How to Connect Two Computers Together to Share Data

You may have two computers at home and you maybe tired of transferring data from one to the other, through external storage devices. You may even be thinking of connecting the two of them together, for ease of using resources like printers or for multiplayer gaming.

One of the simplest ways is the use of an Ethernet cable. For this networking method to work, you need to have a network card installed on both the computers. These cards are placed in the PCI slots of the computer. The card provides an Ethernet port to the computer, which provides a facility to connect it with other computers.

So, to connect two computers together using an Ethernet cable, make sure that both of them have a networking card and if they do not, then buy them and get them installed. Choose a network card which provides high data transfer rate. Buy an Ethernet cable.

Plug one end of that cable into the Ethernet port of the first computer and the other end into the port of another computer. Make sure that you connect the cable properly, into the Ethernet port and hear it clicking into place on both sides.

Next, you must switch on the two computers and go to the network settings. In case you have any other operating system, other than windows, run its equivalent network setup utility program.

Create a network using the 'set up advanced network' option, by logging in as the administrator. Make sure that you don't forget to specify that you are creating this network without a router and directly connecting computers. Name the computer you have logged in as the 'host', while the other computer should be named as the 'guest' .

If you are asked to create a network setup disk, then create one and run it on the other computer to transfer the network settings. Turn file sharing 'on', when given a choice. Click on properties of drives or folders and enable their sharing on the network. That should do the trick and enable your two-computer network.

You can connect the two computers by another method, which is by using a USB cable. Here is what you need to do. First, you need to install the driver software for the USB cable. Insert the installation CD in the drive of one computer and finish the installation.

Choose 'Link Mode' in the installation process, which enables you to transfer files between the two computers. If you choose the 'network mode', it will connect the computer on a network.

Repeat the procedure of driver installation on the second PC. Then connect each end of the USB cable, to the USB ports of each computer. With that done, your computers are linked for data transfer.

There are many other ways of connecting two computers together through the use of a router based IPV4 network. You can set up such a network at home and enjoy multiplayer gaming.