How to Connect Two Computers Together with an Ethernet Cable_Computers and Electronics_Common Sense of Life

Part 1 Part 1 of 3: Connecting the Computers

1 Determine whether or not your computers have Ethernet ports. Ethernet ports resemble large, rectangular ports which usually have a three-box icon next to them. You'll usually find Ethernet ports on one side of your computer's housing (laptop) or on the back of the tower (desktop).
- On iMac computers, the Ethernet port is found on the back of the monitor.
2 Buy an Ethernet adapter if necessary. If your computer doesn't have an Ethernet port, you'll need to buy a USB Ethernet adapter for your computer. You can find these online (e.g., Amazon) and in tech stores (e.g., Best Buy).
- If you have a Mac, check your USB ports as well. You might have only USB-C ports (e.g., oval ports instead of rectangular ports) meaning that you'll either need an Ethernet to USB-C adapter or a USB to USB-C adapter as well.
3 Check to see if you have a crossover Ethernet cable. While most Ethernet ports support both conventional Ethernet cables and crossover Ethernet cables, you can avoid potential errors by using a crossover Ethernet cable. To determine whether or not you have a crossover cable, view the colored wires at the end of each side of the cable:
- If the colors are differently ordered on one end, you have a crossover cable.
- If the colors are the same for both ends from left to right, you have a conventional cable. You can still use this cable for most computers, but if you're connecting older computers to each other, consider buying a crossover cable if you run into issues.
4 Plug one end of the Ethernet cable into one computer. The Ethernet cable's head should fit into the Ethernet port on your computer with the lever side facing down.
- If you have to use an Ethernet adapter, plug the USB end of the adapter into one of your computer's free USB ports.
5 Plug the other end of the Ethernet cable into the other computer. The other end of the Ethernet cable should plug into the other computer's available Ethernet port.
- Again, if you have to use an Ethernet adapter for the other computer, plug it in first.

Part 2 Part 2 of 3: Using File Sharing on Windows

1 Open Control Panel. Click Start in the bottom-left corner of the screen, type in control panel, and click Control Panel at the top of the menu.
2 Click Network and Internet. It's in the middle of the Control Panel window.
- Skip this step if you see the phrase "Small icons" or "Large icons" next to the "View" heading in the upper-right corner of the window.
3 Click Network and Sharing Center. You'll find this link near the top of the window.
- If your Control Panel is using the "Small icons" or "Large icons" view, you'll find Network and Sharing Center on the right side of the page.
4 Click the Advanced sharing settings link. It's in the upper-left side of the window.
5 Check the "Turn on file and printer sharing" box. You'll find this box in the "File and printer sharing" section of the menu.
6 Click Save changes. It's at the bottom of the window. Doing so saves your changes and enables file sharing on your PC.
7 Share a folder. To allow the connected computer to view and edit the contents of any shared folder, do the following:
- Open the folder you want to share.
- Click the Share tab.
- Click the Specific people... entry.
- Click the downward-facing arrow in the drop-down box, then click Everyone in the resulting drop-down menu.
- Click Share, then click Done when prompted.
8 Access a shared folder. If you want to view a shared folder on your PC, you can do so from within File Explorer:
- Make sure you shared the folder from your connected PC or Mac computer.
- Open File Explorer.
- Click the other computer's name in the left-hand sidebar.
- Enter the other computer's password if prompted.
- Open the shared folder to view its files.

Part 3 Part 3 of 3: Using File Sharing on Mac

1 Open the Apple menu . Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear.
2 Click System Preferences.... You'll find this in the drop-down menu. Doing so prompts the System Preferences window to open.
3 Click Sharing. It's in the System Preferences window. This will open the Sharing window.
4 Check the "File Sharing" box. You'll find this on the left side of the Sharing window.
5 Change the "Everyone" permissions. Click the icon to the right of the "Everyone" heading, then click the Read & Write option in the resulting menu. This allows the connected computer to view and edit the contents of any shared folder.
6 Share a folder. To share a folder from your Mac to the attached computer, do the following:
- Click ＋ below the list of shared folders in the Sharing window.
- Find a folder you want to share.
- Click once the folder to select it.
- Click Add to add the folder to the list of shared folders.
7 Access a shared folder. If you want to view a shared folder on your Mac, you can do so from within Finder:
- Make sure you shared the folder from your connected PC or Mac computer.
- Open Finder.
- Select the other computer's name in the left-hand column of options in the Finder window.
- Enter the other computer's password if prompted.
- Open the shared folder to view its files.

How to Connect Two Computers Together with an Ethernet Cable

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