Very Computer

I'd like to be able to transfer files between my Linux (Red Hat 7) and XP
computers at home.  Don't know how, hardware or software.

XP has a wizard that lets me define connections on a printer port, a serial
port, or a modem.  I have defined an incoming connection, but don't know how
to use it.

Linux has things like FTP and telnet, but both of them require an internet
address.  What's the internet address of another home computer?  I can write
directly to the serial port with e.g. "cat >/dev/ttyS0", but I think XP is
expecting to receive TCP/IP packets, not simple ascii transmission.

Hardware:

I have a printer cable that will plug into my XP printer port (25-pin), and
at the other end, into my Linux serial port (9-pin).  Is this a usable
connection?

I could get a cable with 9 pins at each end, plus a null modem, to connect
serial ports on the two boxes.

I could get a modem for my Linux box and connect it to the modem in my XP
box with an ordinary phone wire.

Can anybody suggest a plan?

Thanks,
   Bill

Quote:> I'd like to be able to transfer files between my Linux (Red Hat
> 7) and XP computers at home.  Don't know how, hardware or
> software.

You'll need both: a hardware connection and a software connection.

If you exchange smallish files irregularly and not too often,
you could use a floppy, zip, CD-R (so called sneaker-net).

If you exchange often and big files, you'd be better off buying
two network cards, a hub / switch, two cables and connect the two
computers together. The process is relatively painless (don't know
about RH 7, it is quite oldish now).
This is by far the best solution, although you'll have to spend
some $$ for additional hw.

Quote:

> XP has a wizard that lets me define connections on a printer
> port, a serial port, or a modem.  I have defined an incoming
> connection, but don't know how to use it.

You could set up a network over serial lines.

Quote:

> Linux has things like FTP and telnet, but both of them require
> an internet address.  What's the internet address of another
> home computer?

The same as any other internet address. You'd be better off using
an internet net address in the range of e.g. 192.168.0.x with a
netmask of 255.255.255.0 as these addresses are recognized in the
internet world as private (intranet) addresses.

Quote:> I can write directly to the serial port with e.g. "cat
>/dev/ttyS0", but I think XP is expecting to receive TCP/IP
> packets, not simple ascii transmission.

You could use a serial null-modem cable and transfer with any
serial modem connection program (hyperterm, minicom, kermit).

Quote:

> Hardware:

> I have a printer cable that will plug into my XP printer port
> (25-pin), and at the other end, into my Linux serial port (9-
> pin).  Is this a usable connection?

IMHO, almost certainly not.

Quote:

> I could get a cable with 9 pins at each end, plus a null modem,
> to connect serial ports on the two boxes.

Then  you can set up a network between the two (e.g. slip etc).

Quote:

> I could get a modem for my Linux box and connect it to the modem
> in my XP box with an ordinary phone wire.

Both modems expect a telephone exchange (dial tone, capability to
dial etc) which the other side (the modem) doesn't provide. You
can cut out the modems and use a null-modem cable instead.

Quote:

> Can anybody suggest a plan?

Read up on the possibilities in the manuals provided by the
vendors.

HTH
Martin

[..]

Quote:> If you exchange often and big files, you'd be better off buying
> two network cards, a hub / switch, two cables and connect the two
> computers together. The process is relatively painless (don't know

[..]

Ack, but then you don't need a hub/switch with two boxes, a
crossover network cable and two NICs will work fine, the OP
should be able to get two 10MBit PCI cards for virtually nothing.

Quote:> > I can write directly to the serial port with e.g. "cat
> >/dev/ttyS0", but I think XP is expecting to receive TCP/IP
> > packets, not simple ascii transmission.
> You could use a serial null-modem cable and transfer with any
> serial modem connection program (hyperterm, minicom, kermit).

Yep, that should work, but 115000 bit/sec won't be really fast.
Getting some cheapo (+supported) NICs should be the best advice.

--
Michael Heiming

Remove +SIGNS and www. if you expect an answer, sorry for
inconvenience, but I get tons of SPAM

Quote:> [..]

> Ack, but then you don't need a hub/switch with two boxes, a
> crossover network cable and two NICs will work fine, the OP
> should be able to get two 10MBit PCI cards for virtually
> nothing.

Ack, I completely forgot.

Martin

There are two pretty common ways of transferring data from one system to
another. Networking (using network cards and cabling) and the use of a
null modem cable or laplink type cable. I use the term laplink due to the
fact that many Windows users are familiar with the application laplink. I
personally have not transferred data to/from a linux computer via null
modem so can not help that way. For speed considerations, if you have a
large amount of data that you want to transfer and are going to be doing
this often, networking would be your best bet.. and it just might be
easier for you in the long run as well.
  To do this you would need a network card in each computer and this would
then allow you to assign IP addresses for each of the computers. This
wouls then allow you to use a networking application such as ftp.

Quote:

> Thanks,
>    Bill

I have two laptops here. One has XP and the other one is
getting Fedora (was Win 2000).
I have a USB-USB network bridge cable(NET-LinQ) that I
currently have a TCP/IP connection between the two boxes
using 192.168.0 address at either end).
Do I have any hope of getting the Linux (to be, tonight)
box to connect to the XP box? Will I have to learn how to
rebuild the kernel, compile code and other such things that
I have yet to master?

( top posting fixed )

Why do you want to recompile the kernel, all you need to do is
probably checking that the proper USB modules are loaded and
configure pppd for your USB device.

However, I'd get some cheapo NICs, you can even get halfway
decent 100 Mbit NICs for a few bucks. For large file transfers
USB (1) usually sucks.

