In this tutorial, I will show you, step-by-step, how to establish a crossover networking from the perspective of two computers running Windows XP. The fundamental steps would apply to computers running Windows Vista and Windows 7, so this tutorial should work out fine (though you should try the wizard in Windows 7 first before resorting to this tutorial to form a crossover network). If you stumble across any complications while following this tutorial to setup a connection, please do not hesitate to post your queries at the bottom of this page.
(I have jestingly called this tutorial a “poor-man’s” networking as it only requires a cable to link up two computers. Please do not interpret it as a form of inferiority)
Crossover networking utilises the RJ-45 ports on both computers in order to facilitate the communication. In case you haven’t come across the RJ-45 port, it looks like this. Note that it is slightly larger that the conventional telephone port (aka RJ-11 port).
What you will need for crossover networking
1. A crossover cable
There are two types of Ethernet cables. The first one is the conventional ethernet cable, which has this type of wire end-point configuration (golden pin facing you, reading from left to right as per “1″ to “8″).
The second type is the crossover cable, which is what we need for this tutorial. The end-points are slightly different compared to the above, in that four of the wires have been crisscrossed on one end.
If you do not have a crossover cable handry, you can always make one on your own using the conventional ethernet cable. Label one of the ends as “XOVER”, while the other end as “STRGHTTHRU”. Using the same crossover wire diagram posted earlier, you can easily fiddle around with the wires yourself and create a crossover cable for yourself in no time (my first and only crossover cable was created using this method). Otherwise, if you want to purchase a crossover cable from a store instead, make sure the salesperson understands completely which type you need.
2. Two computers running Windows 98 and above
3. 20 minutes
If all goes well, the establishment of a crossover network should not take more than 20 minutes.
For the sake of simplicity, the two computers will be called DAD and MOM respectively. Let’s get going!
ON “DAD”
1. Right-click “My Computer”, click “Properties”
2. Click “Computer Name” Tab
3. Click “Change”
4. A window should pop-up. Specify a name for the computer.
5. Click “Workgroup” and specify a name. (We will call the computer DAD and the workgroup HOME)
6. Click OK
7. Click OK in the computer properties windows. Restart the computer if prompted.
Configuring IP
1. Go to Start > Control Panel > Network Connections > Network Connections
2. Right-click on your LAN connection and click “Properties”
3. Under the heading “This connection uses the following items”, click “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
4. Click “Properties”
5. A new window should pop up, click “Alternate Configuration”
6. Click “User configured” radio button
7. Here, you can specify the address. For computer DAD , specify the IP as 192.168.0.2, subnet mask as 255.255.255.0, Default gateway as 192.168.0.1. Under “Preferred DNS Server”, enter the value “208.67.222.222″. As for “Alternate DNS Server”, enter the value “208.67.220.220″. These values are sourced from OpenDNS, which will enable the computer to understand the numerical address details of a website
8. Click “OK”
9. Click “OK” under the LAN connection properties.
You are done for computer DAD
ON “MOM“
1. Right-click “My Computer”, click “Properties”
2. Click “Computer Name” Tab
3. Click “Change”
4. A window should pop-up. Specify a name for the computer.
5. Click “Workgroup” and specify a name. (We will call the computer MOM and the workgroup HOME)
6. Click OK
7. Click OK in the computer properties windows.
(You may have to restart the computer. If you are prompted to, do so)
Configuring IP
1. Go to Start > Control Panel > Network Connections > Network Connections
2. Right-click on your LAN connection and click “Properties”
3. Under the heading “This connection uses the following items”, click “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
4. Click “Properties”
5. A new window should pop up, click “Alternate Configuration”
6. Click “User configured” radio button
7. Here, you can specify the address. For computer MOM, specify the IP as 192.168.0.1, subnet mask as 255.255.255.0, Default gateway as 192.168.0.2. Under “Preferred DNS Server”, enter the value “208.67.222.222″. As for “Alternate DNS Server”, enter the value “208.67.220.220″. These values are sourced from OpenDNS, which will enable the computer to understand the numerical address details of a website
8. Click “OK”
9. Click “OK” under the LAN connection properties.
You are done for computer MOM
When the steps above are done correctly, the computers will automatically discover and connect to each other.
