COMPUTERS AND MORE

As for speed, the bridge chip can be USB 1.1 (12 Mbps) or USB 2.0 (480 Mbps). Of course we suggest you to buy a USB 2.0 bridged cable, because of its very high-speed. Just to remember, the standard Ethernet network works at 100 Mps, so the USB 2.0 cable will provide you a transfer rate almost five times higher than a standard network connection.
We decided to open the bridge located on the middle of our cable just to show you that this kind of cable really has a bridge chip, and that’s why it is more expensive than a simple A/A USB cable that doesn’t have any circuit at all.

Now that you know the kind of cable that you should buy (on the top of this page we are listing several places you can buy this cable online), let’s talk about its installation.

Installation
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This cable can work in two modes: link mode and network mode. On link mode, it will work just like the very old “lap link” cables, i.e. it comes with a software where you can select files and simply drag and drop them to where you want to move or copy them to or from the remote computer. If you just want to copy files, that’s the mode we recommend you to use, because it is easier and quicker to install and use.
On network mode, you will create a small network between two computers. After creating this network you can share folders, printers and Internet access. This mode is recommended if besides copying files you want to have access to a printer located on the other computer (or any other computer on the network, if this computer is connected to a network) or want to have Internet access.
The cable installation process will depend on the cable manufacturer. You will have to install the programs and drivers that come with the cable on a CD-ROM. This procedure must be performed on both computers, with the cable not installed.
So, don’t install the cable yet, leave it away from the computers.
Some manufacturers ship two different setup files, one for the link mode and another for the network mode. Other manufacturers ship just one setup file valid for both modes. Then you need to select the mode you want to use during the installation or inside the transfer program that will be installed.

After you have installed the corresponding drivers (link mode or network mode), you should install the cable on the computer. Windows will recognize it and install the correct drivers.
If you installed the program and drivers with the cable attached to the computer, you should remove it from your computer and install it again. This will make Windows to recognized it and install its drivers.
You should repeat this process for the other computer now.
If you want to change the mode your cable is working under, you should run the setup program for the other mode or selecting the mode change on the transfer program, depending on the cable model. This should be without your cable attached to your computer. After changing the mode, reinstall the cable and the system will recognize it automatically. If you run the setup program or changed the mode with the cable attached, simply remove the cable from your computer and install it again to force Windows to install the correct drivers (the drivers used on link mode and network mode are different). You should repeat this process for the other computer.
Now that you cable is installed, let’s see how to use it on both modes.

Link Mode
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As we mentioned, the link mode is the easiest and fastest way to connect two PCs using your USB cable for transferring files. If you want to have Internet access and/or have printer access, you should go to network mode.
After installing the cable as describe on the previous page, you should check if the cable is correctly installed on Device Manager (right click My Computer, Properties, Hardware, Device Manager). It should be listed under “Universal Serial Bus controllers”, see Figure 6 (our cable is listed as “Hi-Speed USB Bridge Cable”, but your cable can use a slight different name, depending on the manufacturer).

Network Mode
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As we mentioned, under network mode the computers will be linked in a small network, and the connection will work just like a network. This mode allows you to share the Internet connection, if available on one of the computers.
After installing the cable as describe before, you should check if the cable is correctly installed as a network adapter on Device Manager (right click My Computer, Properties, Hardware, Device Manager). It should be listed under “Network adapters”, see Figure 8 (our cable is listed as “Hi-Speed USB-USB Network Adapter”, but your cable can use a slight different name, depending on the manufacturer).

The next step is to configure both computers to use the USB cable as a network adapter.
First you have to configure the computer that has access to the Internet. On this computer, open Network Connections (Start, Settings, Network Connections). You will see there the network adapters located on your computer. In our case, “Local Area Connection” was the network adapter that connected our PC to the Internet (to our broadband router) and “Local Area Connection 2” was the USB-USB cable, see Figure 9.

Network Mode (Cont'd)
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Right click on the network card that is connecting your PC to the Internet (“Local Area Connection”, in our case), choose Properties and, on the window that will show up, click on Advanced tab. There, check the box “Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s Internet connection”. Depending on your Windows XP version, there will be a drop-down menu called “Home networking connection”, where you should select the USB cable connection (“Local Area Connection 2”, in our case).