networking laptop to pc

  • Thread starter Thread starter suzanne shelton
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suzanne shelton

Hi folks,

I have never setup a network before, but i finally have a need for one
& i think i may already have all the equipment i need to make it work.
however, it's proven a lot more frustrating than i initally
envisioned, and i am in dire need of guidance!

I am wanting to network my pc and laptop to transfer files easily
between the two & hopefully share internet connectivity. Simple right?
Both machines are running XP Pro and have Ethernet NICs, but
unfortunately I am stuck with a dialup connection (dsl and cable modem
aren't available in my area).

1) Is there a way to use my Linksys Cable/DSL Router to connect the
two even though i'm using dialup? how would i do this? would i plug
the pc cable into the WAN slot and the laptop into port1?

2) Can i link them directly using an Ethernet cable? Someone suggested
this may be possible with XP but i've had no luck so far.

3) Do i need to purchase a crossover cable or a hub perhaps?

Please help! i am going in circles.

thank you thank you
-suzanne
 
Suzanna

If you only have one PC and a laptop, the easiest and cheapest thing to do
is get a 'cross over' cable and connect the two together.
If you want to share the modem attached to the PC, set this as the Internet
Connection Share (ICS)in XP's settings. You might also have to specify an IP
address on your main machine and set the laptop to aquire its IP
automatically.

Lofty
 
Hi folks,

I have never setup a network before, but i finally have a need for one
& i think i may already have all the equipment i need to make it work.
however, it's proven a lot more frustrating than i initally
envisioned, and i am in dire need of guidance!

I am wanting to network my pc and laptop to transfer files easily
between the two & hopefully share internet connectivity. Simple right?
Both machines are running XP Pro and have Ethernet NICs, but
unfortunately I am stuck with a dialup connection (dsl and cable modem
aren't available in my area).

1) Is there a way to use my Linksys Cable/DSL Router to connect the
two even though i'm using dialup? how would i do this? would i plug
the pc cable into the WAN slot and the laptop into port1?

2) Can i link them directly using an Ethernet cable? Someone suggested
this may be possible with XP but i've had no luck so far.

3) Do i need to purchase a crossover cable or a hub perhaps?

Please help! i am going in circles.

thank you thank you
-suzanne
Click to expand...

Cross-over cable is easiest (this is a different cable then the normal CAT5
cable). If you add more machines in the future you can upgrade to a
*switch* then (hubs are slower, and switches aren't that much more expensive
anymore). If the Linksys router has a 4-port hub/switch in it, you could
use that, if not then stick with a cross-over cable.

The PC's (with the modem) ethernet connection should be given a static IP
address (such as 192.168.142.1) with a netmask of 255.255.255.0, DNS can be
left blank, default gateway address should be left blank.

The PC's (without the modem) connection should be configured with the IP
address 192.168.142.2, netmask of 255.255.255.0, not sure what DNS should be
set to, default gateway address should be 192.168.142.1.

Prior to dealing with ICS, get to a command prompt on the modem-equip'd PC
and type "ping 192.168.142.2" to verify that the cross-over cable is
installed and working properly. Then go to the non-modem PC and "ping
192.168.142.1" to verify that it can also see the other end of the cable.

After that, I don't know how exactly to setup ICS...
 
With only a dial up connection, probably the easiest and cheapest way to go
is to connect the 2 computers with a crossover cable, enable Internet
Connection Sharing in the fastest computer (the one you use the most) and
enable an Internet connection through that one.

But go for broadband and then get a router to connect to the internet and
throw away the crossover cable.
 
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