Speeding up Firewire File Transfers?

Milo_Mindbender asks: "I've got a pretty common problem: copying a ton of files from an old Windows XP computer to a new one. After noticing how long transfers were taking over my 100mbps Ethernet, I hooked up a IEEE1394/Firewire cable and things were much faster. Strangely though, Windows is still only using about 10% of the cable's 400mbps bandwidth. Does anyone know any tips/tricks for speeding this up or any Shareware mass-file-copy tools that would be faster than Explorer/file sharing? Right now, the older machine is setup with Windows file sharing and the new machine is copying from it, neither machine is using much CPU and the disks are nowhere near their max speed. The number and size of the files might be what's slowing it down, since it's gigabytes of files in the 100-200k size range."

Comments

Re:Move the old hard drive, then copy

[Bob Cat - NYMPHS]

The problem with doing that is Windows can detect the "magic" folders and cause all sorts of interesting problems. Magic does not get passed across a network.

Mods: If you don't know what "magic" is, please mod some other comment. Thank you.

Linux is Faster

[Doc Ruby]

Wipe the old XP PC and install Linux v2.6.x, then use it as your fileserver. A faster upgrade would have been merely installing a new IDE drive in the Windows PC, moving your files to it, installing Linux over the Windows boot drive, then moving your files back across the IDE bus - or just leaving them on the Windows filesystem, but running under Linux.

Seriously, every network protocol, including ethernet, FireWire, USB I've ever used has been much faster on Linux than on Windows, on the same HW. Older HW especially seemed to benefit the most, especially if you don't install X on Linux (no GUI is not an option on Windows).

Re:Linux is Faster

[Anonymous Coward]

I was going to recommend Linux too but I figured that maybe the guy is a heterosexual and might be offended by being told to use a fag's OS.

Re:Parent perhaps not Troll

[Doc Ruby]

Of course it's not a troll. I posted my experience with the system they're complaining about, with pointers to solving their problem. Facts and logic included, politely.

The fact that Microsoft TrollMods are a predictable response to any comparison of Linux and Windows doesn't make any such comparison merely "designed for nothing but predictable responses". In fact, your message was among the design goals. Another was responses saying why Windows performance is now as good as, or better than, Linux, in those specific cases.

Also predictable, but still disappointing, is the total absence of those responses. Windows zealots would rather TrollMod to suppress competition than actually compare and compete.