connect 2 computers

[BabyBoy-- 0]

hmm ok im sure its been asked before but i have no idea what im looking for in "computer term"

so i got two computers and i got a cable called "cross-over" from future shop which the guy told me was all i needed

 

i got windows xp on both computer

 

and well i connected the cable but i dont know what to do next

[Wicked101 0]

It depends on what you are planning on doing. If its just for gaming and you dont have any static IP addresses on either of the PC's (dont worry, if you dont know what I mean and you did not do it it should not be static) you just need to restart both PC's, XP will make the connection by itself and then they can see each other.

 

If there is something secific you would like to do with these 2 PC's while connected let me know then I can describe it in more detail.

 

Enjoy

Wicked

[BabyBoy-- 0]

thanks wicked

well for one actually mainly i want to be able to access files from and to both computers

 

[Wicked101 0]

OK, in that case, I think the easy way to do this is to create a folder on the desktop of each PC, right click anywhere on the desktop and select new -> folder and then give it a name like "Share", without the "" of course:)

 

Right click on the newly created folders and click "Sharing and security" then click on "If you understand the security risks but want to share files without running the wizzard, click here"

If you get a popup click the "Just enable file sharing" and click OK.

Now, tick the box next to "Share this folder on the network" then you should see the folders name appear in the "Share name" field, then tick the box next to "Allow network users to change my files" (so that you are able to copy into that folder from your other PC).

 

OK, now you'll need to get your computer names, right click on "My Computer" and click "Properties", click on the tab "Computer Name" at the top, you will see the computer name next to "Full computer name".

 

Now, if you've got the names of both PC's you can make it more easy by creating a shortcut on each desktop to the other PC.

 

eg.

If the name of PC1 is "Home1" and PC2 "Home2" and the shared folder on the desktop is called "Share" then go to PC1, right click on the desktop -> click "New" -> Shortcut.

In the open field type in:

 

\\Home2\Share

 

and click "Next" then type in a name for it, something like "Share on Home2" and click "Finish"

 

Now, go to PC2 and do the same, but replace "Home2" with "Home1"

 

And that should be it

[Wicked101 0]

I hope this helps and that I did not miss anything, I'm still sleeping:)

[BabyBoy-- 0]

aight that sounds about right

so if i understand all that correctly theres no way to share the whole computer? ( i mean not only what is inside a "share" folder)

[Sampson 0]

You can share the "whole computer" by making the entire C:\ drive shareable (in other words, the root directory) the same way that you make an individual folder shareable. It is not something you would want to do normally, especially if you are on the net, particularly a broadband connection.

[Wicked101 0]

Originally posted by BabyBoy--:

Quote:

aight that sounds about right

so if i understand all that correctly theres no way to share the whole computer? ( i mean not only what is inside a "share" folder)

It is possible, but like Sampson said, its not very safe.

Another thing, your C: drive already has an Administrator share on it, and in some cases you can connect to one PC but not the other in a workgroup by clicking START -> RUN -> type in

\\home1\c$

This is using the same examples as before, replace home1 with your computername, normally the older installation can connect to the newer installation that way, but not the other way around.

If there is more than one folder you would like to share you can do so, but to only have the one folder is the safest, you can copy into that folder and cut & paste from the other PC, then that folder can be empty if you get some nosey surfers.

 

In my experience, I tried to share the whole C: drive once and it corrupted my pagefile and my PC could not start up anymore.

[BabyBoy-- 0]

yeah i understand a little better now that i tried it

guess i shouldve tried before asking

 

on another note how about sharing another drive than the main c: (how safe is that --like can they touch my c: even though its not that one that is shared)

 

also what do you mean by safe :

other people can see/download my files

or

other people can see/download/delete/etc

 

 

 

[Wicked101 0]

Originally posted by BabyBoy--:

Quote:

yeah i understand a little better now that i tried it

guess i shouldve tried before asking

 

Not a problem, everyone has to start somewhere, sometimes questions has to be asked to proceed:)

 

Originally posted by BabyBoy--:

Quote:

on another note how about sharing another drive than the main c: (how safe is that --like can they touch my c: even though its not that one that is shared)

 

Yes, you can share another drive, the complete drive with not problems. When I create any share I make it a hidden share by adding "$" after the sharename, like, after you created the folder on PC Home1, you click the sharing box, then in the sharename field (if the share is called "share") you add the "$", then it should look like this -> Share$

The "$" hides the share, and if someone browses the PC for shares they cant see it that easy and the only way you can connect to it then is if you add the "$" at the end of the string when you create the shortcuts like I explained in the previous post.

eg:

\\Home2\Share$

 

Without the "$" you wont be able to connect to that share.

 

Originally posted by BabyBoy--:

Quote:

also what do you mean by safe :

other people can see/download my files

or

other people can see/download/delete/etc

 

Well, the right/wrong person with the correct knowledge could do whatever he wants, some people even uses open PC's to save their data like an online storage server.

[BabyBoy-- 0]

all right ..great . thanks for all your help

 

later.

[Wicked101 0]

Its my pleasure, enjoy.

 

CIAO

Wicked