>See if this article helps...the url from where I copied it is at the top of the 
article..
>http://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles%2Farchive%2Fl0708%2F40l08%2F40l08%2Easp&guid=f8y9raii&searchtype=&WordList=
>
>
>Direct Cable Connection 
>Teach Your PC How To Share 
> 
> More and more people are telecommuting, buying second PCs, or bringing notebook 
>PCs on the road with them for work and leisure. The beauty of DCC (direct cable 
connection) 
>is it enables you to connect one PC to another to exchange information without a 
>hassle.
>
>Until recently, users found some difficulty in connecting one PC to another. It 
required 
>purchasing, installing, and configuring NICs (network interface cards). To combat 
>this requirement, Microsoft introduced the DCC feature in its Windows 95 OS (operating 
>system). The initial versions of DCC caused trouble for some users, so Microsoft 
>included a more intuitive version in Windows 98SE and Windows Me.
>
>Will DCC work for you? The version of DCC included with WinMe works with all editions 
>of Win95 and Win98, even though the interfaces look different. So if you’re running 
>WinMe on your notebook or home PC, you’ll have no trouble using the DCC feature 
to 
>connect the PCs. There’s just one expense: buying the correct cable.
>
>Aside from two PCs, using DCC requires either a parallel or serial cable. Before 
>buying a cable, inspect the PCs to determine whether they have available serial 
or 
>parallel ports. Serial cables connect to 9-pin or (on older computers) 25-pin serial 
>ports. 
>
>Today’s PCs have two serial ports, also called COM (communication) ports. Parallel 
>cables connect to 25-pin parallel ports, often used for connecting peripheral devices 
>such as printers and scanners. You likely have a serial port free, but you get a 
>little better performance if you use a parallel cable connection.
>
>Depending on the ports you have to work with, decide what cable will work best. 
Also 
>consider your space requirements and choose a cable of appropriate length. You can 
>expect to shell out at least $8 for a male/male serial cable and a little more (up 
>to $30) for a male/male parallel cable. An example of a cable that’s made for the 
>job is Belkin’s 10-foot Parallel Port PC-to-PC Direct Connection Cable (part number: 
>F3D508-10-GLD), which sells for less than $25. For more information, check out Belkin’s 
>Web site at http://www.belkin.com.
>
>
> 
>
>If you start Direct Cable Connection on a PC that's already been set up as a host, 
>a dialog box displays the current settings. Click the Change button if you want 
to 
>alter the settings.  
>For ultimate flexibility, you can buy a multi-head cable such as the 10-foot Belkin 
>Serial File Transfer Cable (part number: F3X171-10) for around $25. The price is 
>a bargain because the cable allows you to connect any two PCs using either a serial-to-serial 
>or parallel-to-parallel configuration.
>
>Hook up. After you purchase the right cable, time comes to hook up one PC to another. 
>If you’re using a multi-head cable, choose either both parallel heads or both serial 
>heads to make the connection. Don’t plug a parallel head into one PC and a serial 
>head into the other PC. With USB (Universal Serial Bus) connections gaining in popularity, 
>even simpler connection solutions wait around the corner, but for now Microsoft 
only 
>supports serial-to-serial or parallel-to-parallel.
>
>Install DCC. Of course, DCC won’t work unless properly installed on both PCs. Check 
>for the Direct Cable Connection option by clicking Start, Programs, Accessories, 
>and Communication. If the option is not available, install DCC by clicking Start, 
>Settings, Control Panel, and double-clicking Add/Remove Programs. Select the Windows 
>Setup tab. Under Components, click Communications to highlight it and click the 
Details 
>button to show the Communications dialog box. Under Components, click the box next 
>to Direct Cable Connection and click OK. Follow the on-screen instructions if WinMe 
>prompts you to insert the installation CD. Click OK to close Add/Remove Programs 
>Properties.
>
>Choose host and guest. With DDC, one PC must be designated the host PC, and the 
other 
>must be designated the guest PC. The host PC is the one that shares its data, and 
>the guest PC accesses that data. If both PCs are identical, the deciding factor 
will 
>be obvious: The PC that has the files and programs you want to share should be the 
>host.
>
>But the solution might not be so cut and dry. If one PC performs better or has a 
>larger hard drive than the other PC, you might want to set up the better PC as host. 
>This situation might require that you first consolidate pertinent files and programs 
>so they all reside on the better PC.
>
>Set up the guest PC. Once you’re ready to set up the guest PC, click the Start button, 
>Programs, Accessories, Communication, and Direct Cable Connection. In the Direct 
>Cable Connection dialog box that appears, select Guest and click Next to continue.
