Good USB-C Transfer Cable - Laptop to Laptop

[Saitch]

My wife has a new laptop and I want to transfer selected files from her old laptop to the new.

Are there things I should be aware of, when purchasing a Data Transfer Cable?

Thanks
Steve

p.s. I do have an external back-up, but it's a bit of a long winded process doing it this way.

[Tins]

Are there things I should be aware of, when purchasing a Data Transfer Cable?



Mainly that you get what you pay for. Be aware that some "USB" cables are for charging only, no data. So much for the "universal" part of USB. I'd co for a name brand like Samsung, or Belkin, that sort of thing. The blue office shop or the yellow hifi shop will stock them. Or, if you want to pay more, the Store. Those ones will be good but $$$y

[disco gazza]

Many moons ago Belkin had a transfer cable that you connected to each laptop/computer and it came up with a list of whats on each computer.
You then could transfer whatever you wanted from one to the other, think this was before W10.
I still have that cable lying around somewhere but have not tested whether it works on W10 to W7/8/9 or visa versa.

I dont think that it is for sale anymore either.

DG

[Pedro_The_Swift]

get a double ended usb-c
https://preview.redd.it/1n2tk9cd9kj21.png?auto=webp&6bc15594


https://preview.redd.it/1n2tk9cd9kj21.png?auto=webp&6bc15594

[Saitch]

get a double ended usb-c
https://preview.redd.it/1n2tk9cd9kj21.png?auto=webp&6bc15594


https://preview.redd.it/1n2tk9cd9kj21.png?auto=webp&6bc15594

I was told not to use a standard usb-c cable and to use what is referred to as a 'Data Transfer Cable'.

The reason being, that a standard usb-c cable is not designed for Data Transfer and may damage one, or both, 'puters.

[Tins]

The reason being, that a standard usb-c cable is not designed for Data Transfer and may damage one, or both, 'puters.

Unless Windoze is even more stupid than I believe, I doubt that. Data corruption, possibly. As I understand it, a "Data Transfer Cable" will come with software to "enable" the process.

More bloatware. No wonder I have a Mac. USB, Thunderbolt, WiFi, it just works[smilebigeye]

If you want an exact copy on the new PC you could try this. (https://www.ubackup.com/articles/carbon-copy-cloner-windows-alternative-4125.html#:~:text=No%2C%20Carbon%20Copy%20Cloner%2 0is,Copy%20Cloner%20for%20Windows%20systems.)

[BradC]

get a double ended usb-c
https://preview.redd.it/1n2tk9cd9kj21.png?auto=webp&6bc15594


https://preview.redd.it/1n2tk9cd9kj21.png?auto=webp&6bc15594

That won't work. USB is a master/slave protocol. Unless one of the machines has a dual purpose host/gadget port (and I've not seen one on a PC yet) then you'll be connecting a master to a master and they won't talk to each other. Given the protection specified for USB-C you shouldn't damage anything, but it certainly won't work.

Now if you were talking Thunderbolt then that's a different matter. I can connect my desktop to my laptop and they establish a 20GB/s network connection over Thunderbolt. Cable is a bit more $$ though.

A "Data transfer" cable has a USB gadget on each end and will often use some bespoke driver on the windows side to facilitate data transfer.

It'd be far easier to just hook the network ports together, share a folder on the destination machine and just drag and drop the files from the source machine.

[disco gazza]

Saitch,
Belkin apparently still have there "transfer cable" still available. Good guys,officeworks,hardlynormal,amazon apparently have them.
Good luck which ever way you go.
DG

[Tins]

That won't work. USB is a master/slave protocol. Unless one of the machines has a dual purpose host/gadget port (and I've not seen one on a PC yet) then you'll be connecting a master to a master and they won't talk to each other. Given the protection specified for USB-C you shouldn't damage anything, but it certainly won't work.

Now if you were talking Thunderbolt then that's a different matter. I can connect my desktop to my laptop and they establish a 20GB/s network connection over Thunderbolt. Cable is a bit more $$ though.



I should probably stay out of this as my PC experience is way out of date, but what you say about USB isn't the case on a Mac. Migration Assistant works fine, albeit slowly, on USB-C on Macs. It also works over WiFi, even over different networks post El Capitan. Thunderbolt is fastest.

Guess I shouldn't assume....

[Tombie]

That won't work. USB is a master/slave protocol. Unless one of the machines has a dual purpose host/gadget port (and I've not seen one on a PC yet) then you'll be connecting a master to a master and they won't talk to each other. Given the protection specified for USB-C you shouldn't damage anything, but it certainly won't work.

