re: Question about 'Why can't I get the Direct-Cable Connection to work?'
Monday, August 20, 2001 at 4:57 pm
Windows Me Annoyances Discussion Forum
Posted by Barbara-Ann
(16 messages posted)
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.
|