--
Michael Heiming

Remove +SIGNS and www. if you expect an answer, sorry for
inconvenience, but I get tons of SPAM

The easiest method would be to use an ethernet cable between them.  If you
don't have a hub or switch, you'll need a cross over cable.

Quote:

> Linux has things like FTP and telnet, but both of them require an internet
> address.  What's the internet address of another home computer?  I can
> write directly to the serial port with e.g. "cat >/dev/ttyS0", but I think
> XP is expecting to receive TCP/IP packets, not simple ascii transmission.

Use Samba on Linux to network with XP.  You could also set up an ftp server
on Linux

Quote:

> Hardware:

> I have a printer cable that will plug into my XP printer port (25-pin),
> and
> at the other end, into my Linux serial port (9-pin).  Is this a usable
> connection?

If you absolutely have to go this route, you'll need a "null modem" cable
and run ppp to connect.

Quote:

> I could get a cable with 9 pins at each end, plus a null modem, to connect
> serial ports on the two boxes.

> I could get a modem for my Linux box and connect it to the modem in my XP
> box with an ordinary phone wire.

> Can anybody suggest a plan?

Ethernet & Samba or ftp.

--

Fundamentalism is fundamentally wrong.

james.knott.

Yes that would be nice (and easy too, I have just
completed the Fedora install and most stuff seems to
work, including my PCMCIA network card- once it is
removed and reinserted after booting), but I have no
place free to install a NIC. USB is my only option short
of buying docking stations or some sort of replicator
etc...

Has anyone tried this. It looks a bit promising, because
in Security Level Configuration, I see a device called usb0
frouped with eth0, so something's worked! But when i do an
ifconfig, I just see eth0 and lo.

Unfortunately Hardware Browser just chrashes. I'll now look
into your pppd suggestion.

Any other ideas on what I should try next?

Yes that would be nice (and easy too, I have just
completed the Fedora install and most stuff seems to
work, including my PCMCIA network card- once it is
removed and reinserted after booting), but I have no
place free to install a NIC. USB is my only option short
of buying docking stations or some sort of replicator
etc...

Has anyone tried this. It looks a bit promising, because
in Security Level Configuration, I see a device called usb0
frouped with eth0, so something's worked! But when i do an
ifconfig, I just see eth0 and lo.

Unfortunately Hardware Browser just chrashes. I'll now look
into your pppd suggestion.

Any other ideas on what I should try next?

Yes that would be nice (and easy too, I have just
completed the Fedora install and most stuff seems to
work, including my PCMCIA network card- once it is
removed and reinserted after booting), but I have no
place free to install a NIC. USB is my only option short
of buying docking stations or some sort of replicator
etc...

Has anyone tried this. It looks a bit promising, because
in Security Level Configuration, I see a device called usb0
frouped with eth0, so something's worked! But when i do an
ifconfig, I just see eth0 and lo.

Unfortunately Hardware Browser just chrashes. I'll now look
into your pppd suggestion.

Any other ideas on what I should try next?

[..]

Quote:> Unfortunately Hardware Browser just chrashes. I'll now look
> into your pppd suggestion.
> Any other ideas on what I should try next?

At first, please stop top-posting!

Why NOT "top post"? Well, here are some answers:

  http://www.i-hate-computers.demon.co.uk/
  http://www.netmeister.org/news/learn2quote2.html
  http://www.illuminated.co.uk/blog/archives/000409.html
  http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/usenet/brox.html

You should take a look at the pppd man page and check the pppd
HOWTO (www.tldp.org).

If you still have problems, post what you have already done, real
data, including error messages, but please not your impressions.

--
Michael Heiming

Remove +SIGNS and www. if you expect an answer, sorry for
inconvenience, but I get tons of SPAM

Personally I quit trying to get files off the XP machine.  I have no
freaking idea WTH they were thinking but its quite different from win2K.
  You can share something and still be baffled about how to gain access
to it...even with local accounts added.

--
Respectfully,

CL Gilbert

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door() into
the sheepfold{}, but climbeth up some other *way, the same is a thief
and a robber."  John 10:1

GnuPG Key Fingerprint:
82A6 8893 C2A1 F64E A9AD  19AE 55B2 4CD7 80D2 0A2D

For a free Java interface to Freechess.org see
http://www.rigidsoftware.com/Chess/chess.html

Quick learner, hey?
There are decent arguments both ways, but I will try to
follow the conventions and standards you support - they
are quite sensible.

Quote:> You should take a look at the pppd man page and check the pppd
> HOWTO (www.tldp.org).

I have been doing that as well, but no joy so far.
I was after any specifc advive from someone who has done this
already or knows how it should be done. I have learnt a lot since
I got access to a Linux machine, (first time ever on *nix), about
a week ago, and the newsgroup have helped a great deal, but I
cannot learn every detail of every Linux feature at the same
time. Once I have my environment (hardware) properly set up, I
will dig deeper into this, but first I want it to work.

Quote:> If you still have problems, post what you have already done, real
> data, including error messages, but please not your impressions.

Good advice, but not especially profound.

Let's try harder :-) On this topic, I bet there is a lot
of knowledge and experience I can pick up from you.

You didn't provide any data, so none will be able to help. Guess
it is you who has to try harder, my system is working perfectly.
;)

$ uptime
18:00:24  up 72 days, 23:16, 11 users,  load average: 5.04,5.15, 5.11

--
Michael Heiming

Remove +SIGNS and www. if you expect an answer, sorry for
inconvenience, but I get tons of SPAM