Can I connect to a Crossover & Normal Lan at the same time?

Hi guys,

I tried this before but never actually went through with it at the time. Local shops are having great deals once again on computer parts and cases so figure it is a good enough time to update my 2nd pc.

Question I have for you all, is if I get a crossover cable and connect my two PC's together, file transfer speeds should be the quickest comparing to running through the network or USB right?

If yes ... Can my PC connect to the normal network by LAN and thus the internet without loosing connectivity to the 2nd PC?

Like this ...

Onboard LAN on mobo - > always stays connected to home router and internet only
2nd network card in PCI slot - > Connected by crossover to 2nd pc

Both machines are running Windows 7. Are those two simulations connections possible?

It is possible. I haven't done it in a while and I'm not too sure about windows 7 but I remember having to configure the 2nd LAN to a specific setting and 3rd for a specific setting for the application I was using it for. I am not too sure windows to windows file transfer setting though.

Yes, it'll work fine. Its really no different than the old days where a PC might have an Ethernet connection to a LAN and a PPPoE connection to the Internet.

Alright, thanks guys!

cross over cable is not going to be faster than the same speed network switch/router. It's gigabit or 100Mb, regardless of whether the crossover happens via a cable or a switch. If your router does not have a 4-5 port switch built in (90% do now) then buy a small gigabit switch instead of a second NIC.

If you do the crossover thing, then computer 2 is going to have to use computer 1 as a router and DNS proxy and so you'll have additional services installed on Computer 1 and Computer 2 won't work unless Computer 1 is on. (Basically install Internet Connection Sharing on Computer 1 and figure out manual IP addressing)

Yes, what you seek is possible but not hugely useful. If you have a 1GB network switch or router (most are now) then you wont see any speed gain. Youll also have to edit your hosts file with the hostname of the second computer OR access it using IP address only. Lastly there will be extra work to setup computer one as a router so computer two can access the internet (that part wont be plug and play).

Personally, order a gigabit network switch from NCIX/local computer store/Best Buy/etc, plug both the computers into that, and then plug your LAN cable from your router/whatever into the switch. Fastest speeds and no extra work.