Now if you were talking Thunderbolt then that's a different matter. I can connect my desktop to my laptop and they establish a 20GB/s network connection over Thunderbolt. Cable is a bit more $$ though.

A "Data transfer" cable has a USB gadget on each end and will often use some bespoke driver on the windows side to facilitate data transfer.

It'd be far easier to just hook the network ports together, share a folder on the destination machine and just drag and drop the files from the source machine.

Correct... Any DTC USB should work... its job is to take over the host/slave protocol to enable both machines to "chat"

[BradC]

I should probably stay out of this as my PC experience is way out of date, but what you say about USB isn't the case on a Mac. Migration Assistant works fine, albeit slowly, on USB-C on Macs. It also works over WiFi, even over different networks post El Capitan. Thunderbolt is fastest.

Guess I shouldn't assume....

Macs have had Thunderbolt (which is just another peer to peer protocol much like ADB & Firewire rather than master/slave) well prior to USB-C. The dedicated USB-C to USB-C link is a superset of USB but not quite Thunderbolt. ADB was on the first Mac, so Mac's have done Peer-2-Peer natively forever.

If I made a mistake in assuming it was that Saitch didn't have 2 Macs. I'd wager I didn't make a mistake because Apple make it so easy, and so well publicised that it's not something you'd miss if you had an old Mac and just bought a new Mac.

Happy to be corrected however if Saitch does happen to have 2 Macs.

[Tins]

Macs have had Thunderbolt (which is just another peer to peer protocol much like ADB & Firewire rather than master/slave) well prior to USB-C. The dedicated USB-C to USB-C link is a superset of USB but not quite Thunderbolt. ADB was on the first Mac, so Mac's have done Peer-2-Peer natively forever.
[smilebigeye]




Happy to be corrected however if Saitch does happen to have 2 Macs.

Nah. Spends too much time with V8Ian.

[Tins]

Should add, my last PC ran Win98. I have been on Mac since OS9. I do run Win7 and 10 on emulation and BootCamp occasionally. Can't do anything on a Nanocom without Windoze.

[BradC]

I'm with you there. My last PC was Win95. I still need Windows, but I've been virtualising it on Linux since Win98 (I wrote the touchpad/absolute mouse driver for Win4Lin back in the late 90's). Same with MacOS since OS7 (which I loved). I even compiled a linux kernel on a Mac IIci (it took 3 days). Love my Apple gear, love my AMD/Intel gear as long as it's not running windows.

I've always found Windows in a VM is faster and more stable than Windows on the bare metal. I just have as little to do with it as possible (these days its AutoCAD, Revit, Altium and Office 2010).

[Tins]

Sitting in front of a 13,2 iMac,3.4 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 running macOS Sonoma 14.5 via OCLP. Dreading the dat  drops intel support completely, and it must be coming, given it's M4 now. Well, it is on iPad, and WWDC is just weeks away.

[Saitch]

A thousand apologies to you erudite gentlemen. Indeed, i do not have a Mac.

Also, I will be transferring from a W10 to a W11 version, but can't see an issue there.

[Tins]

A thousand apologies to you erudite gentlemen.

Oi! I resemble that remark:bat:


Also, I will be transferring from a W10 to a W11 version, but can't see an issue there.

I can see quite a number, but probably best left alone....

Ughh! (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/ways-to-install-windows-11-e0edbbfb-cfc5-4011-868b-2ce77ac7c70e#:~:text=Upgrade%20by%20launching%20Se tup%20on,%2C%20apps%2C%20and%20Windows%20Settings. )

[Saitch]

Oi! I resemble that remark:bat:



I can see quite a number, but probably best left alone....

Ughh! (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/ways-to-install-windows-11-e0edbbfb-cfc5-4011-868b-2ce77ac7c70e#:~:text=Upgrade%20by%20launching%20Se tup%20on,%2C%20apps%2C%20and%20Windows%20Settings. )

The old Samsung laptop is thirteen years old and can't upgrade to W11.

[BradC]

The old Samsung laptop is thirteen years old and can't upgrade to W11.

Take that as a blessing!

[Pedro_The_Swift]

I find Mac owners are quite like Non Qlders....
wouldnt touch windoze/XXXX with a barge pole but happy to tell us EXACTLY whats wrong with both.... [bigwhistle]

[V8Ian]

But Pedro, how can they do that? There's nothing wrong with XXXX. [bighmmm]

[Tins]

wouldnt touch windoze/XXXX with a barge pole

"Wouldn't" is not synonymous with "Haven't". My barge pole aversion is based on experience with both.