Internet Connection Sharing
1. Go to Start > Control Panel > Network Connections > Network Connections
2. Right-click on your LAN connection and click “Properties”
3. A new window should pop up, click the “Sharing” tab
4. Tick the checkbox that lies next to the statement “Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s Internet connection”
5. Select the crossover network in the network selections (this option may or may not appear on your computer)
6. Click “OK”Checking IP configuration
1. Go to Start > Control Panel > Network Connections > Network Connections
2. Right-click on your wireless adaptor and click “Properties”
3. Under the heading “This connection uses the following items”, click “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
4. Click “Properties”
5. A new window should pop up, click the radio button ” Obtain an IP address automatically”
6. Click “OK” to save
Printer Sharing
1. Go to Start > Printers and Faxes
2. Right-click on the desired printer, click “Sharing…”
3. Click the radio button “Share this printer” and specify a name in the textbox
4. Click “OK” to save
Keywords: Crossover LAN, Cat5e, Windows XP, Crossover Ethernet, Computer-to-computer networking, Direct networking, Easy networking, Mobile Ad-hoc connection, Wireless networking, WiFi networking, Mum and Dad networking, Home networking, Cheap networking, Cross over, Poor-man’s, Poor man’s, Poor man
Hi
I have followed all the steps, have managed to get the computers(Xp pro on desktop and vista basic on laptop), to ping each other.
The vista machine shows both computers, but the xp only shows itself.
I receive a message saying that connection is limited.
I have enabled file and printer sharing on both, and for a short while had internet connection through both as well. (usb dongle connection).
The main problem I can see, is that the lltd responder will not install on xp. I receive an error message each time I try.
Under properties on the connection, the client, service and protocol install option says that no drivers can be found.
Service pack 3 is installed on xp.
Any suggestions would be gratefully received as I am going out of my mind.
Cheers
Tony
Try from scratch – no firewall or anything on both computers?
The fact you were getting some form of Internet connection means that your present hardware / software is (was) working, so I wouldn’t worry too much about the lltd responder issue until I’m on the edge of breaking down.
USB dongle connection – I’m guessing from USB port to another USB port?
It is set up from a mobile phone network that connects through the usb. Connection was through vista computer and through the crossover cable it connected on xp.
Have already disabled both firewalls with no joy.
cant see vista from xp but can vice versa, though cant access xp even with file and printer sharing eenabled?
Cheer4s for response
Tony
What did you mean by mobile phone network that connects through the usb?
Check that file sharing is enabled correctly on XP? i.e. Check that at least the “Read” privilege is enabled for all users?
Ty for the post, I am having trouble with my crossover network (i assume Patch cable and crossover are the same, Cable says patch but the package said crossover..) Ok, both pcs are Xp pro sp2, Comp A is connected to a wireless usb device for the internet, Comp B is a new op install (drivers for e-net are correct etc). Connecting the crossover wire to the pcs does connect the 100mbps lan for both, but neither computer is visible to each other (same workgroup, manually conf ip also tried auto), tried ipconfig and ping[to each computer] in cmd, no luck. I have disabled my wireless usb on Comp A no luck, i have tried bridging all my connections. I have a decent idea of networking and can only see Comp B missing a driver (no flag in device manager all systems are working), possibly the wrong cord but the color of the connecting wires are correct (if it was a straight[Cable] through connected between pcs wouldn’t connect the lan right?), gigabit tech e-net on Comp A i was reading there is a auto crossover swtich in this device?
Firewalls both windows and nvidia are disabled, exceptions are in place for file sharing etc. Lemme know if you have a idea Thanks!
Firstly, Patch and Crossover mean the same thing
Secondly, try disabling all network adaptors except for the LAN adaptor on both computers
Thirdly, make sure the drivers on both computers for the network adaptor are fully updated
Fourthly, the auto crossover feature for gigabit ethernet cards will not interfere in this case, so you don’t have to worry about that
HTH
hey, I followed your steps and my network status shows ‘connected’ but i’ve tried to ping each other, ‘timed out’.
I have Gigabit T568B crossover cable. Is can be the reason? Is there any difference between wiring formats?
Hi Egi, your network is definitely up and running – getting to the status of connected on both computers is an indication that you have done (most?) the steps correctly.
I would begin the diagnosis by first checking the firewall.
The cable that you are using is correct
Hey Thanks for your advice, It was the persistent windows firewall on Comp B, Now that my Crossover network is up and running, I want to share my internet connection from my wireless usb adapter, with Comp B, My internet is behind a router so DHCP is enabled, I do need static ip’s for both machines right? So what are my options? can i maybe reassign the default router address (it seems thats the IP conflict when i try to share them 192.168.0.1)? If i cannot share the connection easily, can i still have my wireless and lan network on Comp A working[seperatly]? Thanks again for your time.
Matt: The question now is that you are wondering how to share the Internet connection, right?
