How to Transfer Files from PC to PC: 4 Easy Methods

The world has been an eyewitness to the tech revolution. So, the days of "copy" and "paste" are behind us.

Agile project management has taken the corporate world by storm, as collaborative, flexible production within teams has proven to be the most important business strategy in recent years. One such application software technique that witnessed change was the way to transfer files from PC to PC. 

With big tech terms like the Internet of Things, quantum computing, and virtual reality, it's safe to say that businesses are stuck inside a closet. By introducing new-age tech, standard file-sharing operations can be done in seconds.  

Transferring files to external servers might warrant unsecured and unprotected networks. Using file transfer protocol software will help monitor networking protocols as and when you make the transfer and route the files to the destination without firewall interruptions. 

When it comes to file transfers, you have four main options, all dependent on what you need to transfer, how secure you need the transfer to be, and its priority.

All these options can be performed on any operating system—Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, etc.—but at certain points, they may require different software assistance.

Let’s work through these transfer methods by relative complexity, beginning with the simplest. 

Method 1: Direct file transfer

Direct file transfer is probably the easiest way to send files from one place to another. As the name states, it involves moving a file directly from one device to another with little to no software intermediation.

Transferring files with flash drives

While flash drives are about as direct as direct can be, they also have the potential to be the most insecure. If the flash drive isn’t properly encrypted or password-protected, and that flash drive falls into the wrong hands, whoever has it now has access to those files. The same can be said for using a transfer cable or any other external drive.

Regardless, this method is relatively simple. Just insert the flash drive into the USB slot of your computer, find the device within file explorer, drag the files onto the folder of the flash drive, remove the drive from your device and insert it into the other PC.

Transferring files through email

Email can be a more secure option to send files from one place to another. It’s also a basic option that everyone has access to every day, making it significantly more convenient.

However, there are some drawbacks to using email. Aside from potential encryption troubles, the main drawback is that email file transfer has some restrictions when it comes to attachment size. Most email services don’t allow attachments above 10 megabytes, and while you may not be transferring 1,000-plus pages of text documents, 10 megabytes is a very small size for most media files.

Transferring files using network file transfer

From here, direct network transfer depends on convenience.

For two computers on the same internal network (such as two laptops on the same Wi-Fi network) or in proximity (using Bluetooth), network file transfer from one device to another can be very convenient, though somewhat time-consuming.

Both devices would need to be visible to each other either on the network or via Bluetooth. Once the devices are discoverable, you can select to transfer files from one device to another by sharing, copying/pasting, clicking and dragging, etc. This takes time to complete because you’re copying directly over a network. You can also utilize network drives that all users on a single internet network can store and retrieve from directly.

Transferring files using SCP/SSH

SCP/SSH (Secure Copy Protocol/Secure Shell) is the most complicated direct transfer option.

Using the shell on your computer (“command prompt” or “cmd” on Windows, “terminal” on Mac OS, “bash” on Linux), connect to the device where the files you need are located. Then, call the file location and file name and use a copy command to pull the file.

This method is complicated and not recommended unless you are familiar with the shell of a computer. It’s also not useful when at home, but it can be extremely useful for remotely pulling files off of servers.

Transferring files using remote software

It should be noted that most remote desktop and remote support software come with built-in file transfer functionality. IT support analysts, in particular, can greatly benefit from this function, as they can move .ini files, .dll files, scripts, and even executables (.exe) from computer to computer to assist in troubleshooting and issue resolution.

The video below explains how to directly transfer files between Windows computers.

Source: Plugable

Method 2: Cloud storage and transfer

The advent of cloud computing and cloud storage has made it significantly easier to store and access files wherever you need them. Because of this, it’s also significantly easier to transfer files from one place to another using a cloud intermediary.

Cloud storage is prevalent and has now been adopted by numerous businesses to make file access and sharing simpler. Once a file is saved to cloud file storage and sharing software, there’s usually a way to either transfer it directly to another user or send that user a URL that they can use to download the file.

This is a quick, easy way to transfer files from one place to another, but it comes with a slight bottleneck. Most cloud storage and transfer solutions have storage limits unless you upgrade your subscription.

If you’re looking to store and move huge volumes of data, it’s in your best interest to make sure the solution you choose is within your budget and meets your file sharing needs.

Method 3: SFTP/MFT tools

Depending on the type of files being sent, it can be critical that the file transfer is both secure and encrypted.

When sharing sensitive information—such as PHI (protected health information), PII (personally identifiable information like an SSN), or financial information—in a file, it is highly recommended to use a secure file transfer protocol (SFTP). This is a highly secure file transfer method called managed file transfer (MFT).

MFT is built off of FTP (file transfer protocol), a kind of direct file transfer method, but it’s more involved and significantly more protected than standard direct file transfer. SFTP and MFT are go-to picks for any heavily regulated industry, like healthcare or finance. If you’re in the European Union, MFT is great for helping your company maintain GDPR compliance.

SFTP and other MFT tools are particularly useful for pulling information from data servers and archives, but they’re also useful for securely transferring files from one site to another or from one business network to another.

This kind of transfer is significantly more secure through SFTP and/or MFT. These tools can also be applied to financial industry data, legal industry data, and other confidentiality-based industries’ data.

Method 4: File migration

Unlike other file transfer methods, file migration software tends to be used for a more specific purpose. File migrations are generally large-scale, enterprise-level file relocations. That is, you’re transferring more than just a few files from one computer to another — you’re relocating the entirety of your company’s files from one storage location to another.

To accomplish this large and cumbersome task, file transfer has to be secure and able to handle massive amounts of data. File migration is usually measured not in megabytes or gigabytes but in terabytes or petabytes of data since the data managed is company-wide and not at an individual level.

Important to consider that file migration tools tend to care about the kind of file formats they migrate. While some file migration tools (namely in the cloud migration software realm) don’t necessarily aim for a specific software class, some may specialize in a certain type of data like email or even data on a specific software tool.

It’s okay to overshare

Whether you’re sharing files with coworkers, sending pictures to a friend, or transferring files from your old computer to a new one, you have options.

Whether you choose the old-fashioned way of a flash drive or decide to go with innovative software, your files will be easily accessible from any device, anywhere.

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This article was originally published in 2023. It has been updated with new information.