Two computers, want to connect them through LAN or whatever...?

Ok, I have two computers that I would like to connect for gaming and possibly sharing photos and whatnot. I have a linksys wired router but I don't know if I will need it. I do not care if the internet is connected because i have wireless running on my main computer but don't really need it on the other.

Could I just connect these two computers simply by placing the same ethernet cable in each one? Im having a real difficult time, so please someone help.

10 points to best answer.

Two computers, want to connect them through LAN or whatever...?ariel

Connecting two PCs directly to each other is a relatively simple and straightforward process. For starters, both PCs need to have properly installed Ethernet adapters. This means that the device driver for the NIC is loaded and Device Manager reports it as enabled and working. Next you'll need to configure each adapter with a static IP address and a common Subnet. For our example we'll assign the first PC an IP address of 192.168.0.1 and the second PC an address of 192.168.0.2. Both machines should be given the Subnet 255.255.255.0.

Now you want to make sure that both machines have been configured as members of the same workgroup. Any name will work for the workgroup name as long as it doesn't exceed 15 characters (ex.WORKGROUP). The last thing you'll need is a crossover cable. A crossover cable is a specific cable, not to be confused with a patch cable, that's readily available at most computer stores; using a regular patch cable instead of a crossover cable could be the source of connectivity problems.