-----Original Message-----
hi all
can any body offer any advice
can i network my 2 pc's together
one pc is using windows xp home
and the other is using windows 2000 professional
thanx all.
please e-mail to
galacticacomputers(delete this)@hotmail.com
.
Yes, you can network the computers together. You have
two ways of doing it. You will need a network card in
both machines. Once you have that, you can make a
choice. You can use a special CAT-5 crossover cable.
This is a network cable that has the send and receive
wires opposite on one end of the cable, when compared to
the other end. The crossover cable will simply plug into
both network cards, creating a network between them. Your
other choice is to purchase a hub or switch, and use two
regular CAT-5 cables to connect each computer seperately
to the hub or switch. I would recommend a 10/100 switch.
A switch is a little bit smarter than a hub. When you
send data to a hub, it simply broadcasts the destination
for the data, to all of the computers on the network.
This creates extra network traffic. A switch is a little
smarter. It is able to find and send the data straight to
the destination pc, without broadcasting. This keeps your
network cleaner. This may not be important with only two
computers, but if you ever get a third, it will become a
little more imporant. Companies that make switches are
Linksys, D-Link, and Netgear. You can get a switch for
$50 or less. Another note: if you may get cable modem or
DSL internet access in the future, buy a Cable/DSL Router
with a 4 port switch built in. This will enable you to
use the router for internet security in the future. The
choice is yours.
