Troubleshooting the Original LapLink USB cable - Search Again

SUMMARY

I am unable to get connected via the Original LapLink USB cable or when I do get connected, the connection is slow. What can I do to resolve this?

CAUSE

Most of LapLink’s issues regarding USB stem from problems with the operating system interacting with the Traveling Software/LapLink.com USB Cable drivers. We’ll discuss various ways of troubleshooting the drivers

SOLUTION

Note: LapLink currently supports the Original USB cable in Windows 98, Windows Millennium and Windows 95 computers only. This cable is not supported in Windows 2000. You will need to purchase the LapLink USB Network Cable for a connection between a Windows 98, Windows Millennium or Windows 2000 computer.

Slow Connections
An old version of the USB driver is installed: This normally occurs on Windows 98 machines that have the older LapLink USB driver installed. To determine the LapLink USB driver version:

1. Right-click My Computer and click Properties.


2. On the Device Manager tab, click the plus (+) sign next to Universal Serial Bus Controller.


3. Highlight Traveling Software USB-USB Cable driver.


4. Click the Properties button.


5. On the Driver tab, look at the file date. The latest drivers are dated 01/07/2000 or later. Click here to download the latest drivers


6. Follow the procedures below to install the updated driver.

• No USB devices show in the Windows Device Manager: If your computer has USB ports built into the motherboard, but no USB devices show in the Device Manager, the devices may be disabled in your computer’s BIOS settings. If so, you need to access the computer’s BIOS and enable the devices. Check your computer’s documentation for instructions on how to do this.

• The Add New Hardware wizard (or Update Device Driver wizard) does not appear: If the Windows Add New Hardware wizard (or the Update Device Driver wizard) does not appear when you plug the LapLink USB cable into your computer, try the following:

Note: Be sure to plug the cable into the two computers you plan to connect over USB. If the other computer is not available, you may need to plug the other end of the cable into your computer to start the wizard: unplug the cable, reverse the cable ends and reattach it.
Start the wizard manually:

1. From the Windows Start menu, click Settings and then Control Panel.
   
2. Click Add New Hardware. If the wizard does not automatically detect the LapLink USB cable, install it manually by clicking Other Devices from the list of hardware types.


3. Click the Have Disk button and choose the floppy drive for the LapLink USB disk.


4. When asked for the location of the USB driver, specify the folder - either WIN95 or WIN98 - on the floppy disk. For example, type A:\WIN98.


5. You do not need the Windows 95 or 98 CD-ROM when installing the LapLink USB driver. If the wizard prompts you for the Windows CD-ROM, change the location to the floppy drive where your LapLink USB disk is located (such as a: or b:).


6. When prompted, restart the computer.

• The Add New Hardware (or Update Device Driver wizard) wizard not does finish correctly. If the Windows Add New Hardware wizard (or Update Device Driver wizard) installation is canceled or interrupted, the LapLink USB driver might not be installed correctly. If you can't connect over USB, make sure the LapLink USB driver is installed correctly:


1. Right-click My Computer, and click Properties.


2. On the Device Manager tab, click the plus (+) sign next to Universal Serial Bus Controller.


3. Look for Traveling Software USB-USB Cable . If there is a yellow exclamation point next to the item, it is not installed correctly.


4. Click the Properties button.


5. On the Driver tab, click the Update Driver button.


6. When prompted for the driver location, specify the floppy drive containing the LapLink USB disk.

• You cannot connect after plugging several LapLink USB cables into your computer. Once you have installed the LapLink USB driver for one cable, you can usually use other LapLink USB cables without having to install the driver again. If you have more than one LapLink USB cable and are unable to connect, check to see whether the new cables are detected by LapLink.


1. Start LapLink.


2. From the Options menu, click Port Setup .


3. Highlight USB Cable in the LapLink Port Setup dialog box, and look at the status area to see how many cables are detected. If the cables are not displayed as Attached, you will need to reinstall the LapLink USB driver, as described above.

• Avoid unplugging the LapLink USB cable when LapLink is running: On some computers, unplugging the LapLink USB cable while LapLink is running (and the USB port is enabled) can cause problems. If you want to unplug the LapLink USB cable, close LapLink first.

• LapLink shows the USB port enabled, but does not see the connection. This may be due to a corruption of the LapLink Initialization file, and can be resolved by renaming the file and letting it recreate the next time you start LapLink, then enabling the USB port manually. To rename the LLW.INI file:


1. From the Windows Start menu, click Find, then Files or Folders.


2. In the Named field, type LLW.INI and press Enter. The Find utility will search for the file and display it when found.


3. Right-click LLW.INI , and click Rename (or Delete).


4. If renaming, change the file name to LLW.ICK and press Enter. The file name is now changed.


5. Close the Find utility and restart LapLink.


6. When prompted for Port Setup, enable only the USB Cable port.

• Try disabling Autoconnect on one computer: If LapLink's Autoconnect feature is enabled on both computers, they might have problems connecting over the LapLink USB cable (because both computers try to connect at once). Try turning off the Autoconnect feature on one computer. This will still allow the two computers to connect automatically. To disable Autoconnect in LapLink:


1. From LapLink's Options menu, click Connect Options.


2. On the Connect tab, clear the check mark from the Enable Autoconnect box.

• If several USB hubs are connected, LapLink might not detect the LapLink USB cable. The LapLink USB port may be unable to detect the LapLink USB cable when the cable is connected to a daisy-chained USB hub. If this occurs, try plugging the LapLink USB cable into a hub directly connected to your computer, or directly plugging into the USB port on your computer.

Related Articles

Advanced Troubleshooting for the Original USB Cable    Compatibility Issues with LapLink's Original USB Cable    Original Purple USB Cable is not Recognized as a LapLink USB Cable    What Type of Cable Do I Need to Make a LapLink Connection?

Last updated: Monday, July 30, 2001

Article #205

Legacy Article #5709