How to Connect a Desktop to A Laptop

Not only do many homes now include a personal computer of some type, but some professionals will often have a desktop and a laptop. Emailing files between the two can become tedious, as can saving the files to an external thumb drive before connecting it to the other computer to upload. For this reason, it is helpful to have a quick and easy way to share files between computers. Here's how to connect a desktop to a laptop by creating a LAN, or local area network.

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Steps

Windows Method

    1
    Plug your desktop into the modem, router or gateway that provides your Internet service access and home network.
        Most modern computers will connect via Ethernet or Cat5 cable.
        You should be able to connect remotely to a wireless access point if your desktop computer is fitted with a wireless networking card.
    2
    Boot the desktop computer and ​prepare to share files residing on that system.
        On a PC, right-click the file location you want to share file access to. For example, most documents are stored under the "My Documents" hierarchy.
        Click "Share" from the drop-down menu.
        You can add existing user IDs to the list of those who may have access. If you are the only one who has a user account on your PC, you can skip this step.
        Click the Share button and wait a few moments for the process to finish. Click the Done button when it becomes available.​​
    3
    Power up your laptop and prepare those files for sharing. Follow the same procedures as above.
        Open the home Network and Sharing Center from the computer to which you want to copy or transfer files.
        The Network and Sharing Center is available from the Windows Start menu on computers using the Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems.
    4
    Browse to the files you want.
        Click the computer name that is currently housing the files.
        When prompted, enter the user name and password for your account on that PC.
    5
    Right-click and drag the files onto the other computer's desktop or other location. Select "copy" or "move" as appropriate from the popup menu to transfer files.

Mac Method

    1
    Connect to the modem, router or gateway on your desktop Mac, either wirelessly or via Ethernet cable.
    2
    Click the Apple icon, then choose "System Preferences."
    3
    Prepare your files for sharing.
        Choose the Sharing option from the View menu.
        Click the plus sign icon in the Shared Folders window and browse to share folders tow which you need access.
        Add each folder and designate any other users that will have access.
    4
    Repeat the procedure on your Mac laptop computer.
    5
    Access your shared files and folders from the Finder sidebar on either computer.
        You can drag and drop, or copy and paste, to transfer files from one computer to the other.


Tips

    It is possible to use file sharing cross-platform between a Mac and a Windows-based PC. Share files as usual on both computers. In the Mac sharing options, change the file format to SMB. Pass the files back and forth from the Mac machine.

Warnings

    Sharing your files over an open and unprotected home network can be dangerous. Be sure to only use a security-enabled network and to password-protect all systems with shared files or folders.

Things You'll Need

    Desktop computer
    Laptop Computer
    Ethernet cables or wireless networking cards
    Modem, router or gateway
    Internet access