How to set up a network between two computers?

Connect the crossover Ethernet cable to the LAN (RJ45) ports of both the PCs.

PC - 1

• Go to My Computer > Properties > Computer Name.


• Change the Computer Name to A and Workgroup name to ABC and click OK to save changes.


• Go to Control Panel > Network Connections.


• Right click on your LAN connection and select Properties.


• Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) > Properties.


• Enter these values:
  
  
  
  • IP Address - 192.168.0.1
  
  
  • Subnet Mask - 255.255.255.0
  
  
  
  


• Leave the other fields blank and click OK to save changes.

PC - 2

• Go to My Computer > Properties > Computer Name.


• Change the Computer Name to B and Workgroup name to ABC and click OK to save changes.


• Go to Control Panel > Network Connections.


• Right click on your LAN connection and select Properties.
  
  
  
  • Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) > Properties.
  
  
  • Enter these values:
  
  
  
  

IP Address - 192.168.0.2
Subnet Mask - 255.255.255.0

• Leave the other fields blank and click OK to save changes.

After the connections and settings have been saved, both the PCs should be connected by LAN. You may need to restart both the PCs.

You can check if the connection is working by pinging one PC from the other.

For PC-1, Start > Run > CMD > ping 192.168.0.2
For PC-2, Start > Run > CMD > ping 192.168.0.1

You can view the PCs in My Network Places. You can now use this LAN connection to play multiplayer games or share files. You can also map a drive on another PC to a local drive by using My Computer > Tools > Map Network Drive > Select Drive Letter and network path of the shared folder on the other PC.