How to Connect Two Computers

Five Methods: Ethernet  Windows Vista, 7, or 8  Windows XP  Macintosh OS X  Using a Macintosh Computer as a Server

For the family or small business, having your computers connected can be a great way to share data, resources, and more. This article will show you how to connect two computers using various operating systems. Note: these instructions create a private network of only two devices. For an expanded understanding of the private network concept.

Method 1 of 5: Ethernet

1. Plug in an ethernet cable.  To connect two computers that don't have access to a shared network, you can use an Ethernet cable to make a direct connection between the two computer's Ethernet ports.

• Some computers require a special cable called "crossover cable." This is a specialized cable that is wired in reverse. Ethernet ports have both inputs and outputs, and the crossover cable is switched so that the output from one computer connects to the input of the other.
• Many current computers do not need a crossover cable: they use Auto-Medium Dependent Interface Crossover (Auto-MDIX), and will automatically configure the Ethernet port.
• Most Macintosh computers built recently do not need a crossover cable.
• If you're not sure, check your documentation to see what your system needs. If that's not available, just use a crossover cable: an auto-sensing Ethernet port will work with a crossover cable just as well as with a standard cable.

Method 2 of 5: Windows Vista, 7, or 8

1. Connect the two computers using a crossover cable. At least one of the computers being connected should be using Windows Vista, 7, or 8.

2. Open the Network and Sharing Center. If you're connecting a Windows 7 and Windows Vista computer together, use Windows 7 to perform these tasks.

• Click the Start button, and then click Control Panel. In the search box, type "network," and then click on Network and Sharing Center.

3. Select your network. In the network map, shown at the top of the Network and Sharing Center, double click on the Unidentified network icon.

• If you have more than a single network, the icon will be named Multiple networks.

4. Enable network discovery. If network discovery and file sharing are turned off, in Network, click the info bar containing this message: Network discovery and file sharing are turned off. Network computers and devices are not visible. Click to change...,and then click Turn on network discovery and file sharing. If you're asked for an admin password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation, as required.

• Note: if one of the computers is running Windows XP, it may take a while for it to appear in the Network window. You may need to configure the XP computer as described below.
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Method 3 of 5: Windows XP

1. Open the Control Panel.  From the Start menu, select Control Panel or Settings, and then Control Panel.

2. Double-click System, and then select the Computer Name tab. Enter the name of each computer and the name of the workgroup

• The name of each computer should be unique, but the workgroup name must be identical for both.

3. Set up the network connection.  From the Control Panel, double-click Network Connections, and then connect the computer using the crossover cable.

• If either machine's status is shown as "Disconnected", the cable is either not firmly seated or bad.

4. Enable file sharing. Right-click the icon for the network connection, and then select Properties. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Windows Firewall Settings.

• In the Windows Firewall Settings window, click the Exceptions tab, and make sure that Printer and File Sharing is selected.
• It may take some time for the computer to obtain IP addresses and appear in the Network Connections window.
• Note: if you're connecting two Windows XP computers, you'll need to do the above steps for both computers.

 

Method 4 of 5: Macintosh OS X

1. Hook them up. Connect an Ethernet cable from the Ethernet computer on one port to the Ethernet computer on the other.

• If you don't have an Ethernet port, you can also use a USB-to-Ethernet adapter.

2. Set network preferences. On each computer, in the Network preferences panel, select Show Network Port Configurations and make sure Built-in Ethernet is checked.

• If Ethernet is active, it will be shown in the Network Status pane of the Network System Preferences panel.

3. Enable Sharing.  Open the Sharing preferences panel on one of the machines, and activate Personal File Sharing. Make note of the computer address, shown here as "afp://192.168.0.2" (afp stands for Apple File Protocol).

4. Set up the second computer.

• Using a Finder window in OS X 10.3 or later, click the Network icon in the side bar.
• When all have loaded, look for the name of the first computer you set up, and click on it.
• You may be asked for your password.
• Another dialog will appear with all the available volumes. Select one or all of them, and their icons will appear in your sidebar as partitions.

Method 5 of 5: Using a Macintosh Computer as a Server

1. Share computers as servers.  The advantage to this is that the drive icons of the other computer will show up on the Desktop as volumes.
2. Select "Connect to Server" from the Go menu.

• A dialog will appear with a list of favorite servers. If your target machine's IP address does not appear in the list, click Browse or type the IP address of the target machine into the Server Address field.

3. Click Connect. A password dialog will appear. Enter that information as required.

• A dialog will appear, showing the volume selections on the target Mac. Once the icons appear on your Desktop, treat them as you would any other drive.