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Connecting Two Computers Together Using A Cable

You can share your internet connection with a second computer easily, and this page will give you full instructions on how to do it!

Note: This is written for Windows XP only. Other versions of Windows are more difficult, and you can play with them yourself. OnALot.com only supports XP based systems.

Note: Both computers must have an Ethernet port, sometimes called a NIC or Network Port. An Ethernet port looks like a Modem port, but has 8 wires in it, and is a bit wider. It's usually found near the USB ports on the rear of your desktop computer, and on the side or back of your laptop.

What You Will Need

In addition to your two computers, you will need a CAT5 Crossover Cable. This is a special type of CAT5 cable, and is required for two computers to talk to each other. OnALot.com makes up a 6' Crossover Cable for $5, and longer ones for $1 per foot. Call us if you need one.

Setup Instructions

  1. Power up your computers. Connect the two of them together by connecting the Crossover Cable to each computer's ethernet port.
  2. On your main computer, click on Start - Control Panel - Network Connections. If you don't see this on your menu, click on "Switch to Classic View" on the top left side of the Control Panel, then click on Network Connections.
  3. On the left side, click on the "Set up a home or small office network" line.
  4. Click Next and then Next again.
  5. Click the first button: "This computer connects directly to the Internet. The other computers on my network connect to the Internet through this computer" and then click Next
  6. This page determines how your main computer gets the Internet. Select the Wireless Network Connection (or dialup if that's what you are using) line by clicking on it to highlight it, and click Next
  7. Enter a name for your computer description. Click Next
  8. You can use the MSHOME default workgroup. Click Next
  9. Select Turn off file and printer sharing. Click Next
  10. Click Next again
  11. This will take a few moments while your computer sets up the files.
  12. Select Just finish the Wizard, I don't need to run the wizard on other computers. Click Next and then click Finish
  13. On your Laptop or second desktop computer, click on Start - Control Panel - Network Connections. If you don't see this on your menu, click on "Switch to Classic View" on the top left side of the Control Panel, then click on Network Connections.
  14. Find the LAN or Local Area Network Connection, put your mouse over it and click the Right mouse button. Select Properties from the list.
  15. On the General page, click on the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) line to highlight it, then click on Properties below that
  16. Click on the Use the following IP address button, and enter
    IP Address: 192.168.0.10
    Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
    Gateway: 192.168.0.1
  17. Click on the Use the following DNS server addresses button, and enter
    Preferred DNS server: 68.94.156.1
    Alternate DNS server: 68.94.157.1
  18. Click OK
  19. Click OK or Close
  20. Your laptop or second desktop computer will now get the Internet from the first computer.

Note: If you turn off the Main Computer (the one with the internet connection), the second computer will not be able to get the Internet. The first computer has to be On for the second one to get the Internet.