How To Connect Two Computers, Desktop & Laptop !

Hello People, I want to connect my Desktop(Win XP) and a my laptop (Win 7). Both of them are having differect OS. Everytime its a pain copying the file into a pen drive and then transferring it. So instead y not connect each other through a ethernet cable.I have got a CAT5 cable.. the question is that, how do i achieve the connection between the two machines. ?> PLease help me out with it.

The easiest way you can transfer files across is to plug them both into your router and use the File and Printer Sharing feature of Windows to provide access to your files on the other computer. The File and Printer Sharing feature may require you to change your Windows Firewall settings so you would need administrative privileges to do that. If you are using your router and it has wireless capabilities, that makes it even easier - you can access the files on your desktop from your laptop no matter where in your house you happen to be, assuming that you are within the 100 meter range of the wireless router, which may be reduced by walls, cupboards, and other barriers.File and Printer sharing is quite easy to use. All you need to do is right-click on a folder, go to the Sharing tab, and select the radio button for Share this Folder. If you are using Simple File Sharing, then you already have a folder shared for you and all you need to do is drag and drop the files you need into your shared folder.If you want a simpler solution, you can use a USB file transfer cable that lets you get files across quickly. Assuming both computers support USB 3.0 or at least USB 2.0, file transfer are rather quick.

I dont know about the CAT5 cable but I've heard about the Belkin easy transfer cable. It was a recommended listing when I was getting my new laptop. I figure its the same as your computers being on lan, so you plug in the ends into different computers and then access the files using lan. Set up your file sharing properly or you'll never know where the problem is. I've also heard people talking about a cross cable but thats all I know about it. The next best things would certainly be a router like the above poster said and you can also set up ftp or soemthing to make it a little more convenient in the long run.