I'm not very techy. Just wanna watch some crappy tv on my mac.

November 16, 2007 9:42 PM

How can I get files from my pc laptop to my ibook?

I have a pc with files that I want to transfer to an ibook. They are mostly media files so some are quite large. My dvd burner does not work. But I do have an ethernet cable. Can I connect the 2 via ethernet and transfer the files that way ?

posted by dawdle to Technology (4 answers total)

Do you have a router? (A box that connects them both to the internet) If so, just mount your Mac on the PC. Do it like this:
ON THE MAC
Go into System Preferences
Go into Sharing
Turn on Windows File Sharing
Go into Network
Note down your Mac's network name
From the Apple menu, note down your username (eg dawdle)

ON THE PC
Go to Start > My Network Place
Create a new network place
Choose a location
Type \\[yourMac'sname]\[youraccountname eg dawdle]\
Open that folder with your Mac username and password.
Copy files.
posted by bonaldi at 10:11 PM on November 16, 2007 [2 favorites]

Should work. You don't even need a crossover cable, since the iBook is pretty good at handling ethernet stuff.

Give your PC laptop an internal IP address (192.168.0.1 or similar), give the iBook an ethernet IP on the same subnet (e.g. 192.168.0.2), set the subnet mask on both to 255.255.255.0, plug in, and pick a method to transfer them.

I'd suggest installing something like FileZilla Server on the laptop and using FTP for the transfer, especially if you have something like Transmit or Interarchy on the iBook, but that's because I'm not certain how Windows shares would work, and FTP might be a more robust method for transferring large files. You could also use rsync or Unison if you're savvy enough to set them up.
posted by holgate at 10:12 PM on November 16, 2007

dawdle (& holgate), it's actually probably easier to turn on Windows file sharing on the iBook, browse "All Networks" from the Windows PC, connect to the share, and copy stuff.

(That's assuming that you're right about no need for a crossover cable - I think you are, but I've never tried it).
posted by Pinback at 12:51 AM on November 17, 2007

(I'm certain that you don't need a crossover cable, because I've done telnet/ssh with a patch cable; I've never tried Windows sharing in a point-to-point setup. The reason I'd lean towards FTP or similar is that while a direct connection isn't likely to go down, it's easier to pick up a long download that's interrupted if, for instance, either laptop goes into standby mode.)
posted by holgate at 4:16 PM on November 17, 2007