Hooking up one computer directly to another

[LABachlr]

Is it possible to hook up one computer directly to another via an ethernet connection by just having the ethernet cable go from one computer directly to another?

Can the same cable that is used for a broadband connection be used for this, or do you have to use another type of cable?

Is it possible to have one of the PC's act like an external HD like you can do with a Mac?

If not, do you have to set up a network for them to be accessible to each other?

[Midknyte]

yes, but you need a CROSSOVER cable, not a regular patch cable. all other networking rules apply.

what do you mean an "external" hard drive? (sorry, I'm not a mac dude) you can create a network share for storage.

[LABachlr]

Hey Mid. Love your prompt replies. I figured you might need the crossover cable.

With a Mac, an ibook for example, all you have to do is hold down the letter "T" as you boot up and that ibook will simply act like an external hard drive in that, on the computer that it is hooked up to (via firewire, I believe), it will appear as an external drive. Very cool.

Another very cool think about the ibooks is that they can act like a wireless router. All you have to do is set it up to share the Internet connection, and it will broadcast it's connection wirelessly. You can even share a 56k connection wirelessly, but I am not sure who the heck would want to do that.

I don't have one. My friend had one when I was visiting Japan. I will most likely get a Powerbook so that I can do both Mac and PC.

[LABachlr]

And btw, on another topic, if I download XP SP2 from here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=049C9DBE-3B8E-4F30-8245-9E368D3CDB5A&displaylang=en

Should I still update the version that I have of XP to XP SP1 before I install SP2, or can I go straight from XP (before SP1) to SP2?

I'll be doing a fresh install of XP Pro and wanted to know if I can skip some steps. ;)

And also, if there are other things that I need to get, like WMP 9 or Direct X 9c, will windows update still have it when I go there with XP SP2?

If you want me to make another thread, I will.

[Midknyte]

all updates in SP1 are in SP2, so there is no need to do a "step" upgrade. just SP2 will be fine.

SP2 has WMP9 and dx9.0c built in.

look here for more info:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/winxpsp2.mspx

[LABachlr]

Very cool. Thanks. Just made another thread on the Apps & OS forum. Willl post your answer there as well.