Network My Windows Pcs?

Hi! I have several Windows-based computers at my mother's house and would like to know if it's worth it. They include a Win98SE minitower, a Win7/32 laptop and a Win11/64 laptop. They all have USB ports. Now, I am sharing data between these computers using flash drives. I'm wondering if it would be worth the effort to network these PCs. I like networking. If so, where can I find the appropriate cables and software?

 

Hi, again. I remember seeing online that I need a special USB cable and software to connect multiple computers but don't remember where. Can somebody here give me a reminder? BTW, I want to netwoe-rk a Win98SE PC, a Win7/32 laptop and a Win11/64 laptop, and I only want to do this temporarily: I want to be able to connect and disconnect at any time.

 

If you mean you want to be able to access each computer from the other computers, then share files, IMO, no. It certainly is possible but it is too much of a hassle to set up authorized access and sharing to be worth the effort - especially with different operating systems. More importantly allowing access significantly increases security risks.

Are all these computers already connected to the home network (router) for Internet access? The better solution (IMO) would be to get a NAS (networked attached storage), then when you want to share files, save them on the NAS device.

The NAS, if big enough, can even serve as a backup device for the other computers.

You can spend many $1000s on this, or less than $200 as seen here.

 

Digerati: I thank you for your input. The network is just to share files, and I'm doing well there with flash drives. Only one computer in question has internet access. As for security risks, I am the only person who uses these computers, even though I really want my mother to use some of them. BTW, I am just looking for a USB-USB cable for the connection, but, again, flash drives are enough.

 

Then Google "transfer files over usb cable" and you should find what you want.

 

I don't just want to transfer the files. I actually want to share folders and drives. Other than that, flash drives can do the transfer. BTW, my real interest is is that I like networks. Of course, a network would allow me to share floppies and flash drives so that I can work on them on two or three computers at a time.

 

Then you need to connect all the computer up to a common switch or router.

 

Well, my mother has such a device at her house, but, AFAIK, only one of the computers I want to network has the required connection. Maybe the other two have the connection: I have to go back and check, but I just came home from my mother's house this morning. Until then, can somebody here give me an URL to the necessary information online?

 

I remember hearing that I can use a USB cable to connect different Windows computers for the sake of sharing files and folders. Does anybody here have a link to information about such?

 

https://www.wikihow.com/Connect-a-Laptop-to-a-Desktop-PC-via-USB
https://hardwaresecrets.com/connecting-two-pcs-using-a-usb-usb-cable/ (shows picture of cable you need to buy)

 

Thank you.

 

Can I connect three computers this way? At my mother's house I have a Win7/32 laptop and a Win98SE minitower and a Win11/64 laptop that I bring there.

 

No. If you want to network more than 2 computers, you use a router, not a USB connection cable.

 

Okay, thank you. My mother has a router: we use it to connect to the internet. I don't know if my Win7/32 laptop there has the connection, though. Where online can I find the information on networking with the router?

 

You have to give a bit of help - the brand and model of router for starters!
You don't need a wired connection to a router. Computers can be connected either by ethernet or wifi.

 

My mother reported that she has WiFi but doesn't know how to use it. I've been using a wire that looks like a telephone wire connected to my laptop and a router to connect to the internet there. I'm not at my mother's house right now, so I have to wait until I'm there again to find out. Thank you for the information.

 

I found docs. on networking a Win98SE computer online. I need to look in the System control panel for a network card. If I can't find it, I'll need to install one. I don't currently know the make or model of the router at my mother's house. Just in case, how much would a network card cost? I also don't know the types of expansion cards the computer uses.

 

I have no idea if you can even purchase a network card that would have Windows 98 drivers.
Rather than bothering looking in the control panel, look at the back of the computer for an RJ45 port (larger than a phone cord, RJ11). If you see one, that's the network card/port.
Most computers that ran 98 had a network card because desktop computers commonly did not include wifi.

 

I thank you. Another problem: my Win7/32 laptop, which I also want to network, seems to have the smaller port.

 

Are you sure?
It is unusual for a laptop to have a phone port. Our Win 7 laptops are from 2011 and 2013 and both have ethernet ports and of course they have wifi which is how we connect to our router.

 

I'd better check again the next time I'm at my mother's house. All I know is that, when I tried to hook the Win7 laptop to the internet, the cable didn't fit.

 

When you are there, check the brand and model of the Win 7 laptop and post it. I "might" be able to find hardware specs. If it is older than 10 years, the makers don't have info on site any more.

 

Okay.

 

I just Googled "windows 11 network" and didn't quickly find information on setting up a network on a Win11/64 laptop. Where can I get such info?

 

I made a slight mistake: I found info on Wi-Fi but need to use a wire to gain access to the internet at my mother's house.

 

I looked again and found Win 11 Home Networking | Windows 11 Forum (elevenforum.com). I thank all of you for your help.

 

More questions: does the link in my last post support on/off networking (vocab. check req.!), i.e. can I connect and disconnect the computers at any time? I'm asking because the network-to-be's at my mother's house, and I want to bring a laptop to network there to and from her house. I otherwise also want to network only when I want to share resources. I can simply share the data through flash drives, but, if I network my PCs there, I can work on the exact same project or projects on the same flash drive on multiple computers.

 

I didn't look at the link because I have zero experience with Windows 10 and 11.

I need to know the hardware. I turn off wifi on our laptops by pressing F3. Then I'm disconnected from wifi so the laptop is not connected to the router. (I also can't get on the internet unless I hard wired the laptop into the router.)

