networking needs

girovend · Aug 24, 2003

hi all
Running 2 pc's one on xp and one on win98 second edition
both have their own printers and both share the same cable modem
(I just plug the pc i'm using into the modem)
But I would like to network them so I can transfer files between them
what do I need ?would I get away with just using a cross over cable ? and whats the easiest way to do this.

PC-GUY · Aug 24, 2003

The easy way would be to us a cable router. Then they can both be on the internet at the sametime and share any file or files you want.

VIPER_1069 · Aug 24, 2003

if its purely for just file share and not internet share them my suggestion would be a parallel port to parellel port "NULL MODEM" cable which will link both systems for sharing files

cheaper than NIC cards and CROSSOVER cable

make sure its A NULL cable though as any other will no doubt cause both puters to go BANG and we do not want that do we

Lister · Aug 24, 2003

parallel =that would be one slow as way to move files

rounter or hub and ics would be way i would go if it was me

LTR12101B · Aug 24, 2003

Is it an Ethernet cable modem, or a USB one - iof it's USB, then I don't know of any cable routers with USB input - reminds me of another quick and dirty.... USB Network - you CANNOT just 2 PC's together though, since they are both hosts - so the cable that does it has an active device that both PC's can see .... wouldn't recommend it, other than for simplicity though.

Ethernet, it's either a broadband router (so you use both PC's) or going net card to net card with a crossover cable.

XP to 98, the XP wizard sould be able to prepare a floppy which wil configure networking on the 98 machine to match.

One thing I hate, though is linking Microsoft networking to the TCP/IP protocol, as it open all sorts of holes (get the patches, or you'll get every virus that's going!) - and of course, XP networks using TCP/IP by default!

I prefer to hook it up via the NETBEUI protocol (cannot leak out or in), but it's "unsupported" on XP - there are workarounds, as it is an option, but they don't make it easy.

girovend · Aug 25, 2003

It's purely for file share that I want to link the puters,
reading through your replies ,I think cross over cable seems
to be my best bet,
I'll need a network card for one of them but the other has on-board
lan ,could I connect them this way? or do I need to have 2 network
cards.
(as you prob can tell I'm not to sure about any of this so
the simpler the better)

Lister · Aug 25, 2003

if one has onboard use it but you will need network card for other there not expensive only about 5 to 30 uk quid

but make sure when you buy the cable its a cross over one

VIPER_1069 · Aug 25, 2003

just make sure u get 10/100 crossover cable

if it aint crossover cable u will only get net share and not file share

girovend · Aug 29, 2003

thanks for the info guys
looks like I'll be getting a network card and a 10/100 crossover cable
then,
btw how fast is it to transfer files and folders this way and what size files can you transfer (ie could I safely send video files and the like ) to save the hassle of burning to cd or dvd then transfering across ?

Lister · Aug 29, 2003

i use my for system back ups like mp3 and download/my doc can be anything about 10gig+

and takes about 30mins to move that

VIPER_1069 · Aug 29, 2003

sometimes its a good idea to use FREEWARE TOOL 'advanced lan pump' to provide resumable transfers of large files as sometimes it may hang if transfering whole single zip files of gigabytes of data

search google for "advanced lan pump" no quotes

i think i get some hangs because my lan is 20 meters apart lol! one upstairs and one downstairs

but transfer of smaller files are a breeze in seconds

girovend · Sep 1, 2003

Thanx everyone for the info ,I've got a much better idea
of what i'm doing now
and viper_1069 I'll prob give that lan pump a go
as I need about 20 meters of cable as well.