hey!

I have a big problem: ever since i bought my airport express (the previous model with wireless G connectivity), my file transfers are really slow. First i thought it was because i was transferring files between os x and windows, but now i'm transferring a file between my alu imac (10.5.7) and my alu macbook (10.6.1) and it takes about 30 minutes to copy a 700 mb movie from one hard drive to another. that's even worse than when i copied from my 8 year old dell with to my imac! it's that bad that i can't even watch the movie when i try to 'stream' the movie (just accessing my imac with my macbook and open the file).

is there a solution? because wireless G should give me 54 mbit/s theoretically

There are quite a few things that could be going on here.

Bear in mind that, using 802.11g, the fastest speeds I've observed has been around 16 mbit/sec (2 mbyte/sec). This is with different cards, access points, etc.

The first thing that comes to mind is signal strength. Obviously distance will negatively impact your signal strength. Walls (especially if they are thick) and particularly glass will hurt your signal strength. Other devices could be causing some interference, such as cordless phones, microwaves, your neighbor's router, etc.

It is quite likely that your connection from your MacBook to your iMac are passing through your AirPort rather than communicating directly. When this happens, it's quite typical to see speeds below 8 mbit/sec. I think (but I'm not sure) that this is what happens when you use WEP/WPA(2) on your network.

Personally, I would replace the AirPort Express with an Extreme (or other router with a built in switch) so you could use wired networking with your iMac. Or, you could also create a computer-to-computer network between your iMac and your MacBook. I would at least try the latter; if only to see what kind of throughput you get.

Sorry if anything was too obvious. Anyway, I hope this helps.

the airport is 1 meter from the imac and my macbook is in the room next to the imac (or somewhere else in the house, but the speeds remain the same).

how do i setup a computer to computer connection (without airport)?

maybe i'll just buy an airport extreme

Buy/Make a Crossover Ethernet Cable and connect them directly! Add a fixed IP address to each Interface and you're good to go! Keep your wireless for the Internet...


Groot Koos