This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Travis Boylls. Travis has been a tech writer at wikiHow for more than 10 years. He has also worked in technical support for Dish Network and AT&T Wireless. He studied graphic design and web design at Pikes Peak Community College. He specializes in Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and video game consoles. Travis has had a fascination with computers and technology that goes all the way back to childhood. He is proficient in all manner of software and computer operating systems.
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If you want to use a larger screen than your laptop, you can easily connect your laptop to a desktop monitor. If you need to access files that are stored on your desktop computer from your laptop (or vice-versa), you can set up file sharing between the two computers. Then you can transfer files via a wired or wireless connection. This wikiHow article teaches you how to connect a laptop to a monitor as well as how to share files between a laptop and desktop computer on both Windows and Mac.
Connect a Desktop to a Laptop
You can connect a laptop to a desktop monitor using an HDMI cable. You can share files between a laptop and a desktop on the same network (or connected via an Ethernet cable) by enabling file sharing and selecting the shared folders. Access the shared folders on the other computer using File Explorer or Finder.
Steps
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Locate the HDMI port on your laptop. Most laptops have an HDMI port on the side of the keyboard. In some cases, it may be on the back.
- If your laptop doesn’t have an HDMI out port, but has USB-C ports, you can purchase an USB-C-to-HDMI adapter.
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Connect your laptop to the monitor. Connect an HDMI cable from the HDMI port on your laptop to a free HDMI port on the back of your monitor.
- If there isn’t a free HDMI port on the back of the monitor, you may need to disconnect the monitor from your desktop PC and connect it to your laptop.
- If you want to connect a laptop and a desktop computer to a single monitor, you can do so by purchasing a KVM switch. This allows you to switch between and operate multiple computers with a single monitor, mouse, and keyboard.
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Right-click your desktop and click Display Settings. This opens the Display Settings menu on your laptop.
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Click Multiple Displays followed by Detect. If you don’t see a diagram with two rectangles, representing your laptop monitor and your desktop monitor, this will force Windows to detect your desktop monitor.
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Select how you want the display to appear on the monitor. Use the drop-down menu in the diagram at the top of the Display Settings to select how the image will display on the desktop monitor. The options are as follows:[1]
- Duplicate: This option will display the same thing on your laptop monitor and desktop monitor.
- Extend: This option will use the desktop monitor as a second screen and allow you to move items from one screen to another.
- Second screen only: This option only displays an image on the desktop monitor.
- PC screen only: This option only uses your laptop screen as a display.
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Click and drag the boxes in the diagram in the display to their desired position. If you are using the desktop monitor as an extended display, click and drag the diagrams to match their real-world position. If the desktop monitor is on the right side of your laptop, place it on the right side. If it is on the left side, place it on the left side in the diagram. You can also place the two displays on top or below one another.
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Check what kind of video output your MacBook has. If your MacBook has an HDMI or DisplayPort out, you are good to go. If it only has USB-C ports or Thunderbolt 4 output, you’ll need to purchase a USB-C-to-HDMI adapter or a Thunderbolt-to-HDMI adapter.[2]
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Connect the MacBook to the monitor. Use an HDMI cable or DisplayPort cable to connect the MacBook to the monitor.
- If you are using an adapter, connect the HDMI or DisplayPort cable to the adapter, then connect it to a USB-C port on the MacBook.
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Open the Display Settings on your MacBook. Use the following steps to do so:
- Click the Apple Icon.
- Click System Settings (or System Preferences on older devices).
- Click Displays.
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Hold ⌥ Option and click Detect. If your MacBook doesn’t detect the desktop display, hold the Option key and click Detect Displays. This will force your MacBook to detect the desktop monitor.
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Click Arrange. This allows you to change the orientation of your displays.
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Click and drag the displays to match their real-world position. If the external display is to the right of your MacBook, drag it to the right. If your external display is to the left of your MacBook, drag it to the left. If you want the external display to show the same thing as your MacBook display, hold Option and drag the displays on top of each other.[3]
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Connect the Windows desktop and laptop computers to the same Wi-Fi network. As long as both PCs are connected to the same Wi-Fi network, accessing the other computer to share files will be simple.
- You can also use this method if both computers are connected to the same network using an ethernet cable, such as through a router or switch.
- The steps are similar in both Windows 10 or Windows 11.
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Open File Explorer on the computer that has files you want to share. You can do this on both the desktop and the laptop computer if you want folders to be accessible from both sides.
- File Explorer is the folder icon on the taskbar or in the Windows menu.
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Right-click the folder you want to share and select Properties. A dialog window will expand.[4]
- You can also share individual files instead of folders if you'd like.
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Click the Sharing tab. It's at the top of the window.
