(old)Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

I want to transfer AV files to my working PC from another PC. Both desktops are running Puppy 5.x. Will the source PC behave like an MTP device, or does this require extra software?

How are the PCs linked at a hardware level? Network cable, RS232 or or usb?

USB, just like a smartphone.

As far as I am aware all PC usb ports are set at the hardware level to be "Master" controllers - and other usb devices (eg printers, cameras etc) have "Slave" hardware ports. Many (but not all) modern devices like smartphones have a usb port called "OTG" (On-The-Go) which is capable of acting either as a Master or as a Slave.

I don't know of any PCs that have the ability to swap their usb ports between Master and Slave modes in the same way as smartphones.

If you hooked two PCs together you would have two Masters trying to control the same bus.

There are (or "were" five years ago) devices that looked like a usb cable with a lump in the middle and they provided a Master-Slave-Slave-Master hardware conversion. Don't know if Linux ever had drivers for them though.

EDIT : If both PCs have ethernet ports you could use a "crossover" network cable to transfer files directly between the PCs. (Using static IP addresses instead of using your router to provide DHCP addresses as most home networks normally do)

Assuming what you say is true, It's kinda dumb that PCs don't have this capability after all these years. I mean, some way to set the software to allow a transfer, without some custom cable. This deficiency probably traces back to Windows and Microsoft's obsessive proprietary concern about copying files between computers.

greengeek wrote:EDIT : If both PCs have ethernet ports you could use a "crossover" network cable to transfer files directly between the PCs. (Using static IP addresses instead of using your router to provide DHCP addresses as most home networks normally do)

I think remember, that if at least one of the ethernet port it's a modern one, you don't even need a crossover cable.
You can try with a common cable you may have at home.
Nothing is lost with trying.

Saludos.

Apparently the cable required to connect two PCs via usb is called a "bridging cable"
(Win and Mac article here

Linux article here

"For this I want to use no external hardware or switch." You cannot do this on any system period, if you mean you want to use a plain USB cable for the connection. USB is not a symmetrical relationship. You can in fact physically damage either machine by connecting them this way, since there is voltage involved. – goldilocks Apr 12 '15 at 10:18

However - this article suggests it can be done if your ports are USB3

I removed the cover from an external hard drive, removed the hard drive itself, and used the cradle for the two hard drives with source data. Data transfer took about 16 hours via USB 2.