USB cable troubleshooting for the Gold & Silver Laplink USB cables as well as the "Laplink Easy Transfer Cable" on all supported Laplink products

Cause

This issue is normally caused by a problem with the drivers that Windows is currently using for the Laplink USB cable.

Solution

The newest version of Laplink PCmover has USB drivers for 64-bit versions of Windows. NOTE: The Silver 1.1 driver is not signed, but should work fine if you select the "Continue Anyway" option if you get a message about it not being signed.

Please click the link appropriate to your Laplink Product:
PCmover
Transfer Your PC
PCsync 5
Laplink Gold
All Laplink Applications (including MoveMe, FileMover, and PCsync 5)





PCmover Only:


NOTE: If you are unable to download the new version onto BOTH computers (this includes downloading on one computer and copying the installation file to the other computer using some other method - burn to CD/DVD, USB drive, external drive, etc.), do not update either computer. Instead, use the " All Laplink Applications" section below to manually correct the USB driver issues.

Make sure you are using the newest version of PCmover on both computers so you have the latest fixes and features. If you are not already using a fresh download, then uninstall (remove) PCmover from each computer, download a fresh copy from the following link, and install it on each computer:
http://download.laplink.com/pcmover/pcmover_en.exe
Once the USB cable repairs are completed (see below), then follow the directions in the newest version of the PCmover Quick Start Guide to complete your migration with the newest features.

Follow the directions in the All Laplink Applications section to resolve the problem with the USB cable drivers.





Transfer Your PC Only:


On the computer that you are not able to select the USB option:
Go to Add/Remove Programs, start the uninstaller for Transfer Your PC, select the Repair option, and click Next. Follow the on-screen instructions. If prompted, choose Yes to replace existing files. Once completed, Transfer Your PC should connect properly now. You will want to follow the directions in the following FAQ as the Quick Start Card for Transfer Your PC was misprinted: Transfer Your PC Quick Start Card. The instructions in the User's Guide provided with the product are accurate.
NOTE: If the above steps do not resolve the problem, follow the directions in the All Laplink Applications.





PCsync 5 Only:


NOTE: If you are having problems using the Belkin Easy Transfer Cable, see FAQ 375 for assistance.
Follow the steps in the Laplink PCsync Quick Start Guide in order to establish the connection.
If you followed the appropriate steps and are still not able to connect, then follow the directions in the All Laplink Applications section.





Laplink Gold Only:


First thing to check is the Laplink Computer name. In Laplink Gold (LLG) on both computers, click on Options -> Computer Name. The names must be different and cannot contain any spaces.

Next thing to check is Options -> Port Setup, click on the USB entry in the upper portion of the window and make sure the Enable box is checked. Continue with the All Laplink Applications section below on each computer that shows “ No Cables Connected”





All Laplink Applications (including MoveMe, FileMover, and PCsync 5):


  1. Click on Start
  2. Click on Settings - Note: Skip this step if you are running Windows XP or Vista.
  3. Click on Control Panel
  4. Double-click on the Add/Remove Programs icon - Note: In Windows Vista, click on the Uninstall a Program link.
  5. If you are able to find a Laplink USB Network Cable entry, click on it and remove it. If this is not present, just continue on with the next step.
  6. Close Add/Remove Programs and the Control Panel
  7. Make sure the USB cable is properly plugged into each machine.
  8. Open the Windows Device Manager. See Technical Document # 359: How to Open Windows Device Manager

We now need to locate the driver that Windows is using for the USB cable. It could be detected as a Unknown Device, something in the Other Devices section, a USB-to-USB bridge, a FastLink USB Cable, or possibly a Laplink USB Network Cable. In order to verify the item is the driver being used by Windows for the USB cable, simply unplug the cable. If it is the one being used by Windows, it will disappear from the list. If you are unable to easily locate the driver that Windows is using, you can expand each section of the Device Manager and then plug/unplug the USB cable. The driver that appears/disappears is the one that Windows is currently using. A correctly installed and detected USB cable should look like one of these:


NOTE: The following driver is the Easy Transfer Cable driver from Belkin. At this time, Laplink PCsync 5 and Laplink PCmover 3 are able to use this driver in order to establish a connection. You will need to make sure that BOTH computers are using the same driver in order for the connection to work properly.

NOTE: If the driver shows up correctly, the next step is to close the Laplink application and unplug the USB cable from both computers. Now swap ends and plug the cable back in to each computer. Finally, launch the Laplink products again and see if they will connect now.
Here are some possible bad USB drivers found by Windows. These will need to be updated:

Update USB Driver


Once you have discovered the driver that is used by Windows, it will need to be updated:
  1. Double-click on the driver
  2. Click on the Driver tab
  3. Click on the Update Driver button
  4. If asked, do not allow Windows to connect to the Internet.
  5. Choose the option to Update from a List or Specific location.
  6. Select the Manual update option. This is normally near the bottom of the screen and will note to select from a LIST or “I will choose”. See the following screen shot for an example on Windows XP.
    If Windows does not show the Laplink cable on this list or it is asking you for a section (Win98SE or WinME usually), then click the Have Disk Button (you may need to select any section and click Next first) and point it to the appropriate folder for the driver:
    - The location to select depends on your Laplink product:
    --- MoveMe: C:\Program Files\Spearit\Move Me\USBDriver
    --- FileMover: C:\Program Files\Laplink FileMover
    --- Laplink Gold: C:\Program Files\Laplink Gold
    --- PCsync 5: C:\Program Files\Laplink\PCsync\USBDrivers
    --- PCmover: C:\Program Files\Laplink\PCmover\USBDrivers
    --- Transfer Your PC: C:\Program Files\Transfer Your PC\USBDrivers
    ------ PCmover Note: If you are using either of the Silver USB cables and you are only able to find a LaplinkUSB folder instead of the USBDriver folder, you have an older version of PCmover. Please cancel the update driver wizard, uninstall PCmover using Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel, download & install a fresh copy from your My Downloads page (http://www.laplink.com/mysupport/myStore.asp), and start the driver update wizard again or use the Repair function noted at the beginning of this article.
  7. Select the Laplink USB cable from the List and complete the Wizard.

    Once the Update Driver Wizard has completed, the Device Manager should now have a Laplink USB Devices section with the appropriate USB driver listed under it.
If you are still not able to connect or you are unable to update the drivers properly, the following web document will provide instructions to manually remove the USB drivers and reinstall them: Technical Document # 1054: How to manually remove Laplink USB driver information from the computer

Product: PCsync
KB: 1058  Last updated: Aug 7, 2008
Keywords: Cable: USB Network (gold)  Connections: Cable  Configuration: Cable drivers  Migration: PCMover  PCMover 
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