TECH SUPPORT: No disk? There are other ways to save
I was in the University Reserves Lab scanning pictures for a project I was working on. After I had finished my little project, I thought it would be nice to save the pictures for the future, in case I had to do it again.
I realized I didn’t have a Zip disk and the file was too large to put on a floppy disk. But I talked to one of the lab consultants and found that I could temporarily save the files to my cc.usu.edu account. How, you may ask? By using FTP. I had never heard of FTP, and after the lab consultant helped me save my file to my account, I didn’t know how to get it back.
This is for those of you who are like I was. Here are some ways to move files if you do not have a disk.
The easiest way to move files is through File Transfer Protocol, which is used to move files from one system to another. Of course, the computer you are on and the computer the file is to be transferred to both need to have the FTP software – one being a server and the other a client.
The cc.usu.edu server, which handles your e-mail and Web page services, is also an FTP server. In fact, there is a folder with your username on it. This folder contains all of your e-mail, and this is where you store your Web page stuff.
So what do you need to do to access this folder on the cc.usu.edu server through FTP? Well, you are going to need to have the FTP client software installed on your computer. This is available through the Help Desk Web site, helpdesk.usu.edu, under the ‘downloads’ tab.
When you install and run the client software, you will see that the FTP window will look different from anything you have seen before. You will see a small square window on top of a long rectangular window that is split into two sections. The small window on top is where you enter in the information of what server you want FTP to connect with. In the ‘Host Name/Address:’ field, you will enter cc.usu.edu and the username and password will be the username and password you use for your USU WebMail account.
The client will then connect to the server, and you are ready to go. All you need to do is select the files to be moved on the left side and click the arrow that points to the other side, which is your cc.usu.edu account. Your file copies to the cc.usu.edu server, and you are done.
Once a file is saved, you can retrieve the file by selecting the file you want from the right hand side and clicking the arrow that points to the left (where you want the file to be moved).
If the computer is not yours and it is not an option to install the FTP client, then you can try a couple of other ways to get files around. You can try e-mailing the file to yourself, but you will see problems with files that are too large.
The deciding factor with ‘how big is too big’ is the connection speed. On a dial-up, if you try downloading an attachment any larger than 750 kilobytes, you will have problems, mostly slow download time. But sometimes the network will be busy and the e-mail client will give up trying to download the attachment and not allow the attachment to finish.
Even on a fast connection, you will find attachment download restrictions on any sizes larger than five megabytes. You should also know that these numbers hold true with WebMail. If you are sending attachments to yourself in Hotmail, you can only receive an attachment no larger than 750 kilobytes. Attachments are not the easiest way to send large files to yourself.
An alternate way to send larger files is by using instant messenger. This is a great way to get your larger files across the Web. However, there is a down side. There has to be someone on the other end to receive it. If there is only one party involved, you are out of luck.
FTP is a solid way to store and move large files from one location to another. I would recommend becoming familiar with FTP; it has a lot of advantages.
Dan Chivers is a senior majoring in electronics and computer technology. Comments can be sent to helpdesk@cc.usu.edu.