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"How-To?":
(The following two messages are from an exchange on the mailing list of Maine NP TechNet. Maine NP TechNet is a virtual on-line community for Maine NonProfits to share their technology experience, questions, best practices, knowhow and tech tips.)
If you are a Maine NP TechNet Member and you are (for example) upgrading your computers to Y2K,or moving a database, and your computers are not networked or you are moving a large file from your laptop to your computer or back, or the receiver is at another agency or site, and the files you need are larger than 1.44 meg or single floppy. Or If your email provider limits your file transfer size. You can use the MaineTechNet Files folder as a temporary file transfer utility (up to 5 megs) You can also reduce them below 5 megabytes with WINZIP 1. zip them up and make them smaller with WInZip 2. Go to the MNPTN site > go to files > click upload and locate the file on your computer you want to share, and it will upload to the MNPTEN server (temporarily please). Then you (or the intended recipients) can go to the site and download it to their computer by going to site and clicking files download and selecting the file(s) Please erase the temp files when you are finished. If you don't have a local area network. or you have email limitations - or want to send a file either to yourself or others this is a free and nifty way to do it - right now. Jon Hardie
Jon's offer of the MaineTechNet files folder for transferring large files brings up the larger question of what are some good ways to move files between computers. The method proposed here, via an FTP server, has worked well for me when the computers are far apart -- like in different states, for instance. Here's two other options for other situations: (1) For files bigger than a single floppy, but no bigger than 5-10 Mb total, and where I can physically handoff the files to the recipient, I often make a self-extracting (.exe) compressed file that spans multiple floppies. Then I hand the floppies to the person I'm giving the file(s) to. They just have to insert floppy #1, double click on the file it contains from Windows Explorer, and follow the instructions. I use PKZip to create these files, but I imagine WinZip has the same capability. The shareware version of PKZip for Windows is available for free download (but it shows you ads) from http://www.pkware.com . (2) For situations where I can get the sending and receiving computer in the same room, where's there's no existing network, and where both computers are running Windows 95/98, setting up the Windows Direct Cable Connection utility on both computers, and using a $10-20 "laplink" parallel cable between the computers, is an easy way to transfer anything you want to transfer. This is especially handy for moving large amounts of data. I don't think Direct Cable Connection is part of the default Windows installation. If it's on your computer, it should be under Start --> Programs --> Accessories --> Communications --> Direct Cable Connection. If you don't find it, it's easy to install, so long as you have your Windows CD or installation disks handy. You'll need to add it from the "Windows Setup" tab of the "Add/Remove Programs" applet in Control Panel - it's listed under "Communications." Just follow the instructions. SECURITY TIP: DCC installs "File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks" as one of the network components on your computer. Unless you want everyone on the Internet to have access to your files when you're on-line, it's a good idea to make sure that File and Printer Sharing is not bound to the TCP/IP protocal for your Dial-up Adapter. If anyone wants to know how to do this, just ask and someone on this list will explain. (We're getting a little esoteric here - all this was beyond me not too long ago.) (3) As Jon Hardie has mentioned before, a portable parallel port Zip drive is another easy way to move files - up to 100 Mb per Zip disk, or up to 250 Mb on one of the new 250 Mb drives. There is a "Guest" utility that comes with the drive which makes it easy to plug it in to a computer that isn't already configured for a Zip dive. Jon Falk
Pine
Tree Folk School |
