[pbpatti]

What do I need to hook up my laptop to my sister's desk top, she does'nt have wireless, please be specific, not the most computer savvy here.

[TerryNet]

Connect both machines to a router or a switch; or
a cross-over ethernet cable between them; or
a wireless adapter on each machine.

[JohnWill]

What's the purpose of connecting them together? Shared Internet, shared files, both? Are any of them connected to the Internet? Do you have a router?

[pbpatti]

To share the internet, I will be staying at her house for a week, I want to use my laptop, she has Time Warner, she has to have a router, right?

[TerryNet]

If she has a router you can simply connect to it. If she does not then you can connect to her computer by one of the other ways and enable Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) on her computer. Or, better, buy her a router.

[pbpatti]

Terry, thanks very much for the info, I think I should be all set. I just need to buy an ethernet cable to connect both right?

[JohnWill]

Personally, I'd buy a cheap router, it'll be much more seamless and you don't have to screw around with her computer configuration at all. If you buy a wireless router, you can also dispense with the cable to the laptop.

[pbpatti]

So it's not as simple as just getting an ethernet cable? I am just looking for a quick, temp fix while I'm there.

[JohnWill]

Well, you can get the cable, but then you have to configure her machine for ICS. If you run into a problem there, she might be no longer able to connect. Do you want to risk that?

[TerryNet]

And realize that for ICS her computer needs two network connections--ethernet to connect to your computer and ethernet or maybe USB to connect to her modem.