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How Do You Connect One Computer to Another Computer Directly?
Connecting one computer to another computer directly requires some technical expertise. To make things easier on yourself—and to avoid what could be a lot of wasted time on trial and effort—contact one of our Personal Technology Experts here at Support.com. We’ll do all of the heavy lifting for you. We can do that, and much more.
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There are many different ways to connect two computers together. The method you choose depends on your budget, the distance between the machines, the available hardware, and the resources that need to be shared. The choices are between Serial/Parallel crossover cable, USB data transfer cable, Crossover Ethernet, Switched Ethernet, Ad-hoc Wireless, Wired/Wireless Router, and VPN.
Since all modern computers come with multiple built-in USB2.0 ports, no special hardware needs to be installed on the machines. A USB data transfer cable, also known as a USB Bridge Cable, is an A-A USB cable with a small electronic circuit in the middle. A regular USB A-A cable or a USB A-B cable cannot be used for this purpose. These cables are available at most computer stores and cost anywhere between $10 to $40. Data transfer rate is 11Mbps for USB1.1, and 480Mbps for USB2.0 (USB3.0 will support up to 4000Mbps). This means that you can theoretically transfer 1GB of data in 17 seconds, almost 5 times faster than the data transfer rate of a 100Mbps Ethernet connection, although the actual data rate is usually lower than this.
This configuration is the easiest to setup and requires no networkig knowledge. Before connecting the two machines, the USB drivers that come with the cable have to be installed on both systems. The maufacturer usually provides a data transferring utility along with the drivers on a CD. Once the driver is installed, you can transfer files between the two computers using the utility. You cannot share resources such as your Internet connection or installed printers over this connection. You are also limited to a maximum cable length of 16 feet (5 meters).
How to Connect Two Computers via Crossover Ethernet Cable
Network devices fall into two categories based on their function: Data Termination Equipment (DTE) that converts the data into signals and sends it over a network medium, and Data Circuit-termination Equipment (DCE) that sits between the DTEs and facilitates data communication in a variety of ways. Network adapter cards and serial ports on a computer are DTEs while modems and switches are DCEs. A DTE and a DCE are connected via a straight cable, but in this scenario, since you are connecting the network adapters of two computers (DTEs) directly to each other without a DCE in between, you should use a crossover Ethernet cable.
Crossover Ethernet cables are available in most computer stores. They are much cheaper than USB Bridge cables since no circuitry is involved. The maximum cable length is 320 feet (100 meters), and the maximum speed can be anywhere between 10Mbps to 10Gbps depending on the performance of the network adapters on your machines and the capacity of the cable itself. You DO need to have some general networking knowledge to set up this configuration. No drivers need to be installed, the computers will communicate using the standard TCP/IP protocol suite, which makes this configuration a good choice for connecting PCs to Macs or Linux boxes.
On Windows machines, once the cable is connected, a feature called APIPA (Automatic Private IP Addressing) assigns unique IP addresses to each machine in the range of 169.254.x.y, however, you are highly recommended to use static IP addresses for this scenario. You can share any network resource such as folders, printers, and even the Internet connection. Files and printers can be shared by enabling File and Printer Sharing on Windows machines (Samba on Linux, AFP on Macs), and putting both systems on the same workgroup. On Windows, the Internet connection on one machine can be shared though ICS (Internet Connection Sharing). It is also recommended that you use the same username/password on both machines. Here is how you set up ICS on a Windows XP host machine:
1. Click Start > Run, type "ncpa.cpl", press ENTER;
2. Right-click on the network adapter that is connected to the other machine via the Ethernet cable, and select Properties;
3. Open the Advanced tab;
4. Select "Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection";
5. Press OK;
6. You are recommended to reboot both machines.
How to Connect Two Computers via an Ethernet Switch
An Ethernet Switch is a DCE equipment that allows you to connect multiple devices together to form a Local Area Network. Straight Ethernet cables should be used with each cable running as long as 320 feet (100 meters), and the data transfer rate varies between 10Mbps to 10Gbps depending on the supported transfer rate on the network adapters, the cable, and the Switch itself.
