In this article, we will describe how to connect two PCs to play multiplayer games or share files. In fact, we will create a LAN with two computers.
You can do this using wireless network cards or by using a cable. We will be describing the “wired” way. The “wired” way can be done using two ethernet cables and a hub or using a crossover ethernet cable which is the cheapest and works brilliantly.
This is what you should do:
You must first physically connect the two computers. Verify that both PCs have LAN network cards. Then all you need is a Cross crimped RJ45-CAT5 cable. Connect the two computers using the crossover cable and the LAN card ports.
Now you need to apply some settings to the “connected” computers. We will be describing how to do this on Windows systems. We will refer to the two computers as ComputerA and ComputerB. Let’s start the setup.
ComputerA
– Right click on “My Computer” and then click on “Properties”
– Click the “Computer Name” tab and click the “Change…” button
– Change the name to the one you like best. For this example we will call it ComputerA. Here you can also change the name of the workgroup to whatever you want, but it must be the same on both computers. For this example, we will call the workgroup “OURLAN”.
– Click OK
– In TCP/IP settings… Open “Control Panel” and click “Network Connections”
– Your LAN connection will appear. Right click on its icon and select “Properties”.
– In the “General” tab, select “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)” and then click “Properties”
– Set the following values:
IP address -> 192.168.72.1
Subnet Mask -> 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway -> 192.168.72.2
– Click OK and you are done with ComputerA.
ComputerB
– Right click on “My Computer” and then click on “Properties”
– Click the “Computer Name” tab and click the “Change…” button
– Change the name to “ComputerB”. Also change the workgroup name to “OURLAN” (Remember that the workgroup name should be the same on both computers)
– Click OK
– In TCP/IP settings… Open “Control Panel” and click “Network Connections”
– Your LAN connection will appear. Right click on its icon and select “Properties”.
– In the “General” tab, select “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)” and then click “Properties”
– Set the following values:
IP address -> 192.168.72.2
Subnet Mask -> 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway -> 192.168.72.1
– Click OK and you are done with ComputerB.
Now the two computers should be connected. If you don’t see them detect each other, try restarting them. You can play your favorite multiplayer games using the connection method above. You can also transfer files and data.
If you want to access the other computer, just go to “My Network Places.” A good idea would be to map a network drive to a local hard drive for easy access.
