Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with filetransfer

Direct FTP please

Jason Land — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:52:20 -0800

How do I setup a FTP-like service without having a website? I'm of limited internet knowledge, but without using things like Rapidshare, I'd like to have an FTP-like function where I can open a program, have someone else also be logged on, and we can directly send large files to each other, without having to own and operate a website with a connected FTP server.

I guess it's technically like the AIM file transfer, but without using AIM, and more stable/secure.

I'm on a Macbook Pro, OSX 10.5.8. I have Cyberduck, if perhaps there is a hidden function there like what I'm asking about.

Batch transfer of ~1TB from 8 drives over LAN

saysthis — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:03:02 -0800

Are there any better tools for transferring about a terabyte of files over a local network than just dragging and dropping in Windows? Specifically, is there a tool that can pick up and double-check files once they've been copied over? I'm moving all my stuff to a new NAS. Lots of stuff scattered all over a lot of computers, and I'm wondering if there's a way to "automate" this, rather than just drag and drop. As I'm doing some of these transfers over wireless, the network occasionally drops, and the transfer gets interrupted, which means I have to start all over again. I'd love to find a software with some kind of "transfer resume", so I can just start it and forget it instead of checking it every hour or so.

Recommendation for free file transfer sites?

ZenMasterThis — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:08:53 -0800

Need one-time transfer of some large video files (50 - 300 MB) from China to the US. Recommendation for free file transfer sites?

How can I transfer files quickly from my Mac to my friend's Mac?

ichthuz — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:56:54 -0800

How can I transfer files quickly from my Mac to my friend's Mac? We aren't on the same network so it would have to be over the internet. I know I can send files through messaging services like Skype, but they seem to be really slow (never over 100kbps). I'm looking for something like the discontinued product Tubes, which was like the file transfer function in most messaging programs, but it was optimized for sending files, and would basically go as fast as your internet connection will let it.

Disassembling a large file, moving it, and reassembling it on another machine

not_on_display — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:06:06 -0800

I have a large .iso file to transport. If I split the file and burn it onto two DVDs, can I combine them again once they're on the target machine? How? I have a large (8.55 GB) .iso of program files which I'd like to burn for transport and installation onto another computer. I gather this requires splitting the file into two parts so it will fit onto two DVDs. I'm in the process of splitting and burning it now (using winrar), but I am not sure what to do with the data to make it installable once I get it onto the target machine. Is there a way to recombine the two parts into the original huge .iso file? If so, I could probably mount it with daemon tools or something and install it this way... Any help or suggestions would be appreciated!

[side note: I am asking this question on behalf of a friend. Not that I'd be embarrassed to ask the same question myself!]

File transfer from Creative Zen to Windows Vista?

infinityjinx — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:44:36 -0800

Asking for a co-worker I wish to impress: how to transfer music from a Creative Zen ONTO his new (Vista running) laptop? Hi all-

My coworker's computer crashed so he got a new one. He still has all his music on his approx. 4 year old Creative Zen. Instead of ripping all his CDs to his computer again, how can he transfer the music from the mp3 player to his computer? I have Googled but can't figure it out...is this even possible? Halp??

Thanks so much for any tips, mefis =)

I need to host lan torrents for a lanparty coming up.

Chamunks — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 02:41:32 -0800

I'm looking at an efficient way to distribute large files to multiple computers over my lan, I need to know how to do this and whats involved. I was thinking that since I have a dedicated server in my home that hosting the files via private lan'd bit torrent would be the weapon of choice as the file transfer speed increases exponentially. My server is running a version of ubuntu so whatever software I will need must run in ubuntu. The clients downloading the files will probably be running windows boxes so Utorrent can be used and would be preferred. Are there any specific things that I need to turn on in Utorrent to do this via lan or will it essentially be seamless as long as the tracker is my server? These file transfers need to go as quickly and as hassle free as physically possible. I need to be able to either access this tracker via http or ssh as it has no video card installed at this time. I can XDCMP into the box aswell as its on a lan its secure enough for what xdcmp is used for.