>
>
> 
>
>Install the Direct Cable Connection component so you can begin sharing data between 
>two PCs.  
>The next dialog box lets you identify the port you’re using: Parallel Cable on LPT1, 
>Serial Cable on COM1, or Serial Cable on COM2 (there might be fewer or additional 
>choices on your PC). The port choice must match the cable being used, and the cable 
>needs to be connected correctly. If you added ports before connecting the PCs, and 
>the new port isn’t a choice in the Direct Cable Connection dialog box, click Install 
>New Ports. WinMe automatically finds the port and adds it to the list. Click Finish.
>
>Finally, a smaller Direct Cable Connection box appears, indicating that the guest 
>PC is trying to connect to the host PC. Since you haven’t set up the host PC yet, 
>click Cancel.
>
>Set up the host PC. To get the host PC ready to share information, you need to click 
>Start, Programs, Accessories, Communication, and Direct Cable Connection. In the 
>Direct Cable Connection dialog box, select Host and click Next to continue.
>
>The next dialog box lets you identify the port you’re using. Make sure the port 
matches 
>the one you selected when setting up the guest PC. Click Next to continue.
>
>In the next dialog box, click the File And Print Sharing button. On the Configuration 
>tab of the Network dialog box, click the File And Print Sharing button. Establish 
>whether you want the host PC to provide the guest PC with access to your files, 
the 
>ability to print to your printer, or both by clicking the appropriate checkboxes. 
>Click OK, and then click OK to close the Network dialog box. A status bar updates 
>the PC settings, followed by a box prompting you to restart the PC. Click Yes.
>
>Next, consider whether you want to require the guest to enter a password before 
accessing 
>files on the host. Since this is a direct connection between the two PCs, we don’t 
>see any security issue that would require a password, but you have that choice. 
Run 
>DCC by clicking Start, Programs, Accessories, Communication, and Direct Cable Connection. 
>If you don’t want to establish a password, click Listen; the host PC then listens 
>for the guest PC.
>
>To establish a password, click Change, Next, and Next. Click the Use Password Protection 
>checkbox. Click Set Password, enter the password, and click OK. Click Finish; the 
>host PC then listens for the guest PC.
>
>Introduce the guest to the host. After setting up both PCs, run DCC on the guest 
>PC so it can access the host PC. Now that they “know” one another, they’re ready 
>to start sharing files from the host PC.
>
>
> 
>
>While setting up the host PC, designate whether you want the guest PC to have access 
>to files on the host, the host's printing capabilities, or both.  
>Share files. On the host PC Desktop, double-click My Computer and browse to the 
files, 
>drives, or folders you want to share. Right-click the item you want to share, select 
>Sharing, and click Shared As. A dialog box prompts you to either leave the item’s 
>name as is or change it; this is the name the guest PC user will see when looking 
>for the item. 
>
>Finally, define whether you want the item to have a Read, Full, or Depends On Password 
>status. Read means the item will have read-only status on the guest PC, and Full 
>means the item can be read, changed, or deleted. If you select Depends On Password, 
>you can still assign a Read or Full status, but before the item can even be accessed, 
>the user must enter the appropriate password. Once you click OK, the guest PC will 
>have access to the shared items.
>
>Access shared files. On the guest PC Desktop, double-click My Network Places to 
see 
>all of the shared resources that are on the host PC. Now you can copy files and 
folders 
>from the host PC by clicking and dragging the appropriate icons. You can do the 
reverse—copy 
>files to the host PC—if Full access was granted to the folders.
>
>Change settings. If you “mess up” at any stage in the development of the DCC, don’t 
>worry. Users can easily change DCC settings. Begin by running DCC on the PC you 
want 
>to change and click Change in the Direct Cable Connection dialog box that appears. 
>Next, use one of the following procedures to make the appropriate changes:
>
>
>To change a host PC to a guest PC, click the Guest radio button, Next, Next again, 
>and Finish.
>
>
>To change a guest PC to a host PC, click the Host radio button, Next, Next again, 
>and Finish.
>
>
>To change the port, click Next. Select a different port (or click Install New Ports 
>if you have added a port), click Next, and Finish.
>
>
>To change sharing options on the host PC, right-click My Network Places and click 
>Properties. On the Configuration tab of the Network dialog box, click File And Print 
>Sharing. Change the settings, click OK, and then click OK to close the dialog box. 
>A prompt box appears asking you to restart the PC. Click Yes.
>
>
>Network at home. If you have a LAN (local-area network) in your home, you can use 
>DCC to connect an additional PC or notebook to the system. You can then access any 
>resources available on the LAN without having to shell out additional cash for a 
>hub for the network or a NIC card for the extra PC or notebook.
>
>
> 
>
>
>

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