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I cannot establish a FileMover connection over the blue serial cable. How can I resolve this issue?

Cause

Solution

LapLink's blue serial cable connects two computers by the external serial ports and provides the maximum data transfer rates possible using a serial port. One end of the cable has a single 9-pin connector; the other has both a 9-pin and a 25-pin connector. Only older model PCs might have 25-pin serial ports. Serial ports are male in gender and may be labeled as COM, SERIAL, or by the icon |0|0|. Note: If you do not have a serial port on one or both machines, do not attempt to use a serial adapter or gender changer device of any kind. Such a connection will not be supported by Laplink technicians and may not work since the port communication method is different between serial, parallel and USB ports. If both of your PC's do not have compatible, functional ports, you must switch to a different cable type or connection method. FileMover must be installed, running and configured correctly on both computers before it will connect.

• Enable the correct COM port on both computers
• 1. From Options->Configure, go to the ‘ Host’ tab and ensure that there is a checkmark present for ‘Serial Cable’. (This is not enabled by default).
  2. Click ‘ Advanced’.
  3. Select the correct Port in the drop down-list. Note: FileMover uses physical ports such as COM1 & COM2, but not virtual ports like COM3 and higher. If you are not sure what COM port number is used by your serial port, see Technical Document 117: How to Identify Ports on a Computer using Device Manager.
  4. Follow the on-screen advice to restart the host from the Connect menu.
  5. From Options->Configure, go to the ‘ Users’ tab to configure FileMover's security.
  6. Try the connection in FileMover again.

• Lower the Port Speed on both computers
• 1. From Options->Configure, go to the ‘ Host’ tab.
  2. Click ‘ Advanced’.
  3. Change the port speed to 57,600 or 38,400.
  4. Follow the on-screen advice to restart the host.
  5. Try the connection in FileMover again.

• Change the port performance setting on both computers
• 1. From Options->Configure, go to the ‘ Host’ tab.
  2. Click ‘ Advanced’.
  3. Change the setting from ‘ enhanced’ to ‘ standard’.
  4. Follow the on-screen advice to restart the host.
  5. Try the connection in FileMover again.

• Reboot both PC’s and try the connection in FileMover again

• If you use a handheld PDA, such as a Palm Pilot, disable the HotSync or ActiveSync software on both computers and try the connection in FileMover again.

• Configure both of the computers to prevent background programs from running when you start the computer. See Technical Document 252: How to Prevent Background Programs from Starting when Booting Your Computer for more information.

• Make sure that Windows is correctly recognizing your ports. See Technical Document 655: How to Make Windows Re-Detect COM, LPT and USB Ports for more information. Follow the steps for the COM ports only. If the serial port is not re-detected automatically by Windows upon rebooting, confirm that your serial port is enabled in the system BIOS. Laplink technicians cannot assist in navigating your system BIOS. See your user's guide for information on how to restart your computer and use the keyboard command to reach the hardware setup utility (BIOS).

• If you have an IBM ThinkPad, make certain that the COM port you are using is configured in the BIOS as a serial port instead of an infrared port. See Technical Document 113: How to Enable Serial Ports on an IBM ThinkPad for more information. If the ThinkPad came from the factory with Windows 2000 pre-installed, you may have an out-of-date BIOS. See Technical Document 1: COM Ports will not Enable on a ThinkPad Machine Running Windows 2000 for more information.

• Try a different cable. FileMover needs a 9-wire null modem cable to make a serial/COM port connection, and the Belkins brand null modem cable is also supported.

• Contact LapLink Technical Support to confirm a rare occurance of cable failure. LapLink's blue serial cable is warranted for 30-days.

Product: FileMover
KB: 164  Last updated: Invalid Date
Keywords: Configuration: Ports 
Platforms:

• WinXP
• WinXP
• WinXP
• WinXP
• WinMe
• WinMe
• WinMe
• WinMe
• Win98/SE
• Win98/SE
• Win98/SE
• Win98/SE
• WinNT
• WinNT
• WinNT
• WinNT
• Win2K
• Win2K
• Win2K
• Win2K

Wildcards (internal use):

• Configuration
• Ports