I have thought about running around with usb drives but I just installed gigabit lan cabling and hardware throughout my home so this would be MUCH faster if I could set this up once and essentially forget it. Also this dedicated server needs to host and track the torrent files.

If the Amish used computers...

Sys Rq — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 12:58:12 -0800

How do I get files from my modern PC onto an ancient Macintosh? I have come into some ancient MIDI gear, and I would like to put it to work. I have a vintage 68K Mac SE running System 7, loaded with all the MIDI stuff (OMS, Mirage), hooked up to all the necessary external doodads. All that's missing is an actual MIDI sequencing program like Opcode Vision or MOTU Performer or whatever.

Aside from constantly scouring eBay, the only way to get such software is to download it. Sounds easy enough (I've found it), except that the Mac has its original 800KB floppy drive. Fun.

Question: How do I get the files from my PC (Windows XP; floppy drive: yes) onto a disk that can be read by the Mac? I'd rather not upgrade the drive (it requires upgrading the motherboard), and I'd rather not curb the SE for a sexy young SE FDHD. I just want to get the files from A to B in the simplest way possible (is it possible?) given what I have.

Any help greatly appreciated.

P.S. I don't need to be told how stupid and unnecessary this is. Really.

Help my mac and pc files get along!

katyjack — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:04:53 -0800

mac files show up on pc but can't use - won't show up at all on mac. What to do? So, yesterday I gave a pc formatted thumb drive to a client and he copied a bunch of files from his mac for me to use. Got home - opened up my drive, saw them all, no problem. But then when I came time to use them - problem. The files have all kinds of names that look like they're some of index - not photoshop files like I should have.

Again, I think - np. I'll take my drive down to my neighbor's mac and open them up from there. Except I CAN'T SEE THE FILES AT ALL ON THE MAC!!!! All my pc files are all there - pretty as a picture - but the mac files are nowhere to be seen and I don't know how to view hidden files or anything like that on a mac.

So can anyone offer any advice? I have access to a mac and a pc, but they are not networked together.

FileTransfer Filter: AlphaSmart Neo to iPhone?

webhund — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:32:05 -0800

My AlphaSmart Neo has USB and Infrared ports. iPhone has Bluetooth and the Apple 30 pin connector. Is it possible, and if so, how difficult would be it to hack something to allow sending a plain text file from the Neo to the iPhone? Why? Because the Neo is an awesome writing machine. No internet, no email, no nothing but just plain old writing to district me. Unmatchable battery life (700+ hours) on AA batteries. Tough as nails, too, so great to travel with. Instant on/off and auto-save files.

The biggest downside for me is its limited file size capacity and that it requires a PC/Mac to transfer files. If there was some cobbled-together/Rube Goldberg file transfer process I could use with the iPhone, I would have the luxury of writing on a regular, tactile keyboard, transfer it from the Neo to the iPhone, and then be able to email the file out. This would eliminate the need to carry that darn laptop when traveling.

Neo has both Type A and Type B USB ports; Type A is used for connecting to a PC/Mac for file transfer; Type B is used for direct connection to a printer.

Pipe dream or possible?

Free my files!

kwaller — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 21:29:57 -0800

How do I get ~40GB of data off my outdated PC? I've been using the same PC for about six years now; I purchased it used in 2002, so I'm not really sure how old it is. It runs pretty well for its age, but it's short on RAM, and I'm sure that it's long overdue for a catastrophic hard-drive failure.

I'm in the process of replacing it with a newer machine (a very generous friend gave me a Mac G4 running OS X), but I'm really not sure how to free my many files (several gigs of MP3s, many irreplaceable photos and documents) from the hard drive on which they are apparently trapped.

Here's the situation:
The old computer is running Windows 98 First Edition. It has no floppy drive, no USB ports, and a read-only CD drive (no burner). It's connected to the Internet, but file transfers tend to be pretty slow. All the files I want (35–40 gigs all told) are sitting on a secondary drive.

Can the hive mind think of any clever ways get the files off the old drive and onto the new one? I'd prefer ideas with a minimum of hardware trickery, as I'm not too familiar with computer guts and would probably cause more problems than I'd fix. I'd prefer a free fix, but I think I'd be willing to spend up to $100 for a surefire solution.

