured that I could just get an external hard drive and load everything up there but I don't want to just buy one to use once. The second thing I wondered about was can I just connect the two computers together and just transfer everything from one to the other? Could I even do this? If so, how?

[celsdogg]

you can do this several, ways depending on what you have. i remember using a 9 pin din serial cable back in the day with 9x computers. windows back then came with a utility for doing it, but im not sure if it came with any of the NT5 platforms.

an easier way to do it would be thru a network. if you have a switch or a router, simply plug them both in to it, make sure they have the same workgroup (assuming you use windows) and then they should be visible to each other over network neighborhood (my network places). then simply right click on whatever folder you want to share, and click on "sharing and security".

if you do not have a switch or router, make or buy a crossover ethernet cable and then plug each end of it into the ethernet port of the two compys. this basically makes a direct network connection. then simply do the same thing as above with sharing, workgroups, etc.

of course, there is always burning cd/dvd's. also if you have a hard drive laying around you can purchase a external drive kit for less than $30 instead of paying a couple hundred for a new one. alternatively, you can take the spare drive and just stick it in the one computer, copy, then stick it in the other.

[B3M2W5i]

Thanks for the help!

So now I am using an old Dell Dimension 4600 until I save up for a macbook. What can I do to speed this baby up? Add the max 4gigs of ram? I have an extra 4gig hd laying around should I put that in? What this currently has is 256 mb of ram (128mb x 2), 2.66 GHz Pentium 4 cpu, and 80 gig hard drive.

[celsdogg]

4 gigs of ram is a bit much. i probably wouldnt go further than 2. past that, you probably wont notice a performance increase, just a bigger hole in your pocket.

a compy with a newer bus and proc would be a diff story tho.

i would check your hard drive and see how large the cache is. this is often over looked and makes a huge performance increase, especially during heavy disk thrashing. if its the hdd that came with the computer, i bet it has a 2mb cache. 8mb would be my recommendation, altho they do make drives with larger caches that that.

[B3M2W5i]

It is the hd that came with the computer, is there any way to find out what the cache is? Should I get 4 x 512mb of ram to put in or just 2 x 1 gig? This computer is stock fyi.

[nick_318is]

If you can get 2 x 1gig that fit that should work, just make sure the machine can take it.

[B3M2W5i]

How would I know if I am pushing it's limits?

[celsdogg]

^^^ when your spending too much money

as for the hdd, when it boots you should be able to see what model it is during the POST. grab the model number and google it.