How to Connect Two Computers
Method 1 of 5:
Sharing Internet from Windows
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Connect the two computers with an Ethernet cable. Use an Ethernet cable to connect your two computers to one another.- You'll need an Ethernet to USB-C adapter to plug into your Mac's Thunderbolt 3 port before you can attach an Ethernet cable to a Mac.
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Open Start. Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
- Make sure that you do this on the computer from which you're sharing Internet, not the one that you just connected.
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Open Control Panel. Type in control panel, then click Control Panel when it appears at the top of the Start window. -
Click Network and Internet. You'll find this heading on the left side of the Control Panel window.- If your Control Panel page has "Small icons" or "Large icons" written in the top-right corner, skip this step.
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Click Network and Sharing Center. It's in the middle of the page. This will open a list of your current connections. -
Click Change adapter settings. You'll find this option in the upper-left side of the window. -
Select both the Wi-Fi connection and the Ethernet connection. Click the computer icon that has "Wi-Fi" under it, then hold down the Ctrl key and click the computer icon that has "Ethernet" under it. -
Right-click the Wi-Fi connection. Doing so prompts a drop-down menu to appear.- If your mouse doesn't have a right-click button, click the right side of the mouse or use two fingers to click the mouse.
- If your computer uses a trackpad instead of a mouse, use two fingers to tap the trackpad or press the bottom-right side of the trackpad.
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Click Bridge Connections. It's in the drop-down menu. After a moment, your computer's Wi-Fi will be shared in a "bridged" connection with the other computer.
Method 2 of 5:
Sharing Internet from a Mac
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Connect the two computers with an Ethernet cable. Use an Ethernet cable to connect your two Mac computers to one another.- If connecting a Mac to another Mac, you'll need two Ethernet to USB-C adapters to plug into your Macs' Thunderbolt 3 ports before you can connect them via Ethernet.
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Open the Apple menu. Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear.
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Click System Preferences…. You'll find this option in the drop-down menu. Doing so opens the System Preferences window. -
Click Sharing. It's in the System Preferences window. A new window will open. -
Check the "Internet Sharing" box. This option is on the left side of the window. -
Click the "Share your connection from" drop-down box. It's in the middle of the window. A drop-down menu will appear. -
Click Wi-Fi. This option is in the drop-down menu. -
Check the "Ethernet" box. Doing so shares your Mac's Internet connection with the computer to which it is currently connected.
Method 3 of 5:
Sharing Files from Windows to Windows
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Connect the two computers with an Ethernet cable. Use an Ethernet cable to connect your two computers to one another. -
Open Start. Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
- Make sure that you do this on the computer from which you're sharing files.
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Open Control Panel. Type in control panel, then click Control Panel when it appears at the top of the Start window. -
Click Network and Internet. You'll find this heading on the left side of the Control Panel window.- If your Control Panel page has "Small icons" or "Large icons" written in the top-right corner, skip this step.
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Click Network and Sharing Center. It's in the middle of the page. -
Click Advanced sharing settings. This link is in the upper-left corner of the window. -
Turn on file sharing. Check the "Turn on file and printer sharing" box below the "File and printer sharing" heading in the middle of the page. -
Share a folder. To do so:- Go to the folder's location in File Explorer.
- Select the folder that you want to share.
- Click the Share tab.
- Click Specific people...
- Select Everyone from the drop-down menu at the top of the window.
- Click Share
- Click Done
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Open the other computer's File Explorer. Click theFile Explorer icon, or open Start and click
there.
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Click your first computer's name. You'll find it below the Network heading on the left side of the File Explorer window.- You may have to scroll down to find this option.
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Copy the shared folder onto your second computer. Click the folder that you want to copy, press Ctrl+C, go to a folder in which you want to store it, and press Ctrl+V.
Method 4 of 5:
Sharing Files from Mac to Mac
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Connect the two computers. Use an Ethernet cable to connect your two Mac computers to one another.- Unless one or both of the Macs are iMacs (desktop computers), you'll need two Ethernet to USB-C adapters to plug into your Macs' Thunderbolt 3 ports before you can connect them via Ethernet.
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Click Go. It's a menu item at the top of the screen. Clicking it prompts a drop-down menu.- If you don't see Go, click the desktop to force it to appear.
- Make sure that you're doing this on the Mac from which you want to transfer files.
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Click Connect to Server. You'll find this option near the bottom of the drop-down menu. -
Click Browse. It's near the bottom of the Connect to Server window. A pop-up window with nearby computers will appear. -
Double-click the second Mac's name. You'll find this in the pop-up window. -
Enter the second computer's password when prompted. This will allow you to connect to the second computer.- If this doesn't work, try using the current computer's password.
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Click Connect. It's in the lower-right side of the pop-up window. -
OpenFinder. Click the Finder app icon, which resembles a blue face in your Mac's Dock.
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Move files onto the other Mac. Find a file that you want to move onto the second Mac, copy it by clicking it and pressing ⌘ Command+C, click the other Mac's name in the lower-left side of the Finder window, open your preferred folder, and press ⌘ Command+V.
Method 5 of 5:
Sharing Files between Windows and Mac
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Connect the two computers. Use an Ethernet cable to connect your two computers to one another.- You'll need an Ethernet to USB-C adapter to plug into your Mac's Thunderbolt 3 port before you can attach an Ethernet cable to the Mac.
- If both your Mac and your Windows computer are connected to the Internet, you can transfer the files over Wi-Fi; however, doing so will lead to much slower file transfers than if you use a cable.
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Enable file sharing on the Windows computer. To do so:- Open Control Panel by typing control panel into Start and then clicking Control Panel.
- Click Network and Sharing (skip this step if you see "Small" or "Large" in the upper-right side of the window).
- Click Network and Sharing Center
- Click Advanced sharing settings
- Check the "Turn on file and printer sharing" box.
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Share a folder. Do the following:- Open Start
- Click File Explorer
- Select the folder that you want to share.
- Click the Share tab.
- Click Specific people...
- Select Everyone from the drop-down menu at the top of the window.
- Click Share
- Click Done
- Open Start
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Enable file sharing on the Mac computer. To do so:- Open the Apple menu
- Click System Preferences...
- Click Sharing
- Check the "File Sharing" box.
- Change the "Everyone" permissions from "Read Only" to "Read & Write".
- Open the Apple menu
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Share a folder from your Mac. Click the + icon below the list of shared folders, then double-click the folder that you want to share.- You may have to click Add to add the folder to the list of shared folders.
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Access the Mac's files from the Windows computer. You can do this from within the File Explorer:- Open Start
- Click File Explorer
- Click the Mac's name below the Network heading on the left side of the File Explorer.
- Open the shared folder.
- Select the files that you want to save, then press Ctrl+C
- Go to a folder on your computer and then press Ctrl+V.
- Open Start
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Access the Windows computer's files from the Mac. You can do this from within the Finder:- Open Finder.
- Click your Windows computer's name in the lower-left side of the window.
- Open the shared folder.
- Select the files that you want to save, then press ⌘ Command+C
- Go to a folder on your Mac and then press ⌘ Command+V.
- Open
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