I’m assuming your wireless USB adaptor is the Internet source? Right-click on the wireless adaptor, click “Properties”. In the new window popped up, there is a tab that says “Sharing”. Try playing around with the settings there and assign the sharing to the current crossover network
Once you have done so, right-click on your LAN adaptor and click “Properties”. Click TCP/IP and click “Properties”. Click “Alternate Configuration” and specify the IP there.
The reason the IP addresses are assigned in the “Alternate Configuration” rather than the “General” tab is to avoid IP conflict with your Internet.
Incidentally, what operating systems are the computers running?
i have almost the same problem as Matt….
i have internet on comp A via cable modem (USB connection)… Comp A and comp B are connected with cross over cable… ip address on comp A is 192.168.0.1 and I need ip address 0.0.0.0 on comp B to have internet on both A and B…. on comp A ip address is manually set, and on comp B is automatic… but i can’t get th ip 0.0.0.0 on the comp B because it is always showing the ip address 168.145.57.42
i checked firewall on both computers, and set sharing on comp A…
is there any way to change my ip address on comp B to default ip address (0.0.0.0)???
or is there any other way to do the same thing- to get internet on both computers….?
soory the ip address on the computer B is 169.254.176.99
my mistake…
Nemanja: What happens if you assign the IP 192.168.0.2 on comp B using “Alternate Configuration”? I say… let’s disable the firewall on both computers first while we are diagnosing the cause of the issue until we can obtain a successful crossover network. Don’t forget to turn it back on when you have finished diagnosing.
Hey thanks man,
I am trying to play Warcraft (dota) using this network. Is it possible? Do you know about that?
Thanks again!
Yes it is possible
firewall is diseabled on both computers…. and i tried with that alternate ip address (that was first on my mind) on comp B and my computers were in network but there isn’t internet on comp B… i don’t understand, because all settings on comp B are fine… but it won’t work
I think… I know where has gone wrong. When you have shared the Internet connection, double check that the IP are still the same on both computers under “Alternate Configuration”
Your instructions are great. Worked the first try, XP/SP3 to XP/SP3. But Patch and Crossover are not the same thing! See Reference. http://www.cat-5-cable-company.com/faq-difference-between-patch-crossover.html
Good to hear that, and thanks for pointing the mistake out
Can a Network Printer/scanner be linked via cross over cable,
and if so what would i need to do. Thanks
Once the connection has been established, right-click on your printer and click Properties. Click “Sharing” and configure from that point
I cannot change the domain and set it to work group as the machine i am using is a official laptop. I also cannot add my personal laptop to my official domain. I have a wireless router. can i use this?
I can load shared files, eg a pdf file from the MOM unit, into adobe on the Dad unit. And print a file from the Mom unit on the printer attached to the DAD unit. As well as back and forth on flash drives, etc. However, when I put a data CD-ROM in the DAD shared CD drive, I can not read it from MOM. I posed the question to Microsoft, they KBed (Knowledge Based) about having an atribute byte on, which it is. How do I read a CD-ROM on DAD’s drive, on MOM, assuming a .pdf file on the CD, loading into Adobe on MOM. Thanks!
Hey Girish: As far as I know, I don’t think you can have both a “domain” and a “workgroup” at the same time.
Hey Fan Number 301: Interesting. I have tried that setup more than five years ago and I managed to access the shared CD-drive from another computer.
Does that apply to only CD-ROM? How about DVD? What’s the error message that comes up?
Error message: “\\Ab3\taxes 04-08 is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access permission. Access is denied.” Ab3=hardware, taxes04-08=folder. Applies only to the CD drive. Not a DVD, it is a a read-only CD drive.
Also, there is no ADMIN passcode, since both the laptop and the netbook are mine!!!
Have you tried unsharing and resharing?
*Still thinking*
Unshared, then reshared, same results. Tried different data CDs. Same results. These are data files, eg .pdf or spreadsheet. No music, JPEGs, or wmv’s. Thanks!
Let’s see if the problem applies to the “device” rather than the “folders”:
Try sharing a hard drive on MOM and see if you can access the hard drive from DAD.
My brain is stretched!
Tried that, same results. I can access hard drives and flash drives between computers. This situation exists on Crossover connections, as well as wireless, wired through a gateway/router, and ad hoc (an even poorer poorman’s connection) connections. I’ve done the KB871122 process. One of the constants, is the CD-ROM itself. It is circa 2000 Dell. But others, whom I’ve chatted with on this advise network file sharing existed long before Dell of circa 2000, and that there is some attribute byte/bit somewhere that is blocking this. My remedy was, and remains, to copy a file from the CD to a shared folder on a hard drive or flash drive, and go from there. Thanks for you help on this. As an extension to your original text, Crossover Networking; please write on bridging thru gateways/routers to access the internet, in te Crossover Network…
I have run out of idea on what could be the issue here. Sorry about that, Fan Number 301
Thanks for trying. I’ve hoped another reader may have had the same situation, and has a remedy, I will continue to monitor this message.
