I have purchase two new Dell Desktops and want to Network them together. What is the best way to do this? I also need to do data transfers from a laptop to the desktop on occasion. I purchased a data cable to direct connect the two but have not had much luck getting it to work. Any suggestions? :) Thanks :confused:
there are a number of ways that you can do this. from what you already have the easiest thing to do would to just plug the cord from one computer to the other and use the NETBEUI protocol for data transfer. i am assuming that you have some version of windows on these computers, so just install the NetBEUI protocol from your networking settings. in the future you might want to buy a hub or switch so you can add more computers or printers to your home network. plus you can use a more reliable protocol TCP/IP.
Make sure that the cable you have is a cross over cable. If you purchased a normal cable, which is actaully made to go from computer to hub, it will not work in the computer to computer environment.
I hope that helps,
oach
Thanks Oach & Tron, First .. what is Netbeui protocal? where do i go to get it in windows? Also the Data Transfer cable i purchased is a DB9 & DB25 Female/Female Serial. It says its for FILE TRANSFER PC TO PC. Does that seem to be the correct one to use?
You can find Netboui by right clicking on network neighborhood and going into properties.
Do you have network cards in your computers? If you do, get rid of the serial cable and buy a "cross-over cable". Go to your local store and ask someone for one, if you don't know what it is. The reason the it is called a cross-over---the cable goes from similar type to similar type. (ie network to network card). Usual cables are made to go from network card to hub or vice versa.
One other note on the network cards. You can pick up two network cards, if you don't have them, for about $25. They are relatively cheap and easy to install. I prefer 3com but there are other brands out there that are just as good (you will pay a little more for the 3com cards). Also, if you decide to go this route, it will be very easy to add computer to your "network" in the future.
Now, if you don't have network cards, the serial cable you bought should work. Networking via serial ports and cables is slow compared to using network cards and a cross-over cable.
I hope this help,
oach
There are various was to network your computer at home.
You can do it though your phone line, power line, wireless, and ethernet. Most common is ethernet, which you'll need a hub, network cards, and cables.
For power lines and phone lines, you'll have to buy this hardware that plugs into USB or installed into those PCI slot or something.
Wireless is just basically wireless version of the ethernet method. So you'll need a wireless hub and wireless cards installed for that also.
There are also the non-networking methods you could use. It's a direct connection from one computer to another using a special parallel or serial cable. Windows has this program in Accessories that does the connecting for you, and you can transfer files and stuff. It's sort of like networking in terms of connecting two computers and communicating between them, but it's not necessary "networking" networking :p
He is currently trying to use direct connection via a serial cable. This method doesn't always works; pretty cumbersome actaully. For it to work both parallel ports must support bi-directional communication. If I were you, and the direct connection continues to fail, I would purchase a nic for the laptop if it doesn't already have one and use crossover. Save yourself the headache. Good luck.
Nico
No need to load/find netbeui. You would use default tcp/ip and a crossover cable if using the buildin nic interfaces in the laptops. Netbeui to be loaded requires the xp cd. Its in the addon folder and is not installed by default.