Thanks!

not every snowflake is special

nomisxid — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 11:23:52 -0800

Location & name independent rsync? I have machine A, with lots and lots of empty space.

I have machines B, C, D, E, F, ... with lots of files, some of which are duplicated between machines, but often not in the same file structure or naming convention, ala
Machine B:
/home/userX/media/Wedding01.avi
Machine C:
/var/local/storage/movies/sis-wedding.avi

Ideally, I'd like an agent I can put on Machines B-F, point it at specific folder(s), and give it an ftp account on machine A, and let it auto-magically figure out the minimum set of files that need to be backed-up, to have a complete set of the files across all the original machines. It does NOT have to remember where the files were on each machine.

Machines B-F are currently windows boxen that expose their data via windows shares, so I can point a unix client at them, if needed.

Machine A can be a unix, windows, or mac os X box, whatever is needed.

New York to China Data Transfer Problem

extrabox — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 07:01:16 -0800

I have to transfer digital files that are 4 to 8 gigabytes from New York City to a location in Hong Kong and a location in Xiamen, China. As I will have to do this repeatedly over the next several days, and time is of the essence, I can't just UPS or FedEx DVDs, I need an internet way to do this. In New York, where I upload, the speeds are pretty slow to upload (700K), and on our existing computers in Hong Kong and Xiamen the download speeds are way slower than the upload speeds here in New York.

What's the best way to do this? I am open to any solution that I can arrange quickly whether it is buying software that is effective at pushing and pulling data that can be used on both ends, or even taking DVDs to some place in New York where they can get quickly uploaded and locating a place in Xiamen and HK that can quickly download.

How does one move data from old floppies to a MacBook Pro?

smithmac_99 — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 10:03:14 -0800

I have some Macintosh-formatted floppy disks from the 1990s. They contain data I would like to have (old writing, Quicken files, etc.). Leaving aside issues of media integrity, how do I transfer these to a modern Mac. I have no access to Mac floppy drive of any kind. I do have access to PCs with floppy drives. But, of course, under normal circumstances a PC doesn't recognize a Mac-formatted disk. How do I get my data from these floppies to my MacBook Pro?

Please Help Me Get Some Files Off a Prehistoric Macintosh

interrobang — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 17:35:08 -0800

Please help me get the contents of an Apple 7300/200 Power Macintosh off of it and onto... well, anything else. It's my dad's old work computer and he wants the files that are on its harddrive. It's running System 8. It has a network cord connection, but no FireWire and no USB ports. It is extremely slow—I'm pretty sure it only has something like 65MB of RAM, and it's constantly showing me the little "watch" symbol. At one point yesterday, it was running at a reasonable speed, so I'm hoping I can get that back.

I turned on AppleTalk and made sure that it's communicating via ethernet cord. I turned on file-sharing. Then I plugged it into the back of my G5 with an Ethernet cable, and it seemed like it was going to work—I could see my G5's name in the Chooser.

I clicked the button to connect to that "server", and it asked for my password. I typed that in and pressed return. Then it said something like "the connection was interrupted unexpectedly".

All the rest of the hookups in the back are the old-timey circular kind, and the only thing I have that will plug into those is its keyboard and its mouse.

I have been unable to load anything higher than System 8 onto it, because it thinks it needs to initialize any CDs I put into it. I don't have a floppy drive or any floppy disks. I have also been unable to connect the computer to the internet through the network cable feeding off my Airport connection on my G5 or my iBook like I can on my OS9 computer.

I plugged it into my working (and good) OS9 computer, made everything match, turned on AppleTalk on both (via Ethernet) and neither computer appears on either computer's Chooser. I'm out of ideas. Any help? Thank you!

How to access files on micro sd card in a LG enV phone?

FlyByDay — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 15:02:32 -0800

I recently got the LG enV phone. Today I got a micro SD card and adapter for my computer. However, I can't figure out how to access the files on the card once the card is in the phone. I've gone through all of the menus, and just am not seeing how this is done. I'm fairly technically inclined, so it's frustrating that I can't figure this out. Does anyone who has this phone know how to do this?

