Previously posted on Postach.io
Now that [my Raspberry Pi is set up as a XBMC client](http://caffeinetangent.postach.io/openelec-on-raspberry-pi) (using OpenElec distribution) I wanted to quickly add existing videos stored on my Windows machine.
Unfortunately just plugging in the USB drive is no longer an option. I formatted it as EXT4 in my previous post and while you can download some software to read EXT2/3/4 filesystems, writing files back from within Windows seems tricky, expensive or impossible.
I just read [this blog post](http://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=42724) where [Simplesi](http://www.twitter.com/cymplecy) (hello!) asked a similar question – albeit for a different reason. The main difference is that I am able to set up a network connection between my Windows machine and Raspberry Pi very easily in my home network, I don’t have to rely on the blind eye of the systems admin.
[Screenshot of WinSCP 5.5.2 (Windows 7)](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WinSCP-5.5.2.png) by Prikryl (CC-SA 3.0)
My solution was to use [WinSCP](http://www.winscp.net) to transfer my video files. Connecting was quick and easy once you know the IP address the Raspberry Pi has been assigned (hint, from a Windows command prompt use *arp -a* to see the connected devices on your network) and the default username and password for OpenElec distribution is root and openelec.
Yes it is slower to send files over WiFi than direct transfer to USB, but it works and – if speed was more important than convenience – I’d probably choose to connect over Ethernet.
