USB to Firewire

The14thGOD · Post by **The14thGOD** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 3:54 pm

Is it possible to connect say my friends laptop to my computer with a USB to firewire connection, and then transfer files?

Willen · Post by **Willen** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 5:48 pm

Nope.

You are better off trying to use Ethernet with a cross-over cable or a hub.

Or USB-to-USB with a special cable, slow if USB 1.1, fast if both are USB 2.0, cable is kinda expensive.

Or, if the files are small enough, a USB thumbdrive/flashdrive or a memory card such as CompactFlash, SD, Memory Stick, etc.

Or any device that shows up as a USB Mass Storage device such as an iPod, digital camera, or a plain old USB external harddrive.

Willen · Post by **Willen** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 6:05 pm

Just to clarify, although USB 2.0 and FireWire (IEEE1394) are both high-speed serial interfaces and are very similar in terms of transfer speeds, and connector sizes and shapes, they are quite different.

Roman Shelepov from [url=http://www.digit-life.com/articles/usb20vsfirewire/]www.digit-life.com[/url] wrote:USB 2.0

1. 1.5 Mbit/s 12Mbit/s 480Mbit/s supported.
2. USB controller is required to control the bus and data transfer.
3. Cable up to 5 m.
4. Up to 127 devices supported.
5. Power supply to external devices is 500 mA/5V (max).
6. Full compatibility with USB 1.1 devices.

FireWire (IEEE1394)

1. 100 Mbit/s 200Mbit/s 400Mbit/s supported. (800Mbit/s available now -Willen)
2. Works without control, devices communicate peer-to-peer.
3. Cable up to 4.5 m.
4. Up to 63 devices supported.
5. Power supply to external devices is 1.25A/12V (max.).
6. The only computer bus used in digital video cameras.

Real-world, USB 2.0 is slower that FireWire even though the stated maximum speed is a bit higher because of system overhead. Since the protocol relies on the PC USB controller to control the data transfers and is somewhat dependent on CPU processing too, you will never see the 480Mbit/s speed.

gangstaj8 · Post by **gangstaj8** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 2:18 pm

Another option might be a CD-RW or even DVD+/-RW if you have a burner on the machine your transferring files from. But you're probably best off getting a cable like Willen suggests. There's always the data transfer cables that hook up to printer ports (LPT), cheap, but they're relatively slow, and sometimes a pain to get the OS's to connect properly. Good luck.

The14thGOD · Post by **The14thGOD** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 3:33 pm

yea he has a cdr burner but 10gigs of stuff to transfer =P
i forgot my roomate had a external hard drive so we are gonna try that.
thx for the replies though!

the14thgod

RichLather · Post by **RichLather** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 10:41 pm

Willen wrote: Or USB-to-USB with a special cable, slow if USB 1.1, fast if both are USB 2.0, cable is kinda expensive.

If this is what you mean, then $8.99 isn't very expensive, at least compared to the highway robbery that places like OfficeMax, Staples and Best Buy commit, with their $20+ for a stinking 6-foot USB cable.

That said, Ethernet is going to be a lot faster and a better option for 10GB of data transfer.

The OP mentioned a CD-R drive. Is it really a CD-R drive or is it capable of DVD burning as well? I think that would be a good option as well; 3 DVDs burned at one's convenience, handed out at one's convenience, and an instant backup to boot.

The14thGOD · Post by **The14thGOD** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 12:52 am

idk how to do the whole set up a network thing, we tried numerous of times, my roomate and i and it fialed

and its only a cd burner

TaranT · Post by **TaranT** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 3:12 am

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/usin ... l_hni.mspx
* Scroll down to middle of page

http://www.mycableshop.com/techarticles ... puters.htm
http://www.ajcsoft.com/connect_computers_together.php

The14thGOD · Post by **The14thGOD** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 9:03 am

thanks for t he links, ill check them out when i get home.