Arch Linux

haukew

Member

From: Hamburg, Germany

Registered: 2007-10-25

Posts: 96

Website

connect a laptop "as" an external drive

Hi!
Maybe that's a stupid question but since i didn't find anything about it on Google i'll just ask: Is there any possibility to connect a Laptop and a Desktop-PC using a USB-Cable and share data between them?

brisbin33

Member

From: boston, ma

Registered: 2008-07-24

Posts: 1,796

Website

Re: connect a laptop "as" an external drive

i think thats a mac-only feature (target disc mode), and a useful one at that. however, i don't think it's available in any other OS, although i'd love to be proven wrong

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//github/

tsv

Member

From: UK

Registered: 2008-12-03

Posts: 71

Website

Re: connect a laptop "as" an external drive

It's probably not good enough for you, but sharing your laptop's drive with NFS would allow you to mount it on your Desktop in the same way. Don't think it's possible with USB, except maybe with a serial port adapter, but it wouldn't be fun.

Ramses de Norre

Member

From: Leuven - Belgium

Registered: 2007-03-27

Posts: 1,289

Re: connect a laptop "as" an external drive

Using sshfs and a crossover cable is the easiest I can think of.. That would give you the same possibilities as with the usb setup, except running over an ethernet cable (which is in fact faster than usb if you've got gigabit NIC's).

kludge

Member

Registered: 2008-08-03

Posts: 294

Re: connect a laptop "as" an external drive

i have not tried this method, as it requires a special cable, but a quick google search on 'linux usb networking cable' turns up these links, which look promising:

The GNU/Linux "usbnet" Driver Framework
USB networking

that plus nfs/sshfs would also do the trick.

update: you might also be interested in this proposal:

Ethernet/Firewire Target Disk Mode.

from my (admittedly ver shallow) understanding, this would best be accomplished either by:

1) the kernel would have to act as a "bridge" between the block device interfaces and the usb host
2) the usb host would have to be conviced to act as a device and a not host.

this would be a *hella* nifty option, though.  i was just last night trying to figure out to transfer all three seasons of deadwood from my laptop to by buddy's without an external harddrive.

it'd be even *niftier* if it could be accomplished *without* a reboot.

Last edited by kludge (2009-01-23 21:27:47)

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[23:00:16]    dr_kludge | i want to invent an olfactory human-computer interface, integrate it into the web standards, then produce my own forked browser.
[23:00:32]    dr_kludge | can you guess what i'd call it?
[23:01:16]    dr_kludge | nosilla.
[23:01:32]    dr_kludge | i really should be going to bed.  i'm giggling madly about that.