Connecting w7-w8 using a crossover cable - unidentified network problem

Connecting w7-w8 using a crossover cable - unidentified network problem

Hi,

I've copied content back and forth between my W7 pc and laptop many times using a crossover (twisted) cable without any problems.

But suddenly when I plug in the cable both W7 and W8 machines display "unidentified network". Ethernet.

When I run diagnostics on the W7 pc I get, "Your computer appears to be correctly configure but the device or resource (DNS server) is not responding".

When I run diagnostics on the W8 laptop I get, "Ethernet doesn't have a valid IP configuration".

I use a Vodafone stick/pen to connect to the Internet and am not trying to get both of them online simultaneously, although I have done occasionly by bridging them.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Michael