How to Connect Two Computers With Firewire Cable

You don't need a lot of technical know-how to connect two PC computers with Firewire cable. If you need to transfer a lot of files, or very large files, between computers, Firewire provides a faster alternative to copying to thumb drives, or using an ethernet connection. Best of all, Firewire is fairly simple to set up.

Note that Firewire is actually Apple Corp.'s brand name for cable covered by the IEEE1394 standard; other brand names include i.Link and Lynx. For simplicity's sake, this article uses Firewire to refer to all IEEE1394 cable.

Another note before starting: Microsoft has discontinued support for Firewire on recent updates to Vista. If you've recently upgraded your PC's operating system, you will probably need to find another method to connect two computers.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 2 Firewire-compatible PC computers, desktop or laptop.
• Firewire cable

1. 
    

   Find the Firewire ports on each computer. The ports may be labeled as IEEE1394 or marked with Apple's Firewire symbol (see image). Note whether each connection is male or female. With this information, you can select Firewire cable to meet the needed configuration.

2. After you've purchased the needed cable, move the two computers you want to connect fairly close together. Note that the Firewire cable has a 15 foot maximum length, so you'll need to keep the computers in the same area while both are connected.

3. Boot both computers, then physically connect the computers with the Firewire cable. If a "Found New Hardware" warning comes up, cancel it. You may need to do this several times.

4. Windows should report that it has found a new connection. A Network Connection Wizard should launch to automatically connect the two computers. If not, you can manually set-up the network. To do this, just cancel the wizard and change software settings as listed below.

5. To manually setup the network, go to the Start menu. Click on "Settings," then on "Network Connections." If Windows has recognized the connection, an icon labeled "1394 connection" will appear. If not, right-click on the icon under "LAN or High Speed Internet." Click on "Properties" on the menu that displays.

6. When the Properties box opens, click on "TCP/IP" setting to open another Properties box. Select "Use the following IP address" and input 192.168.0.1 into the IP address. Input "255.255.255.subnet mask."

7. Repeat these steps on the other computer. Use 192.168.0.2 for the IP address and the same subnet address. Leave the other fields blank, and click "OK" until you have closed out of the the Network Connections settings.

8. Now that the connection is set, you need to find the file or files you want to move between computers, and enable file sharing. Do this by right-clicking on the folder containing each file. Select "Sharing and Security" from the menu.

9. Depending on your version of Windows, you might see a "Share this folder" option. Click that choice for each folder. If the "Share this folder" option does not display, click the "Network Sharing and Security" option. Skip the wizard by acknowledging the security risk involved, and select "Just share this folder."

10. Go to the computer where you want to move the files. On the desktop, click the "My Network Places" icon. Click "Add A Network," and click "Next" to run the Wizard application. When offered the choice, select "Add another network location," then click "Browse." In turn, click "Entire Network," "Microsoft Windows Network," and "Workgroup." You will now see the other computer. Click on the computer name as displayed, then select a shared folder, and then click "Next" until the Wizard completes. Now you can copy files from one computer to the other.

Tips & Warnings

• FireWire connections seem to work best with Windows XP. Windows 9x and Windows ME users have had problems with the stability of the connection. If you struggle to connect with WireFire, a USB or Wi-Fi connection may be a better alternative.