Yes, you can connect two devices running Windows 10 using an Ethernet cable to transfer files without a switch or wireless connectivity, and in this guide, you'll learn the steps to complete the task.
December 22, 2020 2020-12-22T08:58:12-05:00
Although most homes and businesses have some sort of network switching and wireless equipment to connect multiple Windows 10 computers together, there are still scenarios when you may need to connect two devices directly using an Ethernet cable.
For example, when you have to transfer files from an old to a new computer, or you want to connect to a file server (such as TrueNAS or unRAID) using a 10 Gigabit Ethernet connection directly, when you do not have a 10 Gigabit switch in the network.
Whatever the reason it might be, you can configure Windows 10 to communicate with another computer without the need of a switch or Wi-Fi connection.
In this guide, you will learn two methods to connect two devices and share data using one Ethernet cable on Windows 10.
If you need to transfer files between computers without the use of a switch, you will need to connect both devices using a straight through or crossover cable.
The straight through cable is the conventional Ethernet cable that has the same wire color alignment on each end. On the other hand, the crossover cable has different wire alignment of colors on each end.
On most modern computers using a Gigabit Ethernet network adapter, the system will sense and switch orientation automatically to allow communication without a switch in the middle, but some computers (especially those with an older card) will still need a crossover cable.
After connecting both devices with an Ethernet cable, you need to configure the network settings to connect both devices running Windows 10.
On the first computer, use these steps:
Quick tip: If you are trying to connect to another computer with a direct cable connection using a second network adapter, make sure the IP address is on a different network. For example, if the network uses the 192.168.1.x network, then to make the connection work, use a different network, for example, 192.168.2.x.
Once you complete the steps, you will need to configure the second device with a similar configuration to allow the communication.
In the second computer, use these steps:
After you complete the steps, you can share a folder or service that will be accessible from the other device. You can refer to steps belows to complete the task or you can use these instructions to share folder with another computer.
While the proper method is to use a network configuration to connect two computers directly, Windows 10 can also automatically assign an IP address using the 169.254.x.x network range, which is known as the Automatic Private Internet Protocol Addressing (APIPA).
If you do not want to go through the process of configuring the network, you can connect both devices and let them configure themself automatically, then you only need to share the data or service you are intending to access from another computer.
In the case that you are trying to transfer some files, you will need to share a folder to then access it from the other device.
On the first computer, use these steps:
Share folder between two computers" width="614" height="454" />After you complete the steps, the files will be accessible from the second computer.
On the second computer, use these steps:
After you complete the steps, you can transfer the files to the new destination.
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About the authorMauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected] .
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