I have two desktop computer. I need to know if I can use a usb cable to link the two computers together.
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Yes you can, but you need a special Bridged USB cable.
A very easy way to connect two PCs is using an USB-USB cable. Connecting two PCs with a cable like this you can transfer files from one PC to another, and even build a small network and share your Internet connection with a second PC.
The first thing you should be aware of is that there are several different kinds of USB-USB cables on the market. The one used to connect two PCs is called “bridged” (or “USB networking cable”), because it has a small electronic circuit in the middle allowing the two PCs to talk to each other.
There are the so-called A/A USB cables that, in spite of having two standard USB connectors at each end, don’t have a bridge chip and cannot be used to connect two PCs. In fact, if you use an A/A USB cable you can burn the USB ports of your computers or even their power supplies. So, these A/A USB cables are completely useless.
A/B USB cables are used to connect your computer to peripherals such as printers and scanners, so they also won’t fit your needs.
The cable length of a Bridged USB cable is usually 2 meters and newer products support USB 2.0, so theoretically the USB bridge can transfer data at up to 480 Mbps, faster than the ubiquitous Fast Ethernet or even the pre-N Wi-Fi. Several vendors make USB bridge cable which can work in two modes, that’s for simple data transfer between two computers and local area networking (LAN). If you want to copy or move large files from one computer to another, choose the direct transfer mode. If you want to network computers for file and printer sharing or Internet connection sharing, choose the virtual LAN mode.
To connect two computers (PCs) using a USB bridge in Windows XP:
- Install the software that comes with your hardware. It will copy the driver to your computer.
- Plug the USB bridge cable end to your computer’ USB port.
- Follow the instructions on the Found New Hardware Wizard that appears to install the USB network adapter.
- Verify that the USB network adapter has been installed from the Device Manager.
If both PCs have USB 2.0 ports, you are going to have a 480 Mbps connection. If one PC has USB 1.1 port, the connection speed will fall to 12 Mbps.
A USB bridge cable can also be used to connect a computer to a USB hub to create a LAN with more than two computers.
Comment by skp — July 5, 2009 @ 4:04 pm
Yep, you need a USB to USB network cable (a straight USB cable doesn’t work I think)
HTH
Comment by Funny Hunting Videos — July 5, 2009 @ 4:04 pm
No it is not possible but Firewire also called IEEE 1394 or iLink can. If you don’t have Firewire ports on your computer you can buy a PCI Firewire card these look simular to PCI USB cards.
Comment by Darian — July 5, 2009 @ 4:04 pm
yes, but not a normal usb. it has to be a usb transfer cable.
Comment by MadMax08 — July 5, 2009 @ 4:04 pm
You can with the special cable mentioned above. However, you should consider getting a usb hub. These are inexpensive, you don’t need a special cable, and you can hook other devices such as printers to it and those can be shared.
Comment by xxxx50ch — July 5, 2009 @ 4:04 pm
Only a usb transfer will work but it can’t have a router.
Comment by Techie — July 5, 2009 @ 4:04 pm
Yes you can make a USB network connection between two computers. Go to local computer store and get the special USB cable for it.
I bought the cable and special add on USB boards for my PC’s but found I liked the ethernet better
Comment by William F — July 5, 2009 @ 4:04 pm