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Click the Share… button. This opens a window that lets you share the folder with certain people.[5]
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Select the user you want to share with. Click the menu to see a list of accounts, and then choose the account you want to share with. Click Add to add that user.[6]
- By default, the file or folder is automatically shared with the owner's account. If you sign in to both the laptop and the desktop using the same account, you don't have to add any other accounts.
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Choose permissions for the shared content. If you're sharing with another account, Read permissions are assigned by default. If you want to give that account full permissions, click the drop-down menu next to "Read" and choose Read/Write.
- If you're the owner of the file and plan to sign in with the same account on both computers, you don't need to adjust permissions—you already have full permissions.
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Click the Share button. This shares the file with the selected user(s).
- If network discovery and file sharing are not turned on, you'll be prompted to turn these services on now. You can choose No if you're currently on a private network, such as at home, or Yes if you want to enable file sharing over public networks (such as coffee shops and college campuses).
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Access files on another Windows computer. Use the following steps to access shared files from another Windows computer:
- Open File Explorer.
- Click Network.
- Double-click the computer you want to access.
- Log in to an account that has permission to access the shared files.
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Access files on a Mac. Use the following steps to access the shared files from a Mac computer:
- Open Finder.
- Click Go in the menu bar at the top.
- Click Connect to Server.
- Click Browse….
- Select the Windows computer.
- Sign in if prompted.
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Connect the laptop and desktop to the same Wi-Fi or LAN network. If your MacBook and desktop are both connected to the same network—either wirelessly or wired through a router or switch—it's easy to set up file sharing between the two.
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Open the General Settings menu. Use the following steps to do so:
- Click the Apple icon.
- Click System Settings (or System Preferences on older devices).
- Click General.
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Click Sharing. You may need to scroll down to find it.
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Click the toggle switch next to “File Sharing.” This turns on File Sharing on your Mac.
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Click the information icon next to File Sharing. It’s the icon that resembles an “i” inside of a circle. Click this icon next to “File Sharing.”
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Add the folder(s) you want to share. To do so, just click the + under "Shared folders" in the left panel, browse to the folder, select it, and then click Add.
- Repeat for all other folders you want to share.
- If you want to allow all users to access your entire disk drive, click the toggle switch next to “Allow full disk access for all users.”
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Choose who can access the shared content. Select the folder you're sharing, and then choose an account in the "Users" section to share with. You can also click + to share with an account that isn't listed here.
- You can choose Everyone to make the files available to anyone who connects to your network, or select a group to make the file available to everyone in that group.[7]
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Choose which permissions to assign. Next to each user, you can select what type of permission they'll have—for example, if you want full access to the folder when you're logging in from your desktop or laptop, assign all permissions (Read & Write).[8]
- The folder or file(s) is now shared.
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Share your files with a Windows computer (optional). If you want to share your files with a Windows computer, use the following steps to do so:[9]
- Click Options at the bottom of the screen.
- Toggle on the switch next to Share files and folders using SMB.
- Click the check mark next to your account.
- Enter your account password.
- Click Done.
- Note the “smb://” address that appears at the top of the File Sharing window under the text “File Sharing: On.” Users on Windows computers will need that information to connect to your Mac.
- Go to System Settings > Network and click your current connection, then click Details.
- Click the WINS tab on the left side of the window.
- In the Workgroup field, enter the workgroup name of the Windows computer you want to connect with, then click OK.
- Go to System Settings > Users & Groups and create an account for each Windows user or group you want to grant access to your Mac. For more detailed instructions, see this article from Apple.
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Access the shared folder from another Mac. Now that you're sharing a folder or files from one of your Macs, you can open Finder on the other Mac to access the shared files. Open Finder, and then:
- Click Network under "Locations" in the left panel. After a moment, you'll see the name of the other Mac in the list.
- Double-click the name of the other Mac.
- Click Connect As at the top-right corner.
- Log in to the other Mac using any active account.
- You can now drag and drop files between the desktop and laptop.
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Access the Mac from Windows. Now that files are shared from the Mac, you can access them from Windows in File Explorer. Here's how:
- Open File Explorer on the PC—it's the folder icon in the taskbar or in the Windows menu.[10]
- Click Network in the left panel. If network sharing isn't turned on, you'll be prompted to turn it on now.
- Double-click the Mac and enter your login info. The files are now available.
- If you don’t see the Mac listed, enter the Mac’s SMB address in the address bar.
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Connect the two computers with an ethernet cable. Plug one end of the ethernet cable into the square port on the back of your desktop PC, then plug the other end of the cable into the matching port on the side of your laptop.
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Open the Control Panel on the first computer. You can do this by typing control panel into the search bar next to the Windows menu and clicking Control Panel in the search results.[11]
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Navigate to the Network and Sharing Center. Use the following steps to do so:
- Click Network and Internet.
- Click Network and Sharing Center.
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Click Ethernet. It's a link to the right of the "Unidentified Network" connection in the right panel.
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Click the Properties button. This is in the bottom-left corner of the window.
