Member Avatar for FLYN

I want to connect my two pcs. One is using winsows 2000 pro and the other is using xp pro.Is it hard Im not tech savy. Can anyone help me and give me a step by step procedure?

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Short answer: it’s not hard, but a few small checks make the process painless. As and pointed out, using a small home router/switch is the simplest and safest way if you want both PCs on the internet and the same local network. was also right — a direct cable between two NICs will work for simple file transfers without a router. Before you start, remember both Windows 2000 and XP are very old and no longer receive security updates; keep them behind a router/NAT and limit sharing to what you actually need.

Quick preflight

  • Confirm each PC has a working Ethernet adapter and drivers installed (Device Manager).
  • Note how your internet comes in: if it’s a USB modem, sharing internet needs extra setup (ICS) or a router that supports the connection type.
  • Have: Ethernet cables (or a crossover cable only if the NICs don’t auto-sense), or a basic router/switch with DHCP.

Practical steps (router method — recommended)

  1. Connect the router to your modem and the PCs to the router LAN ports.
  2. On each PC open a command prompt and run ipconfig /all to confirm each got a private IP from the router.
  3. Ensure both machines use the same Workgroup name (System → Computer Name → Change).
  4. Enable File and Printer Sharing in the network adapter properties, and allow it through any firewall on each machine.
  5. Right‑click any folder to share it, then on the other PC map it as a network drive.

Practical steps (direct cable)

  • Assign simple static IPs (example below), set the same Workgroup, enable file sharing, then test with ping.
PC1: IP 192.168.0.10  Mask 255.255.255.0
PC2: IP 192.168.0.11  Mask 255.255.255.0

Troubleshooting & security notes

  • Check link lights on NICs and verify ipconfig output. Disable/adjust third‑party firewalls when testing. Don’t share folders as “Everyone” with full control unless you understand the risk. Consider upgrading the machines or moving sensitive tasks to a supported OS.

Recommended Answers

All 9 Replies

Member Avatar for hughv

You can start by looking here:

The XP netwqork wizard will walk you through the software, but you need to determine what hardware you're going to use.
The easiest way is a router, but read the tutorial and make your own decision.

Member Avatar for ithelp

Buy a router connect it to your modem which connects to internet, now connect bothe the pcs to the router using ethernet cables.

Member Avatar for caperjack

Buy a router connect it to your modem which connects to internet, now connect bothe the pcs to the router using ethernet cables.

but wouldn't that just give both computers internet access ,my knowledge of networking is limited ,but i do think that one computer will need 2 nic card ,cable in and out , and the other need one nic card ,cable in for the others out !!. that is if the first computer has high speed internet coming in via a network card and not a usb device .

Member Avatar for hughv

You need to do a little more homework.
The router not only gives internet access, but it allows for networking also. This is by far the most intelligent way to do this, as the router provides a layer of security as well.
One Nic per PC will suffice in this scenario.
Get the router working, run the wizard, and you're done.

Member Avatar for caperjack

You need to do a little more homework.
.

thought so, but who has time for homework .

Member Avatar for mjdodd

I realisethe solutions offered are the best but ther eis a very simple way to connect two comuters. get a cross over (important cross over) cable ethernet nad plug one end into each computer;

then u wil then be able to see each other via ethernet automaticlly propvided they are both in the same work group ( see the compute properties) then yu shuld be ableto wrk the two computers as thugh theey were one big computers nad each shuld appear in the network; ( the router and non cross over cablesdo the same but enable grater flexibility)

If they do nott hen tyr using the smae loginand password for each cmputer. one oiftheml wil be connecte to internet and yu may hve tot tell the othr that the first one is the ntenet connection.

BOL

M

Member Avatar for caperjack

I realisethe solutions offered are the best but ther eis a very simple way to connect two comuters. get a cross over (important cross over) cable ethernet nad plug one end into each computer;

then u wil then be able to see each other via ethernet automaticlly propvided they are both in the same work group ( see the compute properties) then yu shuld be ableto wrk the two computers as thugh theey were one big computers nad each shuld appear in the network; ( the router and non cross over cablesdo the same but enable grater flexibility)

If they do nott hen tyr using the smae loginand password for each cmputer. one oiftheml wil be connecte to internet and yu may hve tot tell the othr that the first one is the ntenet connection.

BOL

M

man, that chat speak is annoying !

Member Avatar for hughv

"man, that chat speak is annoying !"
Oh. I thought it was German.
Seriously folks. Get the Google toolbar which has a very nice spellchecker.

Member Avatar for caperjack

"man, that chat speak is annoying !"
Oh. I thought it was German.
Seriously folks. Get the Google toolbar which has a very nice spellchecker.

after a second read, i think its fingers faster than the brain!

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