The same networking principles from crossover connection applies to this configuration as well. The systems can use the 169.254.x.y APIPA address range, manual IP addressing, or DHCP addresses deployed by the host that is also sharing its Internet connection using ICS. File and printer sharing is done the exact same way as the method described above for crossover cables.
NOTE: If you intend to share the Internet connection, it is highly recommended to use a 4-port Router instead of a Switch. The Internet connection will be shared and addresses deployed by the router automatically, so you do not need to worry about any of those aspects of the network.
How to Connect Two Computers via Ad-hoc Wireless
If both computers have Wireless Network Adapters installed, this method allows you to share files, printers, and Internet connection without any additional cost. All you need to do is to create a Wireless network on the machine that is connected to the Internet and have the other computer(s) connect to this network. You can set up WEP security in order to prevent other people in the neighborhood to connect to your network. File/Printer sharing and ICS are done the exact same way as an Ethernet network. The maximum bandwidth for 802.11g networks is 54Mbps, which is slower than USB2.0 and 100Mbps Ethernet, but fast enough for most data transfer and Internet sharing scenarios.
How to Connect Two Computers via a Wired/Wireless Router
Despite being more expensive than any of the solutions discussed above, Wired/Wireless routers have many advantages that justify the extra cost: they provide DHCP service (automatic IP addressing) to your network, the built-in Firewall software blocks all incoming traffic unless it has been initiated by you, they allow you to connect more than 2 computers, and they are more stable than ad-hoc wireless or crossover wired connections.
Here is how you do it:
1. Turn off your cable/DSL modem;
2. Unpack the router, connect the LAN/PC port on the modem to the Internet/WAN port on the router;
3. Connect the computers to the ports 1-4 on the router (most home routers have up to four ports);
4. Turn on the modem, wait 30 seconds;
5. Turn on the router, wait 30 seconds;
6. You should now be able to use the Internet on the machines.
For wireless connections, instead of connecting the computers to the ports on the router, you will have to select the wireless network from the list of all available networks. By default, the network name is identical to the name of your router (ex. Linksys, Netgear, or Default). However, this method also allows your neighbors to connect to your home network and use your resources. In order to secure your wireless network, you should manually configure your router, change the network name, and implement WEP or WPA security with a password. You may then enable file and printer sharing on your machines and start sharing resources. Please also note that some routers require you to install their software on your machine in order to activate the WAN port.
As you can see, router configuration can sometimes get very complicated, but once it's set up it will work for years to come. Our Personal Technology Experts are here 24/7 to help you set up your home network, simply pick up the phone and dial 1-800-PC-Support (727-8776) for assistance.
How to Connect Two Computers Over the Internet via VPN
Virtual Private Networks allow you to share resources securely over the Internet. The following describes the process of setting up a VPN server on a Windows XP machine:
1. Open Start > Run, type "ncpa.cpl", press ENTER
2. Click "Create a new connection"
3. Click Next, select "Set up an advanced connection", click Next
4. Select "Accept incoming connections", click Next
5. Do not select LPT1 or any other parallel/serial ports on this windows, simply click Next
6. Select "Allow virtual private connection, click Next
7. Select the usernames to whom you like to provide remote access, click Next
8. Use the default settings, click Next, click Finish.
An "Incoming Connections" icon will appear in your Network Connections window and you are ready to go. Provide the IP address of your machine (use IPCONFIG command) and the username/password to the other party and they will be able to remotely connect to your system and access your shared resources. Please note that if you are using a router you should allow port 1723 pass through the firewall AND you should configure your router so that it maps the IP address given to you by your ISP to the local IP address of your computer on that specific port (ex. 10.51.12.3:1723 -> 192.168.0.101:1723).
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