• TootSweet@lemmy.world
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    9 hours ago

    I had a friend who wasn’t very technical who had some issue where he couldn’t boot into his OS (Windows) and bought a new computer, but wanted the files off the old computer. So he asked me for help. I remember bringing a Knoppix live CD (remember Knoppix?) And when I was there, I realized I had a severe lack of general networking equipment. (I didn’t have a switch, so I couldn’t plug both computers into the network so they could communicate with each other and the internet.)

    So I started up the old computer in Knoppix, plugged it into the network, and installed a bunch of networking packages like a DHCP server and such. And then I used the Ethernet cable to plug the two computers into each other, letting the Knoppix box give the new Windows machine its IP. And then I installed Putty on the Windows machine and used it to SCP the files from the old machine to the new one.

    The whole thing went way smoother than I’d have expected, never having attempted that before. But I felt like such a hacker that day. Lol.

    • HeyJoe@lemmy.world
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      6 hours ago

      I remember going through tech school 20 years ago and them telling you you need a crossover cable with you at all times for just this type of situation. I think in the 20 years I have used one once.