Hey Fan Number 301:
I have just done some Google research for you:
Have you tried something similar here? http://forums.techarena.in/networking-security/1158372.htm
Otherwise:
External software to share CD-drive
http://support.alcohol-soft.com/en/knowledgebase.php?postid=20309&title=Share+drives+over+network
Very useful instructions. I connected my Vista laptop to my XP desktop. So I had to improvise on the Vista end, but very helpful intrructions just the same. Thanks !
BigSky
Denver, Colorado, USA
Thanks! I will try it tomorrow, then get back to you with the results.
Hi, I am facing a problem in connecting two computers via LAN. I have made all the things. But suddenly i Get to know that there is so many types of Cross -over-cable. Which one i should try to get connected?
Please help me. I am trying to connect these computers for a long time, but i didn’t made it yet.
I tried using this
orange green
white-orange white-brown
green Orange
white-green white-green
brown brown
white-brown white-orange
blue blue
white-blue white-blue
When i connect both computers using this cross-over-cable, It shows that “connected” but i was not able to share anything , or not getting any PING reply from the other end.
So, what should i do now.
I also have turned off the firewall, workgroup is also same.
So can you help ne out?
and please define me the different cross-over-cable connections. you will find that in Wikipedia. please help me.
The fact that it says “connected” is an indication that there is nothing wrong with the hardware configuration. In other words, the crossover cable that you are using is fine.
Now for the software configuration:
1) Specifically, what command did you enter for the “ping” function?
2) Do you not get a “ping” reply from either of the two computers?
I’m sorry… This is new to me.
Why would I want to connect two computers together?
Can both use the internet without a router?
Can both use the same printer without a router?
Can files be shared?
What else can be done?
Thank you.
This allows the sharing of files between the two computers. On top of this, printers and portable hard drives that are attached to the host computer can also be shared with other machines connected to it.
You need a router to use broadband Internet, but you don’t need one for a dial-up connection
Yes that’s possible with the crossover networking setup
- Jamus -
Very helpful.
Thanks.
Thanks!
Does that mean harm to my comp if I leave the folder sharing option ON, and connect to my ADSL?
The file sharing is between the 2 comps, not 1 comp and the internet, right?
Can someone attack me that way?
The file-sharing is WITHIN your network, so it is quite safe.
Thanks again.
I have followed your instructions and the connection through an ethernet cable is active but no data transfer.
if I try to access the network place it says: the lists of servers for this workgroup is not currently available.
And I am not able to share the internet connection available on one of the laptops.
Any set up that I am missing or enable ports…
Thank you
I have a windows 7 os so does my friend…we have connected both our pc’s with cross over cable…I have a 10/100/1000 gigabit ethernet he has a normal 10/100 ethernet adapter…we are experiencing problems while connecting…(my frnd is seen for seconds some times on ip msngr)…please advise and help asap!
please reply on my email
thnx alot!
I have a similar problem. I have a connection but no response from ping. Double checked the addresses. The two computers don’t see each other or the drives or printer. Help!
One change from last. Ping and tracert work.
Hey Varun bhandary
Windows Vista and above (i.e. including Windows 7) are much more user-friendly in terms of setting up a crossover network. Try going through the wizard and see if that helps
Jamus
Hey Tyranus
What operating systems are we describing talking here?
It’s good to know that ping and tracert work
Have you double-checked the workgroup name?
I have 3PCs. They operate XP and all share an internet connection through a router and a wireless connected to what I call PC1. For the most part PC1 is dedicated to just the modem/router/firewall and print duties.
PC3, a desktop, has a suite of well known Gee Whiz Security-virus checking-identity protection-firewall etc software. I can’t LEGALLY load it onto the other three and reap the ’security’ benefits – in any case the software prevents me from doing this.
The problem is that PC2 is a laptop which frequently moves about in the world and has contact with ‘foreign’ memory sticks etc in the course of its daily use. PC2 has ‘low end’ shareware virus-spyware-etc protection but not the expensive Gee Whiz thing.
My question is – Can I use the high end Security software installed on PC3, with the aid of a Cat6 RJ45 Ethernet Crossover cable, to successfully scan the hard drive on PC2?
I understand the need to crawl before walking and running. Will the “Mum” and “Dad” configuration process that you outlined above overwrite or interfere with my existing network settings or can I set up a separate network profile only to be used when required?
best regards