This is my first question here, so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks, -Amy

A portable option for transferring files from an audio recorder

doctorcurly — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 07:35:10 -0800

I have an Olympus WS-100 Digital Recorder. I am looking for an alternative to lugging around a laptop just to transfer files off the recorder in order to make space for new recordings. Any suggestions? My partner is a Folklore student working on her dissertation. She'll often go on extended research trips, and has to lug around a laptop just to be able to transfer the recordings off of the recorder in order to make space for new ones. Is there a small, more portable (and inexpensive) gadget that she could use to plug her recorder into which would transfer the sound files? For example, something with USB connectivity that grabs any files on a flash drive connected to it would do the trick.

Death & Rebirth: New Computer Needs Wisdom From Old Computer

wordswinker — Wed, 03 May 2006 12:39:33 -0800

I have a new PC (huzzah!). Thanks, Pop. Now what? Is there a savvy online guide for getting what I need from here to there avoiding as many pitfalls as possible?

This topic has been covered before, but at a level over my head. Y'all Mefites are a techy bunch, and it's part of your charm, but I'm smart about other things. Can you help?

I'd like to know what I'm getting into before getting started. My entire business is on my now-old PC (an emachines T1096 that's four years old now), so if I'm a bit widgy about the whole thing, please be gentle with me.

Extra Credit: I recently added more memory to my old PC. Can I swap that to the new one without hurting anything? I plan on keeping the old one for the kiddos.

Mp3 File Transfer

Juicylicious — Mon, 23 May 2005 19:56:08 -0800

I have aprox. 200 mp3s saved on my desktop's hard drive. I want to transfer them to my notebook. The pc is W98 and the notebook is XP. I bought a thumb drive, but it isn't compatible with W98. I tried emailing them to myself, but I quickly realized that would be too time consuming. Same with burning them onto CDs. Does anyone know of any migration software or a site where I could upload the files and then download them to my notebook?

Fast file transfer between a mac and PC on a network?

mathowie — Thu, 31 Mar 2005 00:47:10 -0800

I've got a mac and a PC sharing the same desk, both on a 802.11g network, but file transfer between the two is atrociously slow, like only a couple hundred kb/sec. Is there any way to transfer lots of data quickly between the two (like several Mb/sec)? A crossover ethernet cable between the two? USB? Firewire?

How do I make my laptop an extension of my desktop?

borkencode — Sat, 05 Mar 2005 17:45:15 -0800

I recently bought a laptop, and would like to know the easiest way to allow everything on my laptop to be acccessible on my PC, and vice versa. Windows file sharing won't cut it. The desktop resides in my dorm, and my school filters SMB traffic, so I wouldn't be able to access files if I were in another building. I've got VNC on the desktop, and I'm thinking about using synergy while in the room, but I'm looking for something that will let me transfer files between the two as well.

Why do you get corrupt FTP transfers if it's over TCP/IP?

andrew cooke — Wed, 24 Nov 2004 04:26:56 -0800

FTP on TCP over IP: As far as i can see, ftp should transfer files perfectly. If you trace the responsibility for validation through the relevant RFCs everything should be handled by the TCP checksum. Yet "everyone" knows that ftp regularly transfers corrupt files. Why? More generally, where is a good forum for discussing this kind of thing (I'm also interested in, for example, multiple parallel ftps (eg gridftp) and the possibility of checking an "instantaneous" checksum value at various points during transfer to detect errors as soon as possible)?

How do I transfer my purchased songs from my WinXP computer to my iPod with iTunes 4.6?

lbergstr — Thu, 29 Jul 2004 21:21:09 -0800

I cannot transfer purchased songs from my computer (WinXP) to my iPod (3rd gen 40gb, firmware 2.2) with iTunes (4.6). Google pleads ignorance. Ideas? Everything worked fine up until a few weeks ago. I don't remember any configuration change that would have triggered this. Maybe Windows Automatic Update did something and now my iPod doesn't recognize my computer as mommy any more?

(For extra credit, why do my smart playlists of music added within the last day/week no longer work? Work fine in iTunes, not at all on iPod - also, used to be just fine on iPod)