[chrism_scotland]

I have a possible silly/odd question about the Playbook.
Basically I bought a Motorola Xoom and found that while it worked fine plugged into my own desktop PC (Windows 7) and showed up as a normal device to drag and drop content to it didn't work on my work laptop which was a pain if I needed to transfer over media.

Now because the Playbook doesn't have expandable memory I can see me possibly having to transfer stuff while I am away, does the Playbook simply appear when plugged in to a PC or do I need to install drivers / use the Desktop Manager?

[Kingkracker]

Not a silly question at all..

The Playbook shows up as a mapped drive that you can drag and drop files to. I use windows explorer to shift stuff around but use Desktop Manager to backup and for iTunes. The Playbook installs the necessary drivers itself when you plug it in to the PC.

[JeepBB]

Yup, my PB appears as Z: when I connect it to my PC with USB. You can use Windows Explorer to browse the PB folders.

If you plan to pre-load the PB, check that you drop the right kind of file into the right PB folder... I'm not sure that the Apps are always that intelligent and if your file isn't sitting in the right folder, it might not be found.

[FF22]

The pb also has wifi-sharing. You can move files between the pb and computer using a wifi network under Explorer (I don't know about Macs)

[blackjack93117]

Yes though its a little tricky if you have other drives mapped as z: already. I had some conflicts to clear up.

[si_chindo]

My brother just bought a 32GB. He said that when using the Desktop Manager, the program recognizes the fact that the PB is hooked up but he can not sync any files. Plus when just hooked up via USB, his laptop doesn't recognize it as a mass storage device. Is this a common issue?

edit: he is using windows 7, 64 bit

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[TheScionicMan]

I access my PB wirelessly to transfer files. I only plug it into the charger. Shows up as an SMB drive.

Also, if you sign up for Box.net on your PB, you get a 50GB account for free.

[si_chindo]

So no one else knows of this "problem"? Is it a hardware issue? Should my brother just get it exchanged for a new one?

[xsacha]

Should definitely see a Z: drive on his win7 64-bit laptop. Also, wifi sharing should work.
Backup and sync might not work on 64-bit (don't know why).

[eds817]

I never connect my PB to the computer. I have 2 docking stations (home & work) that I leave it in. When I want to move something to or from the PB I do it via my WiFi. the easiest way I've found to do it is by going into Windows Explorer and in the address bar enter the IP address of the PB in the following way \\xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx

It works every time and is just as fast if not faster then when I connected via USB.

[chrism_scotland]

Thanks guys thats made me feel a bit better about a possible purchase, it was just when I'm away my work laptop is basically locked down so I can't install drivers but Wifi File Sharing would work.
I take a USB HDD with movies and tv on to watch when I travel so I need a means to transferring to and from the PB seems like this would work!

[FF22]

And just in case: You can find the pb's ip address using its Options (gear/wheel), then About, use the dropdown to see the Network and look down the list to find its ip address.