Connecting two laptops

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Hi everyone.

OK, I have two laptops.

One is a Dell Inspiron 1501 with Vista Basic.

The second is a Acer Aspire 5610 with XP 2ndEdition.

Both have network cards, and are wifi capable.

I have a wireless router, and a spare network cable. No crossover cable though. Nor do I have the tools/means to make one.

The problem is that the Dell with Vista took some damage when some liquid was spilled into it. It still works, as I was using it for all the normal activities, up until I bought the Acer a couple of weeks bac. With one exception.

I was using a Creative Wireless Keyboard, because some of the keys had become sticky/wouldn't work. Now, however, the wireles receiver thingy for plugging into the usb port on the machine has inexplicably stopped working, it doesn't work on the new laptop either.

So, question the first.

Is there any way for me to "get into" the Dell, using the Acer. As I type I'm sitting here looking at the log in screen, but can't log in.

Oh, I also have a serial-type cable that I used to use to connect th Dell to the TV, the Acer has a similar port on the back. Am I being a bit silly thinking I can use the Acer screen/keyboard to access the Dell? Probably I am.

Question the second depends on if I can remedy the first problem.

How do I get the info from the HD on the Dell, onto the HD of the Acer?

It's about 80gig of stuff I'd like to transfer. I have fairly limited funds, and I won't be buying a 16gb mem stick any time soon.

Could I use the wireless router, or maybe the network cable?

Thanks a lot for any help.

DesF


ps, I'd have no problem opening up the Dell, I saw in another thread that it is possible to buy some kind of device that would make the internal hd a usable external hd, are these devices expensive?

AlmightyCushion

First question - Are you asking can you connect the two up so that you can use the acer keyboard on the dell? If so, I don't think you can. You could use a usb keyboard. They can be got for under a tenner now.

Second question - You should be able to set up an ad-hoc wireless network between the two laptops. Both laptops will be able to access each other. You could also get an enclosure (an enclosure is basically an external hard drive with out the hard drive) and put the hard drive from the dell into it. This will then act as an external hard drive.

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Thanks AC, after a bit of luck, I just let the wireless keyboard fall, and it started working.

So I'm into the Dell now.

Hmm.

Ad hoc wireless network you say

*googles*

majiktripp

Take out the hard drive, much simpler, much faster, buy a 2.5" caddy for a SATA drive from ebay and bob's your uncle, you can copy the information over straight away. Only if you could log into the dell and share of the C:\ contents as a network share, then connect to it using the Acer and copy the stuff is your other option but seeing as you cant log into the dell thats not *really* an option.

MunsterCycling

Three letters = V N C

AlmightyCushion

DesF wrote: »

Thanks AC, after a bit of luck, I just let the wireless keyboard fall, and it started working.

So I'm into the Dell now.

Hmm.

Ad hoc wireless network you say

*googles*

I love the way things work when they get a kick or two. The enclosure is a much easier thing to get working and it allows you to use the dell hard drive as an external from now on (seeing as the dell is useless now that it's broken) but the wireless network is free.

majiktripp

MunsterCycling wrote: »

Three letters = V N C

How he cant log into the "Dell" laptop where the files are stored to install VNC server? Is there a way of remotely installing it over a network to a target machine?

AlmightyCushion

He can get into the dell now, the keyboard took a bit of a bump and started working again.

majiktripp

Aaaaaaaaaaaah ok,well then....VNC all the way! (Or the external enclosure!)

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The ad hoc wireless didn't really work out, couldn't see the shared drives on either machine.

I should be able to just browse using explorer to the \\pcname - yeah?

Or am I doing something idiotic?

Oh, I'm into the Dell, but the feckin' wireless keyboar isn't working again.

What is a VNC?

majiktripp

VNC is Virtual Network Connection, once installed its more a less like sitting at the target machine itself, remote control software if you like. Would be handy if you could get it installed while the keyboards working on the dell, that way if it stop working again it doesn't really matter as you could still use VNC to access the machine.
I think your best sure fire solution is to remove the hard drive.

_blank_

I should install VNC on the target machine then, is that right?

Any recommended software?

Thanks.

Oh, one more thing.

I seem to have done something to my Acer now:o

I'm getting numbers from some of the letters when I type (using the wirelss keyboard on it now).

I know this is a simple fix, but I'm having a brain melt.

majiktripp

You can dl'd it here
http://www.realvnc.com/products/download.html
The free one is on the left. You install it on both target and your machine too, the target machine runs the server part that your laptop (the client) is going to connect to. Its hard to explain but if you google using VNC or similar there will be better explanations than I can give!
Its a handy tool to be familiar with especially if dealing with a network with a lot of computers on it as it allows you to remote access to them easily.

_blank_

Thanks again.

I dl'd it for both machines.

Working a dream connecting the Dell to the Acer, I can see the desktop and type and all, I'm typing this from it in fact.

But (there always is, eh?).

The opposite isn't working at all. I'm getting a WinSock error 10053.

I'm connecting to the local IP address 192.168.1.xx, which is fine from the Dell Vista to the Acer XP, but not the opposite way (I'm using the IP of the Dell machine).

I've turned off the firewall.

Any ideas anyone?

Thanks to everyone for their help so far.

mukki

the VNC server cannot be run in (service mode) on vista, vista has made services much more secure, they have no access to your desktop.


you must stop and unresister the vnc server (service mode), and run vnc server (user mode), or add a shortcut too it in the start up folder

remember to turn your firewall back on, and allow the vnc server ("C:\Program Files\RealVNC\VNC4\winvnc4.exe") access

majiktripp

Thanks for that mukki, didnt know that and I'm sure we'll have to (eventually) start installing it on Vista, thanks for the warning.

mukki

majiktripp wrote: »

Thanks for that mukki, didnt know that and I'm sure we'll have to (eventually) start installing it on Vista, thanks for the warning.

ahh shucks, no problem


i ran into the problem about a year ago and just googled the error.