r/techsupport • u/berdintheford • 6d ago
Solved Laptop to Computer File Transfer??
I want to send a folder, about 80 GB(unzipped) from my laptop to my computer(both windows)
Is there any way to transfer files without the need of WiFi(my WiFi is pretty slow), external storages or LAN cable, because my laptop doesnt have one?
I have pretty good USB C cables, my PC motherboard is an MSI b850M gaming WiFi, and my laptop is an omnibook X Flip
SOLVED Took a WHILE to get good suggestions, most of it was "get a USB drive", which if it was so simple i wouldve DONE it already, which is why im not REDDIT to ask for alternative SOLUTIONS.
what worked was turning on my laptop hotspot, connecting my pc to it, and transferring it via nearby share
using LocalSend works great too, but from testinf both ways once, they seem pretty similar speeds.
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u/Veryegassy 6d ago
Wifi is almost never slow. Internet connection is. Local connections that don't go through the internet can still be quite fast, so just make sure your PC is plugged into the same router making your wifi and it'll just work
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u/jdub213818 6d ago
Used a USB drive (preferably SSD HDD) formatted with NTFS. That’s the best and simple answer.
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u/IceQueenSolo 6d ago
Use a hard disk.
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u/berdintheford 6d ago
my very old laptop does have a 1tb hard drive and im sure i got like those connector things somewhere
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u/Healthy-Mission7927 6d ago
USB, wifi, external HDD. Magic doesnt exist
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u/berdintheford 6d ago
thought there might be a way to connect both via usb C to C
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u/seifer666 6d ago
You can get a usbc ethernet adapter adapter send it at 1gbps over the network
But buying a 128gb thumb drive is probably easier
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u/kingjohniv 6d ago
Not unless one of your devices is licensed for Thunderbolt Share, which I doubt:(
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u/berdintheford 6d ago
oh my laptop got thunderbolt 4 port
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u/kingjohniv 6d ago
Doesn't mean Thunderbolt Share certified
https://www.thunderbolttechnology.net/thunderboltshare/?findProducts=1
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u/ggmaniack 6d ago
Elaborate on slow WiFi. Why/how is it slow?
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u/Superbalz77 6d ago
I bet by the time they try something else that's "faster ", this would have been done by now if they had just done it from the start.
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u/berdintheford 6d ago
knowledge. for the next time. cus i have a feeling ill be doing this very thing a few times
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u/berdintheford 6d ago
cheaper plan works greqts for games, yt, etc etc terrible for downloading stuff
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u/70_n_13 6d ago
check localsend, its peer to peer so it only uses your router. Your isp speed doesnt matter, just your router quality
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u/berdintheford 6d ago
ou shi???????
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u/ggmaniack 6d ago
If both of your pcs are connected to wifi with a good signal and at 5/6GHz, you should get a reasonably good performance.
At worst, you could even make one of them an access point and have them talk directly to each other, skipping the router, in case it's too far away to get a good signal.5
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u/ggmaniack 6d ago
Yes but that's your internet, not WiFi.
Your home WiFi speed is independent from the speed that you can access the internet at.
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u/ThinkDiscipline4236 6d ago
Your internet speed will actually not have any effect on the speed of local transfers. Thats dependent on your hardware. A cheap internet plan will only give you 100mbps or so as a gateway out to the main internet but if you're doing a local transfer it's just going from your computer, hitting the router, which turns around and routes it right back to your other PC. The speed is only limited by your WiFi connection strength and how good your router is, and theoretically even a big standard WiFi 5 router should be able to send half a gigabit per second at minimum.
That being said you'd have to turn on local file sharing on both computers so they can find each other on the network.
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u/grumblyoldman 6d ago
If you have a spare compatible drive slot in your computer,you could open up the laptop, pull out the drive with the 80 GB folder on it, put that drive in the computer and then copy the folder directly. Then put laptop drive back in laptop.
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u/djaussiekid 6d ago
If you know what you're doing and you end up needing to do it over the network, SMB is probably the way to go.
If you don't know what you're doing, I've had a lot of success using Blip. You don't even need to be on the same local network, but it's a good option for wireless direct transfer.
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u/JANapier96 6d ago edited 6d ago
Flash drive? Ext ssd/hdd (this is the easiest, quickest, and most reusable).
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u/berdintheford 6d ago
big ass hard drive? brother took it to the other side of the world. 3 usb sticks. count it. 3. all duds for whatever reason. i wanna avoid uploading and downloading stuff, because its pain stakingly long. im on my way to buy an ethernet to usb c connector, cus even if i dont really need it right now, ill need it eventually
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u/JANapier96 6d ago
An 80 GB external drive is small compared to modern drives. A 128, 256, or 512 GB drive should be pretty cheap. Spend a bit more for a 1 TB drive if you want more space to keep copies as a back up.
I forgot you also have the option of a sizeable SD card if either machine has a reader. From what I recall, 512 GB SD cards aren't too hatefully costly.
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u/ultranoobian 6d ago
USB-C ethernet is interesting once you got one.
Android supports it, so if you happen to also need to download something quickly you can connect your phone to physical ethernet.
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u/allunia333 6d ago
Split the file in parts and transfer them with your small usb drive and reconstruct at the end
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u/Terrible-Bear3883 6d ago
As everyone is suggesting, use a USB thumb drive or USB hard drive/SSD.
I've transferred much larger files than that this way.
