how to connect two laptops using lan cable for data transfer

 

This article will provide you with a step by step guide to connecting two laptops using a LAN cable for data transfer. We will go over the benefits of connecting two computers to a network, as well as how to set up the connection.

If you're interested in transferring files between 2 computers, or if your internet connection is such that it doesn't allow for access across your local network, read on.

Before connecting:

1. A laptop with an available network connection and a wireless network adapter is required.

2. The two computers may be located in the same room, or they may be in separate rooms altogether and connected to each other via a wireless router. If the two computers are not connected to a local network, it is possible to connect them via a wireless network adapter on both computers, requiring no wired connection at all.

3. A LAN cable should be used to connect the two computers together; it’s necessary your devices are on the same subnet (subnet mask) when making this connection.

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4. The operating systems of the two computers do not matter, but they should both be running the same version of the network service (Windows Vista, XP, 7, etc.).

Step one:

Become familiar with your computers network card settings. You will need to know how to access these so that you can change them as necessary in later steps:

1. In Windows 7, go to Control Panel, Network and Internet -> View network status and tasks.

2. In Windows Vista, go to Start -> Control Panel -> Network and Sharing Center -> Manage network connections).

3. In Windows XP: Go to Start -> My Network Places.

4. Right click on your connection icon (This PC in Vista, Local Area Connection 2-3 in XP) and select Status, Details or Properties

Step two: Changing the TCP/IP settings on your computer

1. The most common network settings that need to be changed are the IP address and the subnet mask. The subnet mask will tell your computer on what network it is located, and you may have to change this depending on your circumstances. Two computers connected via LAN cable have to have identical values for their subnet masks, otherwise they cannot communicate with each other - this would also include any wireless routers or access points in between.

If you are unsure of what settings you need to use, here is some advice from Microsoft's support regarding IP addresses: "Many home networks use 192.168.0.1 as the default IP address for the router, so we suggest you start by using a free Class C 192 address like 192.168.0.2 or 192.168.0.3 for the router for your network."

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For example, if you were setting up two computers at home and were using DD-WRT on your router, you would probably use a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 because that's the default subnet mask given by DD-WRT for its routers (If you're not sure what this is, it means there is only one host and 0 subnets here). The reason why this setting is important is because this subnet mask will allow your two computers to communicate with each other on the LAN, which is as we said one of the goals of connecting them in the first place.

2. The IP address that you should use for both computers depends on the network settings of your router. For example, if you have a Linksys router, you would enter 192.168.0.1 into the box (assuming you wish to keep it static).

The other settings here are all dependent on what you chose above and should be left at their default values which are usually:

 

 

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