Through Routers, Ethernet cables and Network adaptersAfter you had successfully connected the PCs in yur house together through router and wireless network adapters, you might want to share resources and play LAN games.
All you have to do is to go through the Windows XP Network Setup. Go to Start, Programs, Accessories, Communications, Network Setup Wizard. Follow the instructions provided and complete the setup. Note: Do the setup first on the computer which you intend to make it a host. After which, do the same procedure for the rest of the computers in yur network. After which, all yur computers in yur network is able to "see" each other in Local Area Network. All yur computers can now share resources and play LAN games.
Through Crossover cable and Network cardsWith Ethernet technology, a two-computer network is the simplest of all to install. Each computer needs an Ethernet network card inside, and then you can run a crossover cable between them. That's it! It's not much different than plugging an appliance into the wall. Note that an Ethernet crossover cable is not the same thing as an normal Ethernet cable. For more info on crossover cable networking, can refer to this
website.
Differences between Crossover cable and Straight cable
When to use a crossover cable and when to use a straight cable?Computer to Computer – Crossover
Computer to an normal port on a Hub/Switch – Straight
Computer to an uplink port on a Hub/Switch - Crossover
Hub/Switch uplink port to another Hub/Switch uplink port – Crossover
Hub/Switch uplink port to another Hub/Switch normal port - Straight