Search Ask Leo!:

YouTube - Patron Perks - Books - Ask - About

Technology in terms you understand. Sign up for the Confident Computing newsletter for weekly solutions to make your life easier. Click here and get The Ask Leo! Guide to Staying Safe on the Internet — FREE Edition as my thank you for subscribing!

Can I copy files between two computers using a USB connections?

by

There are a few ways that you can copy files between two computers using a USB connection.

I have a Windows 98 SE PC that won’t recognize the other
drives. So I can’t use my CRW. I want to get some files off the old hard drive.
Can I run a USB from the new machine to the old?

Yes, you can. And a few other alternatives are available also.

Become a Patron of Ask Leo! and go ad-free!

Some alternatives include:

  • USB to USB connections, as you’ve thought of (though you’ll need a special cable). Windows
    Networking     has a good introduction to the topic.

  • If the machine is really toast, you might install its hard drive in the new
    machine.

  • Use a package like LapLink to copy the files. They
    often have special cables that will allow you to connect printer ports or
    serial ports to each other to transfer files.

  • If both machines have a network adapter, then use a hub or a reversing cable
    and network them together. This previous article: Can I network two
    computers with just a cable?     covers exactly that.

Do this

Subscribe to Confident Computing! Less frustration and more confidence, solutions, answers, and tips in your inbox every week.

I'll see you there!

3 comments on “Can I copy files between two computers using a USB connections?”

  3. or another option run a crossover ethernet cable. fast transfer and good intro to keeping both computers connected. or if you have a wireless connection setup on both use a fileshare and transfer over wireless.

    Reply

Leave a reply:

Before commenting please:

  • Read the article.
  • Comment on the article.
  • No personal information.
  • No spam.

Comments violating those rules will be removed. Comments that don't add value will be removed, including off-topic or content-free comments, or comments that look even a little bit like spam. All comments containing links and certain keywords will be moderated before publication.

I want comments to be valuable for everyone, including those who come later and take the time to read.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Additional information is available at https://askleo.com/creative-commons-license/.