Installing the USB Network Cable Tutorial

Overview

This document relates to Laplink Gold & Classic ( versions 3.x, 11.0, 11.2, & 11.3) and PCSync running in Windows 98, ME, 2000 or  XP,  using the gold or translucent purple USB Network cables shown here. If you have the gold cable, do not use this tutorial for Laplink Gold 12 or 11.5. To see what version of Laplink you currently have, please go to Help->About Laplink Gold.

Laplink Gold 12 and 11.5 contain newer, built-in drivers that do not use the TCP/IP protocol and do not require the configurations outlined here. There are no additional drivers to be downloaded, and nothing to be done beyond installing Laplink and attaching the cable.  In that case, the gold cable will support USB 2.0 at USB 1.1 transfer rates.  Read more about Laplink Gold 12 here.


Attention!   The  Laplink USB Drivers and Cables described in this document support USB 1.1 only, unless using the Gold cable (only) with Laplink Gold 11.5
Please check with your computer manufacturer to see what USB version you have.

Warning

It is important to install the USB cable correctly. Do not attach the cable to the computer until directed. Incorrectly installing the cable can result in problems in the Device Manager, and can prevent Laplink  from connecting properly.  If it is currently attached, please unplug it before proceeding.

 

If you need help

If you are unable to complete any section of this document, if you encounter an error message that we do not address, or can not get connected at the end, you may contact our Technical Support team via the web at www.laplink.com/support.  Select your product, and then click Chat Now! or MySupport Request.

 

Ready? Let's get started!

During this tutorial, you will follow 3 basic steps to correctly install the USB Network Cable:

  1. Download and install the most current USB Network cable drivers into Windows.
  2. Configure the network adapter by adding an IP address.
  3. Attaching the cable and testing the connection.

Some instructions change based on the version of Windows used by your computer. Follow the section that applies to your computer.

Step 1: Download and install the most current USB Network cable drivers into Windows.

  1. Go to www.laplink.com/cables/overview.asp and download the drivers that match the color of your cable.

  2. Save the download file into any subfolder of your My Documents folder, or other easy-to-find location.  Just be sure to remember the location for retrieval of the installation file.  Note: We recommend using a subfolder since this will contain the additional files that are extracted during the driver install process.

  3. When the download is finished, click Open Folder, or navigate to the folder you chose above and locate the installer file.

  4. If you have the gold cable, look for and execute  LLGOLDUSBDRIVERS.EXE.

  5. If you have the purple cable, look for and execute LLUSB98.EXE or LLUSB2000.EXE. (depending on your operating system)

  6. The Install Shield wizard begins installing, and shows you the following:

  1. Click Next.

  2. If you want to change the directory, click Browse. Locate the folder you want to use, or type in a path (for example, c:\Laplink USB Network) to create a new folder. Click Next.

  3. If the computer uses Windows 98 or Windows ME, you may see a dialog that asks for your Windows installation CD. Insert the CD into the drive and click OK.

TIP! If you do not have a Windows Installation CD, type the path to where the Windows CAB files are stored on your hard drive. If you do not know where the CAB files are located, try these paths:

  • D:\WIN98  (use appropriate drive letter for CD-ROM drive.  Note that this assumes you have a retail Windows CD.)
  • C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS   (common on OEM pre-installed computers)
  • C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM  (In case you have neither of the above, but not ideal)

 

If the computer uses Windows XP or Windows 2000, you will see a dialog similar to this

This message means that we did not send our driver to Microsoft for testing, but instead opted to test the driver in our internal QA lab. As such, Microsoft does not sign it; however, we can assure you that the driver passed our tests. Click Continue Anyway or Ignore twice.  

TIP! Occasionally, such a prompt may be hiding behind other active windows.  If your driver install process seems to have hung, try moving things around to check for this.

  1. When the drivers are added to Windows, you see this dialog. Click Finish, and then reboot as directed

Step 2: Configuring the network adapter

The Laplink USB Network cable uses an IP address to locate the other computer across the cable.   While Windows attempts to auto-configure these addresses, there are several factors that can prevent this, such as differences in Operating Systems.  To eliminate the possibility for misconfiguration, we recommend that the IP addresses be assigned manually.   This section will guide you through assigning the IP addresses to the network adapter on each computer. For more information about IP addresses, see Appendix A.

The steps for this depend on the version of Windows. If your computer runs Windows 98 or Windows ME, follow the steps below.. If your computer runs Windows 2000 or Windows XP, click here.

 

For computers running Windows 98 or ME:

  1. Open the Windows Control Panel and click Network.

 

  1. Highlight the line that reads TCP/IP --> Laplink USB Cable Network Adapter, and click Properties.

  1. Click Specify an IP address and type the IP address for this computer , 172.29.61.1 . Add the Subnet Mask of 255.255.255.248. Click OK.

Note: If this is the second computer, change the IP address to 172.29.61.2 , with the same subnet mask.

  1. Leave all other settings as is. Click OK and reboot the computer when prompted.

  2. When the computer has rebooted, follow the steps in Step 3: Attaching the cable, to this computer only, not both - unless these installation steps have now been performed on the other computer, as well.

