I need to connect two computers both running win ME so that they can share the same printer
2006-10-01 19:37:50 · 11 answers · asked by kward1979uk 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Computer Networking
there are several ways to connect without network cards, you could use a laplink cable which connects through the serial ports which all pc's have, although these would be relatively short so the pc's would have to be quite close to each other.
another way would be to fit network cards in both pc's, these can be brought for around £10 each and you would then need a crossover cable around £15 from pc world depending on length (although i use a normal network cable with a crossover adapter with a total cost of £4.95 for the cable at 15m and £1.50 for the crossover adapter) .
another way is firewire cards, these recieve at quite a high speed but again you would have to buy 2 and their around £15 each and the cable's are pretty short.
all of these option's can be used with the network setup wizard within windows xp and millenium, and will also share internet connections aswell as files and printer sharing.
the cheapest place to go to are the local pc shop's on some side streets or you could try www.cpc.co.uk my local shop is www.sinoco.co.uk but i dont know if he offers a delivery service but your cheapest option is cat 5e network cable with cossover adapter. good luck
2006-10-01 20:35:18 · answer #1 · answered by david w 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
in my view best option would be to fit a network, and then a networked printer server (about £70...£150) could use a network card & cable, or a wireless network using a wireless router / switch with integrated print server
failing that implement a wireless peer to peer network using wirelesss cards or bluetooth or a direct cable (serial or parrallel) using laplink or similar
not to sure what the best solution would be using ME - Id suggest the the network card approach wouyld be better - if for no other reason than the networking is built in, I dont know how effective wireless support is in ME. What ever route you do go down make sure the devices support ME beofre purchasing, or specify as a requirement when buying, that way round if it doesn't support ME you should have no problem in returning the goods
2006-10-01 20:02:46 · answer #2 · answered by Mark J 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends on what technology the computers have, of course. If they both have WLAN, use that. If they have Bluetooth, use that. If they have FireWire (IEEE 1394) use that (I have my PC and Mac connected via that, and it works great, v.fast). If they have spare USB ports, use that...
Or if you're only doing this to share a printer, why not see if the printer has multiple input ports, eg. Parallel and USB?
Last option, use a switch box with two (or more) input ports and one output port, this way you can connect both PCs to the box and just flick the switch when you need to change the print source. You can pick one up on eg. eBay for £5-10.
2006-10-01 20:04:46 · answer #3 · answered by had enough of idiots - signing off... 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If you have FireWire, this is usually the best method as it has two way connectivity. It can send and recieve at the same time, where as USB can only send then recieve, send then recieve.
Otherwise, a PCI Ethernet card won't cost more than a tenner.
2006-10-01 20:28:25 · answer #4 · answered by Mike 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The 'best' ways is ethernet port, alternative are:
(1) LAPLINK Cables - such as USB Cable, Parallel, or Serial.
-Cheapest and no driver needed is Parallel Laplink cable.
-USB Cable - use USB Laplink (other called bridge/adaptor) Cable, and not just a normal usb cable (you may damage your computer if you use just normal usb-usb cable - see laplink).
(2) Wireless - USB WIFI, Bluetooth, Infrared.
Personally, I would suggest Parallel, USB laplink, or USB WIFI.
2006-10-01 22:35:59 · answer #5 · answered by VBACCESSpert 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
umm the only option would be to install a network card or i guess you could just buy a switch which is a bit old fashioned but if you just want to shar a printer it will do the trick. I think this is what you may want but shop around http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?TabID=1&ModuleNo=13344&doy=2m10
2006-10-01 19:46:03 · answer #6 · answered by Tiger 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The first answer is right... i would say the same too... (bluetooth is the latest and the best) u need to have a bluetooth enabled phone and comp. though. Good luck.
2006-10-01 19:47:18 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Use a bluetooth adapter.
2006-10-01 20:07:53 · answer #8 · answered by pizza1512 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
use laplink or fit two lan cards, its not that difficutl and they are cheap nowdays (maplin.co.uk)
2006-10-01 19:58:15 · answer #9 · answered by david g 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
serial cable with laplink
USB to USB
WIFI to WiFI
Blue tooth to blue tooth
2006-10-01 19:44:55 · answer #10 · answered by Zuizz 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