connect 2 PCs directly with a cable and transfer data

Question

I have 2 laptops, both connected to the same wifi(ip looks like 10.xxx.xxx.xxx).
I want to transfer some files between them but I don't want to do it over wifi since it's slow(max 2M/s I guess). so I tried this:
I connected the 2 laptops with a cable.
On the 1st laptop, I setup the wired network adapter as this: IP 192.168.1.1 mask:255.255.255.0
On the 2nd laptop, I setup the wired network adapter as this: IP 192.168.1.2 mask:255.255.255.0
and they can ping each other using the address I just setup.
(Originally I wanted to use http to transfer files).But now I have given it up cause it's too complex. I tried shared folder instead.
here is the current situation:
On the 1st laptop:

ping 192.168.1.1  ------ OK!
ping 192.168.1.2  ------ OK! 
\\hostname-of-1st-laptop   -------- OK! all shared folders shown. 
\\192.168.1.1      -------- Network error! Here is what bugs me most, why doesn't this work?  

on the 2nd laptop:

ping 192.168.1.1  ------ OK! 
ping 192.168.1.2  ------ OK! 
run \\192.168.1.1 ------ Network error! 

Answer 1

Assuming they are Windows Laptops you would be better off transferring files using the built in file sharing rather than worrying about web servers.

Here is a guide for Windows 7

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-au/windows7/file-sharing-essentials

Answer 2

First of all, check if you are able to access your server from the host laptop. When you accessing it from second laptop, make sure you are using right IP and port. You can also use Wireshark to check requests/response on both laptops and find where is problem (problem could cause firewall).

But if you simply want to share files between computers, much better way would be using FTP server like FileZilla.

Answer 3

My method is a bit more hack-and-slash but I find it to be the quickest, access the network drive directly through C$ or D$ (or whatever your drive letter). E.g. \192.168.1.1\C$

It will prompt you for credentials, Username & Password (Sometimes you may need to specify the PC hostname as in pcname\username)

Then just drag and drop. I personally use TeraCopy because it optimizes the process but that's a personal preference.

Note:
It also appears you may be having a firewall issue, try disabling it and giving it another try. Though usually if that is the case, pings will fail. It doesn't hurt.