how do i connect 2 computers

[cat101970]

First off I have internet through my cable company, My main computer is a hp pavilion I just got a compaq MV400 (older) but know it worked with dial up, I dont see any ports to hook up a wireless adapter, is there any other way I can connect maybe to my computer to get online with it. idiot instructions PLEASE!

[Tarquin BA]

It can be done using Firewire, if both computers have firewire cards in them. There was a post on here ages ago with detailed instructions on how to do it. You need a firewire lead with 6 pin connectors on both ends.

Here's some info I found on it . .

You can assign an IP address to a Firewire port and use it like a network card. Your Firewire card should show up in your network connections (in Windows XP Start->Control Panel->Network Connections).
In this mode the IEEE-1394 has sort of a split personality. It works as a network connection and DirectShow can connect to a DV device plugged into the other computer like a camcorder or ADVC like device.
"Simply, connnect the two computers together with the FireWire cable, run the networking wizard and it is done. The speeds are very impressive and networking with games is much faster."

"FireWire is a high-speed, high-performance serial bus developed in the early 1990s and accepted by the IEEE as a standard in 1995 (IEEE 1394a). FireWire is self-configuring and can support upto 63 devices which may be connected with the power on (hot-pluggable).
Although developed by Apple, FireWire is promoted by a trade association which includes several large consumer electronics groups. FireWire is an Apple trademark which is freely licensed to other companies. Sony choose to use their own i.LINK trademark.
FireWire ports are fitted as standard on all modern Macs and most recent PCs where they are used to connect a wide range of peripherals, such as hard disks, scanners and webcams. Many of these take advantage of FireWire's built-in power supply to produce very compact designs. FireWire is preferred for external CD and DVD burners where its high bandwidth with preemptive allocation enables reliable burning at higher speeds than for USB.
FireWire is sometimes thought of as a video standard. It's not -- it's a serial bus standard that happens to be ideal for video. The IEEE 1394 specification has nothing to say about digital video or the control of DV camcorders. Those operations are enabled by some of the many protocols which FireWire supports.
FireWire 400 (IEEE 1394a).
The original FireWire has a theoretical maximum transfer speed of 400Mbps and distance limit of 4.5m. Two types of connectors are specified: four-pin unpowered and the full six-pin. The latter are electrically identical apart from the addition of two power supply pins capable of delivering 8 to 40 volts at up to 1.5 amps. Self-powered devices such as camcorders have 4-pin ports, while bus powered devices such as hard disks have 6-pin ports. Transitional cables and 4 to 6-pin adaptors are readily available."
My recommendation is that on both PCs you manually set the IP address rather than have Windows automatically assign it. That way you can be sure that both PCs are on the same subnet.
For example, my wireless net uses addresses in the 192.168.1.x range with 192.168.1.1 being a PC that assigns addresses automatically to other PCs.
For the Firewire net, I manually assign IP addresses in the 192.168.100.x range.
Then, if I want to connect to the laptop, I use its IP address rather than the computer name. If I use the computer name, it may end up using the wireless net which is slower.
The setup of firewire networking is very basic and simple. Follow windows instructions and everything will work. But you'll have to wait a minute or so when the computers are first connected, until the ip's are found, you can't start anything. After enabled the 1394 connections, right click the network icon on the task bar, choose 'Status' and under the support tab, see if the ip address is actually there.
Also to make sure any internet security softwares are configured to allow the new network connection.
Everything is automatic - I haven't done any configuration. The IP addresses are asigned automatically for this firewire network. The only thing I had to do was to allow the new network when ZoneAlarm popped out asking me what to do with this new network - I allowed it to a trusted zone.
So, I just opened "My Network Places" and all shared folders on both computers were visible and available for sharing between the two.
I tested the speed by transferring a video file, in fact a VIDEO_TS folder of 4 GB. It was transfered for about 3 minutes from the laptop to the desktop PC.
The IP address for the laptop was not assigned at first, but I just rebooted the laptop while connected via firewire cable and the new IP address was assigned after the reboot.

[cat5e]

May be the content of the following links will provide you with a basic tutorial about Sharing Internet connection; it is short and to the point. The pages were written by me ages ago. Ignore the prices, and the specific choice of hardware, stick with the principles they are still the same.

Basic Options for Internet Connection Sharing - http://www.anandtech.com/guides/viewfaq.aspx?i=105

Hubs, routers, switches, DSL, LANs, WANs...? - http://www.anandtech.com/guides/viewfaq.aspx?i=48

Cable/DSL Routers - NAT, Open Ports, DMZ, SPI. – http://www.ezlan.net/routers1.html

The whole thing should look like this, http://www.ezlan.net/network/router.jpg

As for Wireless it is a rather complicated issue since it depends on your needs and the specific environment.

For general use when No extra strong Wireless is needed I would go with this, Zyxel 330 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833181219

More features and a little better coverage this, Zyxel 550 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...pk=zyxel%2b550[/L]

There are more pages that can clarify and help in other issues concerning Home Networking and sharing here, http://www.ezlan.net