Recently I purchased a new computer and I would like to transfer some files from my old computer (running Windows 98 SE) to the new computer (running Windows XP Home). All the files to be transferred are around 20 MB each, except for one which is about 68 MB. The old computer has a floppy drive and CD-ROM drive and serial and parallel ports. The new computer does not have a floppy drive, but does have a CD/DVD writer, USB 2.0 ports, and a parallel port. I tried to have a network card installed in the old computer for networking to the new computer. The networking was attempted through a router (with a built-in modem) but the old computer did not respond to the networking. What is the best method to transfer files between the two machines, particularly the 68 MB file? In a recent Tip of the Week you suggested using a ‘crossover cable’ to directly connect the network interfaces of two computers. Can I use such a cable to physically connect the 2 computers, or do I need any other hardware?

The best method to connect your old and new machines together to transfer data is over a network, using a crossover cable. A crossover cable is designed to allow the network interface cards on two computers to be directly connected to each other, without the use of any additional intermediary hardware (e.g. router, switch, etc’¦). The only required equipment for such a setup is a network card in each machine and a crossover cable itself. The crossover cable can be purchased from most computer stores for about $10.00. Make sure you ask specifically for a crossover cable, as these are different to normal network cables (the cable has different pinout assignments). I am assuming that your new computer has a network card, so you will need to install a network card into your old computer.

When you previously installed a network card in your old machine you said the computer did not respond to the networking. This could be for a variety of reasons, but most likely because the computer was not correctly configured. Fortunately, Windows XP includes the Network Setup Wizard - a handy utility which makes setting up a home network a much easier task, eliminating the need to manually configure all the network setting. Before running the wizard, you must install the network card in your old computer. Once the card has been recognised by Windows, and the necessary drivers are installed, connect the crossover cable directly between the network cards on your old computer and your new computer. So now you should have a crossover cable connected, on one end, to the network card on your old computer and on the other end, to the network card on your new computer.

On your new computer (running Windows XP) go to the ‘Start’ menu > ‘Accessories’ > ‘Communications’ > ‘Network Setup Wizard’. This wizard will guide you through the steps for setting up a home network. The good thing is once you have finished configuring the network using the wizard on your Windows XP machine, it will create a network setup disk which you can run on your old Windows 98 computer. This disk will configure networking on your Windows 98 machine allowing the two machines to talk/network with each other. If you still have difficulties configuring your network, please contact me again.