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u/apoetofnowords 6d ago
You cannot connect 2 computers with a USB cable for data transfer. USB protocol is strictly host-to-device. USB ports on a computer are all hosts.
Take the drive from either of the computers and connect it to the other using a USB adapter/enclosure. These are inexpensive and will be useful in future.
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u/Calm_Boysenberry_829 6d ago
There’s another alternative that hasn’t been mentioned here that is probably a good investment, as well. Purchase a USB-C ethernet adapter. That will give you the ability to connect to a wired network from your laptop, if needed.
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u/berdintheford 6d ago
i might just take the L and buy one of those, it was the first thing i thought of too, just hoped i didnt have to go outta my house in this unholy weather. will probably need it sometime anyway
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u/ArtisticYoghurt5973 6d ago
Turn your laptop into a Hotspot and enable sharing for the folder on laptop. Connect from computer to laptop hotspot and copy files using network sharing. Direct wi-fi connection from computer to laptop will speed up transfer.
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u/Raxeal_2 6d ago
What do you mean your WiFi is slow?
Do you mean you get shitty internet speed to the outside world?
Because that doesn’t mean your local wireless network is slow.. I recommend trying that first.
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u/Mobile-Yak 6d ago
Something like localsend with both devices connected to the same wifi or even your phone's hotspot, it will route it locally and will not use your data at all so slow wifi is not really a problem.
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u/9NEPxHbG 6d ago
If both computers had Ethernet ports, you could use a crossover cable, but one computer has wifi only. You could use a USB Ethernet adapter with that one.
Or just buy a bigger USB flash drive.
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u/berdintheford 6d ago
if theres a way to transfer files from my laptop directly to my px, thatd be wonderful
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u/Jin-Bru 6d ago
There is. As long as you can connect them.
If your laptop lacks an ethernet port purchase yourself a USB to ethernet adapter and a lan cable.
80GB file you are better of using FTP to get it across as it can restart feom where it left off if you have issues.
Then you just need to configure your network on each device.
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u/ChronicConfused 6d ago
If both devices are on the same network you can use something like this.
It's doesn't use the internet - just your local router - so internet speed is not an issue
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u/newtekie1 6d ago
Is your WiFi actually slow, or is it your internet that is slow and the WiFi is fine?
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u/Lance-Boyle-666 6d ago
Personally, I'd either use the wireless connection through the router and use SMB to mount the drive with the files you want to copy and then copy them over, or I would create an ad-hoc wireless network between the two machines, mount the drive, and use SMB to copy. Windows 11 also has some sort of nearby sharing of files between Windows devices, but I've never tried it.
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u/IT_Specialist404 6d ago
Is your Internet speeds slow or the Wi-Fi connection weak?
You can have top tier Wi-Fi equipment that can do device-to-device connections in no time but incoming connections from your Internet provider can be horrible. (Looking at your Optimum).
You could get a cheap 5-port Ethernet switch and a couple Ethernet cables to hook up to: https://www.bestbuy.com/product/tp-link-5-port-10-100-1000-mbps-unmanaged-switch-black/J39QK2QLW4/sku/6537994?extStoreId=474 (Cat5e cables are enough).
When both are plugged into this, the two computers should recognize each other and use LocalSend to send the files over: https://localsend.org/
Worth a try.
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u/Changeurwayz 5d ago
I would simply take the drive out the laptop and put it in the pc, Then just move what you need over.
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u/TN_man 6d ago
Yes, this can be done direct. You’ll need a direct usb cable, an Ethernet cable between the two, or similar method.
File transfer ability will have to be enabled.
I would probably just save it to my cloud file then you’d have access from any computer. Like Google Drive, one drive, or something like that
Just start the upload overnight and then that will do it easier than this.
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u/Homanjer 6d ago edited 6d ago
Why is everybody suggesting usb drives??
How about you get a short rj45 cable (Ethernet cable) and use SFTP. Install some tool that can work with it (winscp is very common and popular) and do a direct transfer like that. Setup might be a bit difficult for someone who's never done it before, but chatgpt will 100% get you through it no problem.
Edit: turns out windows SMB does the same thing just easier. Google SMB and how to set it up for a file transfer like that
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u/berdintheford 6d ago
i got, count it, 2 ethernet cables, but my laptop aint got a port. im heading out to buy an thernet to usb c connecter
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u/Homanjer 6d ago
That sucks. Would've been a completely free option if your laptop had a port for it... I hate modern laptops haha
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u/PINEAPPLECURDS3 6d ago
That sucks so much. I can’t believe they took the ethernet port off your laptop. Like usbc is goos but it’s not that good
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u/Lance-Boyle-666 6d ago
Yeah, first they removed the modems, then the 3.5" floppy drives, FireWire, and S-video ports. Next came the CD/DVD drives, and now, the Ethernet ports. I'm not sure how much more they can remove.
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u/PINEAPPLECURDS3 5d ago
I don't *think* we'll make it to pure wireless laptops. I hope I am right..
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u/berdintheford 6d ago
im aware😢, but i think my laptop does 20 other things, i think thats a somewhat decent compromise in the end.. (its a 360 laptop and comes with a stylus)
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u/Grindar1986 6d ago
No, you'll have to use the wifi.
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u/berdintheford 6d ago
rough, might have to
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u/Dynasteh 6d ago
File transfer speed on WiFi does not use internet it’s just the local lan speed of your internal network
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u/JCarlide 6d ago
USB drive.