Connecting two Windows 10 computers together in an ad hoc local network can be useful, it can allow you to share files or game together when you can’t trust, or don’t have a wireless network. To do so, the first step is to plug a Crossover Ethernet Cable from one device into the other. Alternatively, this can also be done with the use of a hub or router – the steps will be the same. Make sure both computers are connected to the same one, and keep in mind that the connection type will be different depending on which type of connection you are using.
Once connected you need to configure the two Ethernet adapters to be able to communicate. Open Control panel and browse to Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center and then click “Change adapter settings” on the left-hand side.
Right-click on your Ethernet device and select properties. In the adapter properties, double click on “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)”.
Set the IP address to be 192.168.0.1 and the subnet mask to be 255.255.255.0 on the first device. On the second device, the IP address should be 192.168.0.2 and the subnet mask should be the same as the first host. Apply the changes by clicking ok until you’re back to the list of network adaptors.
Once both computers are connected and have IP addresses assigned. Go back to Network and Sharing Center and click on “Change advanced sharing settings” on the left-hand side. In the advanced sharing settings menu, ensure “Turn on network discovery” and “Turn on automatic setup of network-connected devices” are both enabled.
Enabling network discovery will allow the Windows 10 devices to identify each other and communicate via network protocols. If you want to connect to a game, web or FTP server this should now work.
Should you want to share files through Windows’ file-sharing features, you will need to enable “File and printer sharing” from the same menu that you enabled network discovery. You will also need to configure the files and folders to be shared.
Roy Blumenthal says
Thanks for the clear instructions, Mel.
Something that would help tremendously for troubleshooting is to know this….
How do I know if I’ve gotten this right? What signs do I look for?
Right now, I’m trying to get one computer, running my drawing app and OBS Studio to send a virtual camera signal across my peer-to-peer ethernet cable to another machine running OBS Studio. (The drawing machine is for me to originate stuff on, and control OBS scenes. The second machine is the streaming machine, so that I’m outsourcing the processor-intensive stuff.)
The trouble is that I don’t think the peer-to-peer connection is actually doing anything.
I’ve got a five-second lag on OBS from the drawing machine to the streaming machine. Which tells me that the connection is actually over my wireless network, and not over the ethernet cable.
When I run “Diagnose” on the ethernet on either of the two machines, I get the same error message: “Windows could not diagnose the problem.” This indicates that there IS indeed some sort of problem. And that there probably isn’t a connection between the two lan adaptors.
I’ve tried using a normal ethernet cable, and also a twisted pair ethernet cable. (Actually, I’ve tried TWO different twisted pair cables, just in case there was something wrong with the one cable.)
I feel like I’m THIS CLOSE to solving this. But I don’t have the knowledge or experience to know what to look out for.
Any thoughts?
Thanks again for the clarity you offered in your piece.
I hope lockdown is treating you and everyone you know well.
Blue skies
Roy