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Select Internet Protocol Version 4 and click Properties. You'll find this line of text in the middle of the window. Clicking it to highlight it. Then click Properties below the window.
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Change the IP address for your connection and click Ok. Check the "Use the following IP address" box near the top of the page, then fill out the following fields:
- IP address - Type in 192.168.1.1
- Subnet mask - Type in 255.255.255.0
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Change the IP address on your laptop computer. Use the following steps to do so:
- Go to the Network and Sharing Center in the same way that you did on the desktop.
- Open the Ethernet properties, select Internet Protocol Version 4, and click Properties.
- Check the "Use the following IP address" box at the top of the page.
- Type 192.168.1.2 into the "IP address" field.
- Type 255.255.255.0 into the "Subnet mask" field.
- Click OK twice.
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Share the folder. Use the following steps to do so:[12]
- Right-click the folder you want to share.
- Click Properties.
- Click the Sharing tab at the top.
- Click Share.
- Click the drop-down arrow.
- Click Everyone (or a specific user).
- Click Add.
- Click Share.
- Click Done when prompted.
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Place files to share in the folder. To do so:
- Find the files that you want to share.
- Select the files.
- Press Ctrl + C to copy the files.
- Open the shared folder.
- Press Ctrl + V to paste the files.
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Switch to the other computer. Go back to the Windows laptop or desktop on which you want to access the shared folder.
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Open the shared folder. Press Win + i to open File Explorer. Then click Network. Click the desktop computer's name in the lower-left side of the File Explorer window, and double-click the folder.
- You may need to enter the login password for the other computer to access the shared folder.
- You may have to scroll down through the far-left column of folders to access the desktop computer's name.
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Move the shared files onto your laptop. Select the files, press Ctrl + C, open a folder in which you want to store them, and press Ctrl + V.
- You can also add files from your laptop to the shared folder if you want to access them on the desktop computer.
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Check for a Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4 port on your Mac. Most modern Macs from 2016 and later have this type of port. Look for an oval port with a lightning bolt near it on the laptop and the back of the Mac desktop.
- Transferring files over Thunderbolt is a lot faster than transferring files over Wi-Fi.[13]
- You have to use a Thunderbolt cable, which has the same kind of connector as a USB-C cable. A regular USB-C cable will not work.
- Thunderbolt and USB-C ports look very similar. Thunderbolt ports will have a lightning bolt icon next to them.
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Connect the two Macs with a cable. You'll want to make sure the cable you use is specifically labeled as "Thunderbolt 3," or "Thunderbolt 4," as there are other cable types with the same style of connector.[14]
- If one of your Macs has Thunderbolt 2 instead of Thunderbolt 3 or 4, you can use a Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 adapter.
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Open the Network Settings menu on both Macs. Use the following steps to do so:
- Click the Apple icon.
- Click System Settings (or System Preferences on older devices).
- Click Network.
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Select Thunderbolt Bridge and click Details. You should see Thunderbolt Bridge listed as one of the options. Click Details next to it. Repeat for both Macs
- If you don't see this option, click the … button below the list of connections and select Add Service., Select Thunderbolt Bridge from the "Interface" menu, and then click Create.
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Click the TCP/IP tab and select “Manually” next to “Configure IPv4.” You’ll need to do this on both Macs.
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Set the IP address for both Macs. Make sure the IP address is set as follows for both Macs:[15]
- Mac 1 IP address: 192.168.69.50
- Mac 2 IP address: 192.168.69.51
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Turn on File Sharing for both Macs: Use the following steps to do so:
- Click the Apple icon.
- Click System Settings (or System Preferences on older devices).
- Click General.
- Click Sharing.
- Click the toggle switch to turn on File Sharing.
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Connect to the other Mac in Finder. Now that the Macs are connected with a Thunderbolt bridge, you can access files over the network. On either of the two computers, open Finder and do the following:
- Click Network under "Locations" in the left panel. After a moment, you'll see the name of the other Mac in the list.
- Double-click the name of the other Mac.
- Click Connect As at the top-right corner.
- Log in to the other Mac using any active account.
- You can now drag and drop files between the desktop and laptop.
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Buy a USB-C to Ethernet adapter for the Mac. Macs don't have Ethernet ports anymore, but you can purchase a USB Ethernet plug-in item that attaches to one of your Mac's USB ports.[16]
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Attach the adapter to your Mac. Plug the USB cable side of the adapter into one of the USB ports on your Mac.[Image:Connect a Desktop to a Laptop Step 22 Version 2.jpg|center]]
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Connect the two computers with an Ethernet cable. Plug each end of the Ethernet cable into a square Ethernet port on each computer.
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Select a share folder. Click on a folder that you want to share from your desktop to your Mac computer.
- You can also create a new folder to share.
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Share the folder. To do so:
- Click Share in the top-left side of the window.
- Click Specific people...
