Anyone any good at IT?

Factual Questions
1

No, not “it”, I.T.

I’ve got a desktop and a laptop, and need to transfer files
and settings between the two - so my laptop becomes a mini and portable version of my desktop.

I’m told the easiest way is to set up a home network. So I
bought a RJ45 Crossover “CAT 5e” cable - for PC to PC
connection, without need for a hub. Apparently.

Both computers have integrated 10/100 base T ethernet
ports, but when I try to run the Network wizard, I get an
error message saying my “Spooler SubSystem App.
encountered a problem and needs to close”. And then I
can go no further.

What’s going wrong? Can I solve this problem easily??

Any help would be most appreciated.

A self-confessed luddite.

2

You’d probably get better answers if you emailed a mod and asked him to change your title’s subject from IT to `home networking’. Information Technology is a very broad field, and scattershot titles don’t attract the best answers.

This being a prime example of the answers they attract.

BTW, if you could, it might be helpful to list the OSes running on both machines.

3

Thanks… more specific!

I’m running XP on both, and will now dial a very expensive helpline to find out where I’m going wrong…!

Don;t worry - I’ll get to the bottom of it. Consider this thread dead…

4

Well… in case you fail, or in case someone else wants to know, you could just set up your machines with static IPs.
I’m sure someone will correct any mistake I make here:[ul]
Set one machine’s IP to 10.0.0.1, the other to 10.0.0.2.
Set both netmasks to 255.255.0.0
Add “File and Printer Sharing” or whatever it is.
Copy files!
[/ul](I’m personally leery of XP’s Network “Wizard”. Seems more like Saruman the White if you ask me. Acts all knowing and powerful, and before you know it it’s broken your whole network. :P)