hook home computer to acer?

Is it possible to hook my home computer to my Acer laptop (by line, not WiFi)? Can I then transfer XP programs from there and install on Windows 7 on Acer 721? Can I use disk drive on home computer to install old programs on new Acer?

 

* Yes you can link the two machines via an Ethernet (RJ45) LAN cable, buy it will need to be what's called a "Crossover" cable. Under Windows XP this would be pretty simple with the network setup wizard, however I haven't done it under Vista or Win 7 as I've always had a router or switch and a permanent internet connection.

* Once linked you can share the optical drive in your desktop PC and even create a permanent networked link to it by connecteing as a "Mapped Network Drive", BUT while most programs will install and run as per usual, games which require a disk to be in the drive at all times won't work with a mapped network drive. So programs yes, most games with anti-piracy features no.

* As per games that require a disk, Windows 7 installation will only go part way. You will be able to start the installation from within windows, but once your AAO reboots in to the second portion of the installation, you will no longer have a mapped drive, nor access to the network until Windows has installed and booted. You may be able to work around this by using the network link to copy the contents of your Windows 7 DVD to a folder on your hard drive, just don't choose the option to format the drive when installing. A more advanced step would be to create a partition to hold the Win7 install files, then you can format your c drive, leaving the installer partition alone.

* As for old programs, once you have Win 7 setup you shouldn't have any problems, so long as your "old" programs aren't too old. They should be at least able to run under Windows XP compatibility mode.