Can anyone tell me how I can transfer data from my laptop (running win.XP) to my desktop (running win 98 second edition)? Can I just use a usb cable or can I do it another way? Any help from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

You need cables specially wired for direct connection.
They're available in computer and office supply stores with names like
"Direct Cable Connection", "DCC", "Data Transfer", "LapLink", etc.

is that all you need

Originally Posted by sammy004

is that all you need

Upon further review I guess it's more complicated than just the right cable.

The easiest solution seems to be if your laptop has a cd burner; burn data to a RW cd then transfer it to the PC. Although there is also the file system difference between the NTFS of XP & FAT 32 of 98.

One suggestion I see here is to run the XP file transfer wizard off of your XP CD in the CDrom of the pc 98. Assuming you have an XP CD. Info here:
File and Settings Transfer Wizard

Otherwise I see several programs for data transfer from like 30 to a hundred dollars.
For example: LapLink
Or: FastLynx

Also consult your laptop manual; perhaps they have some tips.