Hey Hey,

There are plenty of ways to network two computers without buying a router, etc... however any option you cover is going to require some additional component. I would highly suggest just picking up a second network card... It's the cheapest and easiest solution, there are also kits that let you network using home power lines and the in house phone system, however that would be more expensive then buying a network card, or a hub/switch... The other common option which Eg. posted a link to is USB Networking... XP has made it rather popular (a lot of students like it because it means you don't have to open your PC and play inside it)... However since you need the proper ends it's usually almost more expensive than a NIC. (USB cables are usually USB-A to USB-B and you require USB-A to USB-A to setup a USB Network Connection)

Go out and spend 5-10bucks on a cheap network card from a small computer store (stay away from the chains they'll be more expensive)..

Then go DSL ------- NIC1 -PC- NIC2 ---------- NIC - Second PC. It's easy to setup and if you want you can use Windows built in internet connection sharing to allow the back computer to access the internet. However... you may want to price out a cheap switch (I paid about 20 bucks for my last one) and talk to your DSL provider... The last time I had DSL (about 8 months ago).... we were given access to 8 IP Addresses (We could "dial" the DSL 8 times with the same username and password)... It was great.. We had a switch and each person dialed and had their own full connection. I realize that you don't need internet to the second computer... but having two internet enabled computers makes it easier when you have company... as well it allows you to keep the machine updated.... This is very important.. especially if you're going to network it with the live machine..

Originally posted here by ©opy®ight
So nihili, just link the two dial-up modems directly and configure them ?
You are't going to want to be using Null Modem Cables (or serial or parallel were other older ways of doing it)...especially if your using it for music and back-up.. You won't even be able to stream your songs.

Peace,
HT