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Crossover cable?

M

Motoduc84

macrumors newbie
Original poster
I have an OLD iMac, no CD burner...and I need to move some files over to my G4.

Mostly Microsoft Word documents and such. Will a crossover cable do this for me? How does it work...and is there a certain type of cable to purchae?

Thanks!
 
A crossover cable is just a specific type of Ethernet cable used to connect two computers via Ethernet directly. You still need to set up Personal File Sharing or an FTP or some other software-based way to actually connect the two.

Which G4 do you have? It might have an auto-sensing Ethernet port that will automatically adjust so it can see the other computer, in which case a crossover cable isn't necessary—you'd just need any sort of Ethernet cable.
 
IIRC the G4 has an automatically sensing Ethernet port and it will 'cross over' automatically if a standard Ethernet cable is used. What model is the G4?

If the iMac has a Firewire port, that may be an option too.
 
If you are going to have to go out and purchase a cable anyway, then I would recommend doing the transfer with a Firewire cable and boot one of the machines in Target Disk Mode by holding the T key on the keyboard while the machine boots. I just think that a 6-pin to 6-pin firewire cable would prove more useful in the future than a crossover cable.

If you happen to have some spare cat5 cable and a few RJ45 jack ends to terminate, then you could make your own crossover cable by following these directions:
http://www.makeitsimple.com/how-to/dyi_crossover.htm

Basically you make one end the standard: white/orange, orange, white/green, blue, white/blue, green, white/brown, brown
and the other end is a flip of orange and green: white/green, green, white/orange, blue, white/blue, orange, white/brown, brown
 
Well, my iMac is from 1999...I am away from it right now, but it has a tray-loading for CD. I think it was the second generation of iMac's?

My G4 is dual processor, 533.

I know the easiest way would be to upload from my iMac...send files to an FTP site or even email. BUT...the little fella is giving me trouble in trying to connect to the Internet.
 
depending on the size and quantity of files you have to move, maybe a usb flash drive? or an external usb hard drive?

otherwise ethernet should work for you (check the previously linked chart to see if your G4 requires a crossover cable or just the regualar ethernet cable)
 
If it's just a few documents, I would use an iPod (or a flash drive). It would probably be easier than setting up a network.
 
Another thought...
if this machine is tanking anyway, maybe you should just pull the HD from it and slap it in the G4 in another HD slot?
 
Totty said:
Another thought...
if this machine is tanking anyway, maybe you should just pull the HD from it and slap it in the G4 in another HD slot?
Click to expand...

No. The drives on the trayload are a pita to remove/access. You have to crack the whole thing open and go rooting around in it. USB flash or external is the way to go. Shame no firewire. 🙁
 
Cassie said:
Since my Mini has no floppy drive 🙂() I use Media Fire to upload files, and access them from any computer.

Free file hosting services rock.
Click to expand...

Dropload is pretty simple also, but if the imac is screwing up on internet connectivity, it won't be very useful.

Cassie, does Media Fire upload at anywhere near your upload capacity? Dropload and a couple others seem to take forever at around 60-70 when I should be able to get a realist 250.
 
Okay, the little guy is back, able to get on the Internet. It turned out to be static in the line, not a problem with iMac! I should've known. I should be able to send files up (I use drivehq.com)...hopefully that will work.

Thanks for the help everyone!
 
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