For computers running Windows 2000 or Windows XP:

  1. Locate the 'My Network Places'(Win2000) or 'Network Connections' folder (WinXP) in the Control Panel.

  2. Right-click the icon and select Properties.

  3. Locate the Laplink, Inc. USB Cable Network Adapter Local Area Connection (LAC).  Alternatively, the adapter may show up as the USB-USB Network Bridge, which is normal for the purple cable.

TIP! Hover your mouse pointer over the various Local Area Connections and wait for the adapter name to appear, or you can look in the Device Name column.

  1. Right-click the USB LAC and select Properties.

  1. Highlight Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click Properties.

  2. Click Use the following IP address: and type the IP address you have chosen for this computer, 172.29.61.1.  Add the Subnet Mask as shown here 255.255.255.248.   Click OK.

 

Note: If this is the second computer, change the IP address to 172.29.61.2 with the same subnet mask .

  1. Leave all other settings as is. Click OK and reboot the computer.

  2. When the computer has rebooted, follow the steps in Step 3: Attaching the cable.  to this computer only, not both - unless these installation steps have now been performed on the other computer, as well.

Step 3: Attaching the cable and testing the connection

After the computer finishes rebooting, attach the USB Network cable to the USB ports.

A couple of hints for the best results:

    w
  • Do not plug the cable into a USB hub until you have verified that it works with a standard, built-in USB port on your computer.
  • Do not use USB ports on the front of your computer. These ports typically do not receive enough power from the computer to operate the Laplink USB Network cable.

When the cable is connected, Windows may display a Found New Hardware wizard and prompt you to install. Click OK or Next until the wizard finishes.

TIP! Windows XP users will see the same warning dialog that appeared during the installation of the network adapter. Again, just click Continue Anyway twice.

Congratulations! The cable is installed. Now we will test the cable's connection before connecting through Laplink Classic or PCsync.

 

Testing the connection

This is the most critical step. If this step fails, the cable is not correctly installed or configured, and Laplink Classic and PCsync will not connect. You need to complete this test before contacting Laplink Technical Support if you can not get connected.

The PING command test the TCP/IP connectivity network connection. The PING command sends a test packet to a designated IP address. If the reply returns without loss, then we know that the computers can communicate over the TCP/IP protocol.

The test has 3 basic steps:

A) Open a DOS Command prompt.

B) Run the test.

C) Interpret the results.

A)  Working from the DOS Command Prompt

  1. From the Windows Start menu, click Run.
  2. Type COMMAND.COM and click OK.
  3. Do this step on both computers.

B)  Testing the network connection using PING:

  1. Recall the IP addresses that you just configured on both network adapters.   During this test, it's important that you are using the IP address of the target, or remote computer, since a PING to the local IP address does not prove TCP/IP connectivity between machines.  Note: The target computer (also referred to as the host) is the computer which you are connecting to.  The local computer is referred to as the guest, and is where you are connecting from.
  2. At the DOS C:\> prompt at the guest computer, type PING <IP Address of the target computer> and press Enter.

For example, type: PING 172.29.61.2 and press Enter.

C)  Understanding the results:

Each PING test makes 4 tries, and gives back a response for each attempt.

If the response looks like this, the test succeeded. If you have this result, go to Connecting Laplink.

If the response looks like this example, the test failed. The error message may read "Request timed out" or "Destination unreachable".

If your test fails, there can be several reasons, which are beyond the scope of this installation tutorial.  The two most common reasons are that:

1) The Laplink USB device may not be detected properly by Windows.  This can indicate Laplink driver corruption or a hardware problem with the USB ports themselves.  To diagnose and correct such a problem, please see the appropriate USB network cable troubleshooting documents:

For Laplink:

  • (WIn2000/XP)
  • (WIn98/ME)

    For PCsync:

  • (WIn2000/XP)
  • (WIn98/ME)

    • 2) Your computers may automatically run software, such as a firewall utility,  that is blocking TCP/IP communication.   Please disable such software, and/or follow the special Clean Booting steps  and try the PING test again.  Note: Clean booting is a troubleshooting tool, not a permanent solution.  For information on configuring software firewall suites to allow Laplink communication, please click here.

    If the PING test still fails, contact Laplink Technical Support at www.laplink.com/support . Select your product, and then click Chat Now! or submit a MySupport Request.

     

    Connecting Laplink

    1. Launch Laplink.
    2. On the Connect Over menu, click 'USB Network', 'Network', or 'LAN' (depending on your version of Laplink).
    3. Click the Available Now tab and wait for the other computer to appear.

    1. If the computer doesn't automatically appear, that's ok.  Click the TCP/IP Address tab and type the TCP/IP address of the target computer.

     

     

    Appendix A

    What is an IP address? It is the way a computer is identified on a network or the Internet. An IP address has two parts: the actual IP address (for example, 172.29.61.1) and the Subnet Mask (for example, 255.255.255.248). IP addresses and Subnet Masks are like a person's name. The first name is always unique to the person, while the last name is common to the family.  In a similar way, an IP address is always unique to the network adapter and the Subnet Mask is the same for all related adapters on the network. When you select IP addresses for the Laplink USB Network cable, the IP address will be the same except for the last number, which must be different on each computer. For example, Computer 1 will use 172.29.61.1 and Computer 2 will use 172.29.61.2. Both computers will use 255.255.255.248 for the Subnet Mask.