Vista to XP

[Josh_b]

i just wondering... iam getting a new laptop with windows vista and i want to
know can i do work on my laptop then using a usb drive, continue my work on
my PC which has windows XP pro. and vice versa with out any complications?

 

[Bruce Chambers]

i just wondering... iam getting a new laptop with windows vista and i want to
know can i do work on my laptop then using a usb drive, continue my work on
my PC which has windows XP pro. and vice versa with out any complications?

Provided that you have compatible applications installed on each
computer with which to handle the data so exchanged, certainly.


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Bruce Chambers

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[Charlie Tame]

i just wondering... iam getting a new laptop with windows vista and i want to
know can i do work on my laptop then using a usb drive, continue my work on
my PC which has windows XP pro. and vice versa with out any complications?

The complications you may hit relate to what you mean by "Work" and what
you intend to use to transfer files between one machine and the other.

If you mean things like documents then something like OpenOffice.org
will work fine for you because it can be installed on both for free, it
is similar to Microsoft Office without the price tag.

You can copy files to a USB flash drive or similar and should have no
trouble but read the instructions about how to turn off / disconnect the
USB drive before removing etc.

You can also use a network cable or wireless, that is easier if you
already have a router, depends on how far you want to go.

Try giving an example of something you might want to bring home to work
on if you want more details...

 

[Andre Da Costa[ActiveWin]]

It all depends, are the applications you use compatible with Vista? You
can't install Vista on a USB drive if thats what you are implying.

 

[Tim Slattery]

i just wondering... iam getting a new laptop with windows vista and i want to
know can i do work on my laptop then using a usb drive, continue my work on
my PC which has windows XP pro. and vice versa with out any complications?

If you mean saving data files on your Vista machine and reading them
on your XP machine, then yes, that will not be a problem.

One caveat: if you have Office 2007 installed on one machine and an
older version (Office 2003, for example) on the other one, you'll have
to remember to save in Office 2003 format when you're in Office 2007.
The older versions cannot read the newer version's default format.
There are downloadable filters available to solve this problem.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

i just wondering... iam getting a new laptop with windows vista and i want to
know can i do work on my laptop then using a usb drive, continue my work on
my PC which has windows XP pro. and vice versa with out any complications?

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

i just wondering... iam getting a new laptop with windows vista and i want to
know can i do work on my laptop then using a usb drive, continue my work on
my PC which has windows XP pro. and vice versa with out any complications?

I assume that what you are asking is whether you can save a data file
onto a USB drive on one computer, then read and edit it on the other
file?

Certainly you can, as long as you have the needed application to edit
it on both computers. The fact that one computer runs Vista and the
other XP is irrelevant. The fact that the drive is a USB drive is also
irrelevant. You can do this with any compatible media: a floppy disk,
CDRW, USB hard drive, thumb drive, etc. You could also E-mail the file
from one computer to the other, or put it on a web site where either
computer could access it.

The point is that it doesn't matter how you get the file from one
computer to the other. The only issue is whether the two computers
have the same (or compatible) application programs to work on the
file.

 

[Josh_b]

The complications you may hit relate to what you mean by "Work" and what
you intend to use to transfer files between one machine and the other.

If you mean things like documents then something like OpenOffice.org
will work fine for you because it can be installed on both for free, it
is similar to Microsoft Office without the price tag.

You can copy files to a USB flash drive or similar and should have no
trouble but read the instructions about how to turn off / disconnect the
USB drive before removing etc.

You can also use a network cable or wireless, that is easier if you
already have a router, depends on how far you want to go.

Try giving an example of something you might want to bring home to work
on if you want more details...

thanks... by work i mean work on microsoft word or publisher on my laptop
then continue the same work on my laptop

 

[Ronnie Vernon MVP]

Josh

Yes, you can do this as long as you have the same versions of Office
installed on both computers.

If you have different versions installed, there could be a conflict
depending on the supported formatting/file options for the 2 versions.