 

Well, one laptop I'm connecting to the network is right here: it has the proper connection for the internet. It also has Win11/64, I think Home edition, and an Intel Core i5. One laptop at my mother's house has a similar connection, but I wasn't able to fit the internet wire. A third computer is a minitower with Win98SE and a Pentium 4 processor. I think it has the right connection but am not sure. For more specs on them, I need to go back to my mother's house, as I don't have them here.

 

This will be very basic (ie I'm leaving some stuff out) for this to work you need a router - if the router has extra ports (most do) you need an ethernet cable to connect. The computer will have DHCP running and request an IP from the router* and the computer will get on the network. If you unplug the computer from the network it will lose the IP once it detects the port is not physically connected.
To reconnect you just have to plug it back in to the network for it to request an IP from the router again.

If you don't have enough ethernet ports on the router, you need a switch. You then run a cable from the router to the switch and plug computers into the switch &/or router for them to get on the network.
Most switches you'll buy are unmanaged or "dumb switches", they need no configuration, they are plug and play. So if the box has the word managed on it, skip it... they should work as a dumb switch out of the box, but they are more expensive usually.

 

Thank you. My mother's router has extra ports on it. I'll try it the next time I go to my mother's house.

 

A long time ago, I had a DOS laptop, and it was connected to a Win98SE minitower there via a network and a null-modem serial cable. I did this because the laptop had no hard drive. However, a couple of years ago, the laptop went missing. If my mother ever finds it, I want to connect it back to a new Win98SE minitower. My solution at the time was to use NSLAN, but it couldn't work in Windows mode, so I had to sacrifice the Windows mode and revert to DOS and a DOS configuration. That was not too bad, as I still had some other computers there. My question is is there a way to connect the two computers without sacrificing Windows mode on the Windows computer?

BTW, good news! I am going to my mother's house this weekend! While I'm there, I can see if the ethernet cable at my mother's house will work on two of my computers there. If it does, I need to buy the cables at a 99 cent store there and can then set up the network.

 

Uhh...I'm at my mother's house right now and just tested the connection on my Win7 computer there. It didn't fit. The connection looked like what I need except it was too narrow. My Win98SE tower there also appears to have the connection, but I couldn't test it, as the computer was just a little too far away for the wire to reach. I don't want to buy the ethernet cables unless I'm sure the network will work.

 

It fits on my Win98SE minitower, though.

 

I can only network two of my PCs at my mother's house, as the Win7 PC I wanted to network has a wrong connection. My mother already has an ethernet router I can use to network my computers there. Which would be easier and less expensive: a USB connection or an ethernet connection? BTW, the Win11/64 laptop only has three USB ports, and all of them are in constant use, but I can swap my USB floppy drive with the USB cable and use the Win98SE minitower's floppy instead.

 

Buy a USB to ethernet adapter for the Windows 7 laptop.
One example https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YUU3KC6 (note it says it supports Windows XP through 10) You might be able to find an older, cheaper model that is not USB 3.

 

Thank you. I didn't know one existed. I found one I can use.

 

Good news! I am now at my mother's house and bought one of the cables I need. It was not the one for the Win7 laptop, though. Also, the wire is too short to reach from the Win98SE computer to the router but can connect it directly to my Win11/64 laptop, so, if I connect the computers, I will lose the internet, unless my mother and I can get her WiFi to work. Once I connect the computers, how do I set up the network and share folders?

 

I really just want to share certain drives and folders so that I can access the same programs and files on multiple computers. For example, I want to access DriveSpace-compressed floppies in a Win98SE minitower from a Win11/64 laptop and access a particular flash drive that contains much of my work on multiple computers at once. I don't need to share a printer, other devices or an internet connection. What would be the best way to do this?

 

I just looked on Amazon.com for a USB networking cable but didn't find what I needed.

 

I have a new ethernet cable I bought yesterday. Can I use it to connect a Win98SE computer directly to a Win11/64 laptop? It will cost internet access, but that's worth it. Once the computers are connected, how do I set up the network?

 

Sorry, I have no idea. I have never connected 2 computers by ethernet. I haven't had a 98SE computer for a long, long time and I don't run Windows 11.

 

You'll need a crossover cable and setup IP addresses.. read this https://www.wikihow.com/Connect-Two-Computers-Together-with-an-Ethernet-Cable

 

The ethernet cable I bought's packaging says "network." Does that mean it's a crossover cable? BTW, I'm going back home tomorrow morning and so have little time to work on this.

 

I looked. Apparently not.

 

I found a lot of information on Google regarding networking but am having problems with the IP Address on the Win98 computer. How do I figure out what it is?

 

I look in my router to see what is assigned to a device by the router. All my devices start with 192.168.100 then the last number changes depending if it is a computer, printer, tablet or phone.

 

I'm trying a direct connection without the router. I was able to get the IP number for the Win11/64 laptop. Is it the same?

BTW, I left my mother's house this morning, so I won't be able to try the connection again for now.

 

To directly connect to PCs you need a crossover cable, it is different than a 'normal' network cable, it flips the send and receive wires (much like the Null cable you've mentioned before).
Then you have to decide an IP, like one is 192.168.1.1 & the other PC would be 192.168.1.2 with a netmask of 255.255.255.0, in absence of a router that would provide you a DHCP service.

When you're done switch the adapters back to DHCP or they might not work when you plug back in to the router.

 

Okay. Thank you.