A direct cable joins your main PC and your second PC with one Ethernet cable, no router in between. It's the best connection for MewCapture: nothing else shares the link, and Wi-Fi drops can't get in the way. The same cable works for RDMA too.
What you need
Any normal Ethernet cable works. You don't need a special crossover cable, today's ports sort that out by themselves.
No spare Ethernet port?
A USB to Ethernet adapter works, usually on the second PC. Get one that's 1 Gbps or faster, and plug it into a USB 3 port. USB 2 tops out below 1 Gbps.
Plug it in
You don't have to type any addresses.
Note. Screenshot coming here: MewCapture showing Direct cable.
Keeping the internet
The cable only joins the two PCs. Each PC keeps its internet through its other connection, Wi-Fi or a second Ethernet port to your router. If your main PC only has one Ethernet port, the direct cable takes it, so the main PC needs Wi-Fi or a USB to Ethernet adapter for the internet.
If the PCs can't see each other
- Check the lights.
The port's lights should come on at both ends. No lights means try another cable or port. - Give it a minute.
The 169.254 addresses take about a minute to show up after you plug in. - Check the adapter.
A USB adapter needs its driver. If it shows a warning in Device Manager, install the driver from the maker's site. - Ask MewCapture.
Network on the second PC shows what's blocking the connection, sometimes with a Fix it button.
Still stuck? Open a ticket in our Discord and paste the summary from MewCapture's Something's wrong.
You don't need an account, this tells us what to write more of.