- Click the drop-down arrow.
- Click Everyone.
- Click Share.
- Click Done when prompted.
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Switch to your Mac computer and click Go. This menu item should be at the top of the screen.
- If you don't see Go in the menu bar, open Finder or click the desktop to make it appear.
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Click Connect to Server. It's near the bottom of the Go drop-down menu.[17]
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Enter your Windows computer's IP address. Type the IP address for your Windows computer into the text field at the top of the window.
- You can find the Windows computer's IP address by opening Start, clicking Settings, clicking Network & Internet, followed by Properties at the top. Scroll down and check your IP address next to “IPv4 Address.”
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Click Connect. Doing so will bring up another window.
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Enter your Windows computer's information. To do so:
- Check the "Registered User" box.
- Enter the desktop's account username into the "Username" text field.
- Enter the desktop's account password into the "Password" text field.
- Click Connect.
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Place files in the shared folder. Switch back to your Windows computer, then do the following:
- Find the files that you want to share.
- Select the files.
- Press Ctrl + C to copy the files.
- Open the shared folder.
- Press Ctrl + V to paste the files.
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Retrieve the files on your Mac. Go to your laptop, then do the following:
- Open Finder if it's not already open.
- Click the Windows computer's name on the left side of the Finder.
- Open the shared folder.
- Select the shared files.
- Click Edit at the top of the screen, then click Copy
- Select a folder in which you want to store the shared files (e.g., Desktop).
- Click Edit at the top of the screen, then click Paste Items
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Share files from your Mac to your Windows computer. To do this, simply place files from your Mac in the shared folder, then open the shared folder on the Windows computer and copy the files from there.
Community Q&A
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QuestionI would like to connect my laptop to my desktop to use as a second monitor, but my desktop ethernet port is already being used by the internet. Can I tether it another way?
Bryan Beege BerryCommunity AnswerLaptops are not designed to act as displays. There is no hardware-supported way to do this. The best alternative may be to use some sort of screensharing software between the desktop and laptop, but this will not allow you to do things like extend display. -
QuestionCan I use Ethernet adapters?
Community AnswerYes, there's a special Ethernet cable, called a "crossover cable," designed for directly connecting two computers. This will create a miniature network between the two. -
QuestionWhat if the second PC can't access the internet still?
Community AnswerYou can restart the computer, unplug and plug the wires back in, and if it's WiFi, turn WiFi off or disconnect it, then reconnect. if it is still not working, contact the brand's customer support.
Video
Tips
References
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/how-to-use-multiple-monitors-in-windows-329c6962-5a4d-b481-7baa-bec9671f728a
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/connect-an-external-display-mchl7c7ebe08/mac
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/extend-mirror-mac-desktop-multiple-displays-mchlb5f905a1/26/mac/26
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/file-sharing-over-a-network-in-windows-b58704b2-f53a-4b82-7bc1-80f9994725bf#id0ebd=windows_10
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/seamlessly-transfer-content-between-your-devices-8a0ead3c-2f15-1338-66ca-70cf4ae81fcb
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/file-sharing-over-a-network-in-windows-b58704b2-f53a-4b82-7bc1-80f9994725bf#id0ebd=windows_10
- ↑ https://www.computerworld.com/article/2076109/the-best-ways-to-share-files-between-windows-pcs.html
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/et-ee/guide/mac-help/mchlp1203/mac
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-in/guide/mac-help/mchlp1657/mac
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-in/guide/mac-help/mchlp1658/12.0/mac/12.0
- ↑ https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/computer-networks/how-to-connect-two-computers-with-an-ethernet-cable/
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/file-sharing-over-a-network-in-windows-b58704b2-f53a-4b82-7bc1-80f9994725bf
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb0qK738wTI
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/set-up-file-sharing-on-mac-mh17131/mac
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osHtkRmKh08&t=10s
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-ph/guide/mac-help/mchlp1660/mac
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-ph/guide/mac-help/mchlp1660/mac
About This Article
If you want to connect your Windows computer to a Windows laptop, use an ethernet cable to connect the devices together. Once they’re connected, go to the computer’s “Control Panel” and select “Network and Internet” in the left column, then click ”Network and Sharing Center”. Next, click the “Ethernet” link and then “Properties”. From there, click ”Internet Protocol Version 4” and change the IP address for your connection. In the “IP address” field, type 192.168.1.1, for “Subnet mask” type 225.225.225.0, and for “Default gateway” type in 192.168.1.2. On your laptop, set your “IP address” to 192.168.1.2, “Subnet mask” to 225.225.225.0, and “Default gateway” to 192.168.1.1. For more help, like how to share files between your connected computers, scroll down.









































































