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Old 01-27-2005, 02:19 PM   #2
Bungleau
40th Level Warrior
 

Join Date: October 29, 2001
Location: Western Wilds of Michigan
Posts: 11,752
Okay, in no particular order...

The first thing I look at is the laptop itself. You have two choices of NIC: built-in or add-on. The built-in will show as a wired network plug or switch to activate the wireless NIC. The wired plug is a little larger than a standard telephone plug.

If it's not built-in, then you might have it via a PCMCIA card (now also called PC Card). Most laptops these days support a Type III or two Type I cards. Look for a slot, typically on the side of the laptop, that's about 2-1/4 inches (6 cm) wide and either 1/4 or 3/8 inches tall (5-10mm). If you have one, that's where it would be plugged in.

You have four basic choices for NIC these days: 10mbps wired, 10/100 wired, wireless-B, and wireless-G. If you have to get one, go for 10/100 or wireless G. They're compatible with their counterparts.

You can also right-click on my computer, go to properties, and look at the device manager. That will give you everything Windows thinks it has at the moment.

As for connecting... the easiest wired way is through a router, hub or switch. You can pick them up fairly inexpensively, and you just need to be able to see each other. If you don't use one, you need a special cable.

If you're wireless, an ad-hoc network is the easiest.

The only real rule is that you both can't be using the same IP address.

Which way are you thinking of doing it? Give more info, get more answers.
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