How to Connect Two Laptops Over LAN

Connecting two laptops (laptops) via LAN (Local Area Network) is a great way to quickly transfer data between two computers or play multiplayer games with a stable and reliable connection. You can transfer data between two laptops over LAN using cable or wireless network.

Table of Contents

Using a cable (Windows)

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Get a crossover network cable. This is an Ethernet cable used to connect two computers together. If either machine is older, you must use a crossover cable. Regular ethernet cables will not work with older machines. There is no difference in appearance between these two cables. To be on the safe side, ask the store staff to find the crossover cable for you.

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Connect the two ends of the cable to the network ports of the two laptops. The network port is where you connect the Ethernet cable to the computer. The cable will click when it is successfully connected to the network port.

Note that some newer laptops do not have a network port. Some laptop manufacturers have decided to remove them to make laptops lighter or thinner. In that case, move on to the next method to work with wireless connections.

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On both computers, navigate to the contrp panel. Depending on the version of Windows being used, this panel will be located in different locations.

Windows 8: Press the Windows button (Start button) located to the left of the Alt key. Next, type “Contrp Panel”. Tap the icon when it appears under the text field.
Windows 7, Vista, and XP: Press the Windows button (Start button) to the left of the Alt key. Next, type “Contrp Panel”. Tap the icon when it appears above the text field. You can also open the Start menu by pressing the icon in the lower left corner of the screen.

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Make sure that both computers are connected to the same network and workgroup. In the Contrp Panel of both machines, look for “System” in the search box in the upper-right corner of the window. Click on the System heading. Information about the computer including Manufacturer, Model, etc. will appear.

Scroll to the “Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings” section. Click on the “change settings” link in that section. A new “System Properties” window will appear. In this window, click the Change button at the bottom of the window.
Enter the same workgroup name on both computers. It doesn’t matter what the name is, as long as they are the same on both machines.

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Windows 8 users: Again, in the contrp panel, find and click on “Network and Sharing Center”. This section contains all the options related to throttling your network connection.

Typing in the search box in the upper-right corner of the Contrp Panel window is probably the easiest way to find it.
In “Network and Sharing Center”, click “Change Adapter Settings” on the left side of the window.

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Windows 7, Vista, and XP users: Directly open “Network Settings” from the Contrp Panel. Find it on the search box located in the upper right corner of the window.

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Right-click the Local Area Connection option in the “Network Connections” window and select “Properties”.

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Under “This connection uses the fplowing items” (This connection uses the following), find and click “Internet Protocp (TCP/I4)” (Internet Gateway (TCP/I4)). Next, click “Properties”.

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In the new window, click the “Use the fplowing IP address” option. This option allows you to manually enter the address. Enter the following values into each calculator:

Machine 1
- IP Address (IP Address): 192.168.0.1
- Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
- Default Gateway: Leave it blank
Machine 2
- IP Address: 192.168.0.2
- Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
- Default Gateway: Leave it blank

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Click “OK” for the setting to take effect. You should now be able to share files between the two computers via the connected LAN cable. You may have to restart your computer for the change to take effect.

Wireless connection (Windows)

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On both computers, navigate to the contrp panel. Depending on the version of Windows being used, the contrp panel will be located in different locations.

Windows 8: Click the Windows button (Start button) located to the left of the Alt key. Next, type “Contrp Panel”. Tap the icon when it appears under the text field.
Windows 7, Vista, and XP: Press the Windows button (Start button) to the left of the Alt key. Next, type “Contrp Panel”. Tap the icon when it appears above the text field. You can also open the Start menu by tapping the icon located in the lower left corner of the screen.

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In the search box located in the upper right corner of the window, search for “HomeGroup”. Click on the HomeGroup that appears after the search is over.

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In the HomeGroup window, click the “Create a homegroup” button located in the lower right corner of the window.

Note that this button is only enabled if you are not currently in the HomeGroup. If available, leave your current HomeGroup.

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Click next on the first screen of the new window that appears. The first screen will tell you what a HomeGroup does.

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Select the file type that you want to share with another computer. You will be able to choose from folders/libraries: Pictures, Documents, Music, Printer, and Videos. Depending on your needs, select or deselect the appropriate file types. Next, click next.

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Rewrite the password from the next screen. This will be the password the other device needs to enter to connect to the HomeGroup. Next, click finish.

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On the second computer, you will now see the new HomeGroup displayed in the HomeGroup window. Instead of creating a new group, join the group and enter the password when prompted. You can now share files over the network.

Using a cable (Mac)

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Get a crossover network cable. This is an ethernet cable used to connect two devices of the same type. If you have an older Mac, you’ll need to use a crossover cable. Order it online or get yourself a crossover cable at a computer store. There is no formal difference between a regular ethernet cable and a crossover cable. So make sure you buy the right one.

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Connect the cable to the network port of both laptops. Some newer macs don’t have this port, so you’ll probably need an adapter to connect to the USB port.

The cable will make a “click” sound when plugged in correctly.

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On both computers, navigate to the Network preferences panel. You’ll see two drop-down menus at the top of the window, named “Location” and “Show” respectively.

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In the “Show” drop-down menu, select “Network Port Configurations”. A list of port configurations such as “Internal Modem” and “Built-in Ethernet” will appear. Make sure that “Built-in Ethernet” is selected. Click the apply button for the change to take effect.

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On one computer, open the Sharing preferences panel. At the top of the window is the computer name and the list of services listed below.

Check the box next to the “Personal File Sharing” service
Below the list of services is an address that starts with “afp”. Rewrite this address because that will be the address the other computer needs to know to be able to connect over LAN.

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On the other computer, open a Finder window. In the top menu, you’ll see Go. Click Go and select the option from the corresponding drop-down menu. You should see a “Connect to Server” option. You can also just press ⌘K to enter the “Connect to Server” window.

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Enter the afp address that marks the other computer that you just recorded. A list of IP addresses will appear in the list under “Favorite Servers”. Find the IP address of the other machine, click it, and then click Connect.

If you don’t know the other machine’s IP address, refer to the article on how to find the IP address on a Mac to find the correct one.

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After clicking connect, you will be asked to enter your username and password. These credentials are the same credentials that you use when you normally log in to your computer.

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You will now be asked to select the drive to mount the file. The files on the other computer are on different drives. If you want, you can choose to mount the file to all the drives on that computer. Or, if you know which drive contains the files you want, select that drive.

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You should now be able to access the file on the other computer. Data can be transferred between two computers without the need for an external device.

Steps

Using a cable (Windows)

Wireless connection (Windows)

Using a cable (Mac)

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