This wikiHow teaches you how to connect two computers to share files or an internet connection.
Step
Method 1 of 5: Internet Sharing from a Windows Computer
Step 1. Connect the two computers using an ethernet cable
Use an ethernet cable to connect the two computers.
You'll need an Ethernet to USB-C adapter to plug into your Mac's Thunderbolt 3 port if you want to attach an Ethernet cable to your Mac
Step 2. Go to Start
Do this by clicking on the Windows logo in the lower-left corner.
Make sure you do this on the computer you are sharing the internet with, not on the computer you just connected to
Step 3. Open Control Panel
Type control panel, then click Control Panel displayed at the top of the window Start.
Step 4. Click Network and Internet
This heading is on the left side of the Control Panel window.
Skip this step if the Control Panel page displays " Small icons " or " Large icons " in the upper right corner
Step 5. Click Network and Sharing Center in the middle of the page
A list of your current connections will be displayed.
Step 6. Click Change adapter settings
This option is in the top left of the window.
Step 7. Select Wi-Fi connection and Ethernet connection
Click the computer icon with " Wi-Fi " under it, then press and hold Ctrl and click the computer icon with " Ethernet " below it.
Step 8. Right-click the Wi-Fi connection
A drop-down menu will be displayed.
- If the mouse doesn't have a right-click button, click the right side of the mouse or click the mouse with two fingers.
- If your computer uses a trackpad, tap the trackpad with two fingers or press its lower right.
Step 9. Click Bridge Connections in the drop-down menu
After a while, the computer's Wi-Fi will be shared on the "bridged" connection with the other computers.
Method 2 of 5: Internet Sharing from Mac Computer
Step 1. Connect the two computers using an ethernet cable
Use an ethernet cable to connect the two computers.
To connect a Mac computer to another Mac, you'll need two Ethernet to USB-C adapters to plug into the Thunderbolt 3 ports of your Mac computer before you can connect them via Ethernet
Step 2. Open Apple menu
Click the Apple logo in the top left corner. A drop-down menu will be displayed.
Step 3. Click the System Preferences… option in the drop-down menu
The System Preferences window will open.
Step 4. Click Sharing
This option is in the System Preferences window. This will open a new window.
Step 5. Check the "Internet Sharing" box on the left side of the window
Step 6. Click the "Share your connection from" drop-down box
The box is in the middle of the window. A drop-down menu will be displayed.
Step 7. Click the Wi-Fi option located in the drop-down menu
Step 8. Check the "Ethernet" box
By doing so, the internet connection on the Mac computer will be shared with the currently connected computer.
Method 3 of 5: Sharing Files from Windows Computer to Windows
Step 1. Connect the two computers using an ethernet cable
Use an ethernet cable to connect the two computers.
Step 2. Go to Start
Do this by clicking on the Windows logo in the lower-left corner.
Make sure you do this on the computer on which the file is being shared
Step 3. Open Control Panel
Type control panel, then click Control Panel displayed at the top of the window Start.
Step 4. Click Network and Internet
This heading is on the left side of the Control Panel window.
Skip this step if the Control Panel page displays " Small icons " or " Large icons " in the upper right corner
Step 5. Click Network and Sharing Center in the middle of the page
Step 6. Click on Advanced sharing settings
This link is in the top-left corner.
Step 7. Enable file sharing
Check the "Turn on file and printer sharing" box under the "File and printer sharing" heading in the middle of the page.
Step 8. Share the desired folder
How to do it:
- Open the folder location in File Explorer.
- Select the folder you want to share.
- Click tab Share.
- Click Specific people….
- choose Everyone from the drop-down menu at the top of the window.
- Click Share.
- Click Done.
Step 9. Open File Explorer on the second computer
Click the File Explorer icon
or open Start and click
which is there.
Step 10. Click the first computer name
His name is under the heading Network located on the left side of the File Explorer window.
To find this option, you may have to scroll down from the screen
Step 11. Copy the shared folder to the second computer
Click the folder you want to copy and press Ctrl+C. Next, open the folder you want to use to save it, then press Ctrl+V.
Method 4 of 5: Sharing Files from Mac Computer to Mac
Step 1. Connect the two computers
Use an ethernet cable to connect the two Mac computers.
Unless one or both computers are iMacs (desktop computers), you'll need two Ethernet to USB-C adapters to plug into your Mac's Thunderbolt 3 port before you can connect them via Ethernet
Step 2. Click Go
This menu is at the top of the screen. A drop-down menu will be displayed.
- If the menu Go none, you can force them to display by clicking on the desktop.
- Do this on the Mac you want to transfer files to.
Step 3. Click Connect to Server
This option is at the bottom of the drop-down menu.
Step 4. Click Browse at the bottom of the Connect to Server window
A pop-up window with nearby computers will be displayed.
Step 5. Double-click the name of the second Mac computer
The name will be displayed in the pop-up window.
Step 6. Type in the password for the second computer when prompted
You will be connected to a second computer.
If that doesn't work, try using the password for the current computer
Step 7. Click Connect located at the bottom right of the pop-up window
Step 8. Run Finder
Click the Finder icon, which is the blue face in the Mac's dock.
Step 9. Move the file to another Mac computer
Find the file you want to transfer to a second Mac, copy it by clicking on it and pressing Command+C. Next, click the name of another Mac computer in the lower left of the Finder window, open the folder where you want to save the file, then press Command+V.
Method 5 of 5: File Sharing between Windows and Mac Computers
Step 1. Connect the two computers
Use an ethernet cable to connect the two computers.
- You'll need an Ethernet to USB-C adapter to plug into your Mac's Thunderbolt 3 port before you can connect the Ethernet cable to your Mac.
- If both Mac and Windows computers are connected to the Internet, you can transfer files over Wi-Fi. However, this method will be slower than using a cable.
Step 2. Enable file sharing on Windows computer
How to do it:
- Open Control Panel by typing control panel into Start, then click Control Panel.
- Click Network and Sharing (if it says "Small" or "Large" at the top right of the window, skip this step).
- Click Network and Sharing Center.
- Click Advanced sharing settings.
- Check the "Turn on file and printer sharing" box.
Step 3. Share the desired folder
How to do it:
-
open Start
-
Click File Explorer
- Select the folder you want to share.
- Click tab Share.
- Click Specific people….
- choose Everyone from the drop-down menu at the top of the window.
- Click Share.
- Click Done.
Step 4. Enable file sharing on Mac
How to do it:
-
Open menu Apple
Macapple1 - Click System Preferences….
- Click Sharing.
- Check the "File Sharing" box.
- Change "Everyone" permission from "Read Only" to "Read & Write".
Step 5. Share the folder from Mac computer
Click icon ＋ located under the list of shared folders (shared folder), then double-click the folder that you want to share.
Maybe you should click Add to add the folder to the list of shared folders.
Step 6. Access files on Mac computer from Windows
This can be done from within File Explorer:
-
open Start
-
Click File Explorer
- Click the Mac computer name under the heading Network located to the left of File Explorer.
- Open the shared folder.
- Select the file you want to save, then press Ctrl+C.
- Open a folder on your computer and press Ctrl+V.
Step 7. Access files on Windows computer from Mac
This can be done from within the Finder:
-
Open Finder
- Click the Windows computer name in the lower left of the window.
- Open the shared folder.
- Select the file you want to save, then press Command+C.
- Open a folder on your Mac, then press Command+V.
Tips
- You can use a flash drive to move files from one computer to another.
- You must learn about computer networking if you want to use advanced networking functions.
