The procedure is to install the included software on your XP PC, run Easy Transfer there, then connect your XP computer with your new Vista PC, and the Vista computer will automatically detect the connection and ask you if you want to run Easy Transfer.
The process is not automatic, and you should pick which items you want to transfer (from the XP computer) rather than let the program choose the automatic settings. For one thing, using the automatic settings, the program will sooner choose to transfer your temporary internet files than it will your Outlook contacts. Also beware, the program will not give you an option to choose where on the Vista computer your files are going, it will put them in the same place that they were located on your XP computer. If you had partitioned your XP computer and stored content on your D drive, the program will try to move the chosen files to your D drive on your Vista computer, even if your Vista computer doesn't have a D drive, which will make the transfer fail. Generally, anything that you want to move from your XP computer must be copied to the C drive before transferring.
The Easy Transfer program will show transfer progress on both computers, though when the process was failing, the progress being shown on the Vista computer lagged behind that of the XP PC, when it fact, files had stopped being transferred because there was no more room on the Vista computer (my Vista computer had a tiny D drive used for system recovery). I wasted time as the transfer looked to have slowed down but in fact had stopped and the Easy Transfer program didn't tell me it had stopped.
I would have given less than 5 stars because of these quirks, but the cable worked so well once I had figured it out, that it still earned the 5 stars. Especially with the included bonus laplink utility program described below.
The cable also comes with a laplink utility that lets you connect two PC's (including Vista PC's) in order to transfer files between them. To use this capability, you need to install the laplink program on both computers being connected (but it only needs to be run from one of them).
Before I acquired this cable, I had a hard time transferring the files I wanted, with my prior attempts using a hard drive enclosure, flash cards, and CD's. (I put my XP computer hard drive into a hard drive enclosure and tried to transfer my files through a USB port, but either the enclosure wasn't supported by Vista, or the old hard drive had a file structure that wasn't recognized by Vista). So using a hard drive enclosure didn't work for me. But this cable saved my bacon. Belkin Easy Transfer Cable for Windows Vista
The software associated with this cable, even downloading the latest version, is nearly useless. The software will terminate on phantom "file in use" errors that will wipe out hours of transfer time. The only alternative is to move data in small increments. It does not transfer program files and supposedly (I haven't been able to get it to work yet) will not keep mailbox files for multiple users separate. If you have large volumes i.e. music folders, pictures you are better off copying to an external drive then moving to the new PC.
After buying a new notebook with Vista on it I found this gizmo that advertized itself as someting that would make it a snap to move files from my Windows XP unit. It never happened. After 2 frustrating days I finally resorted to making cdrs to move the files. When I e-mailed the tech department at Belkin, their response was that I needed send an e-mail to another department. No more Belkin stuff for me! Instead of buying this thing, take the money you might have spent and bury it the backyard. The results will be the same.
Worked as advertised AFTER I read the fine print which mentioned that the XP machine had to be running Service Pack 2. I was transferring files to a new laptop for my parents and thought this cable would make life easier. I spent HOURS trying to figure out why nothing was working until I realized that they hadn't upgraded their XP machine to SP2. Once I upgraded to SP2, it worked great. Made upgrading to a new laptop much easier than doing it all manually. Just make sure you've upgraded to SP2!
works well except for the fact that if the software finds a file extension it doesn't like the program stops, not allowing you to skip and proceed. Possibly, in the future Belkin can come up with a patch to correct this software glitch. This happened several times and I had to constantly monitor the transfer.
Mike L.
The transfer cable finally worked after several attempts. If there are failures, you need to start over from the beginning. I got a number of error messages without adequate instructions provided on how to proceed. After shutting down my virus protection program and all other active programs, I was then able to transfer all desired files in about 25 minutes. Despite the problems, it was much faster and easier than using disks or CD's. The service and shipping speed from Amazon.com were great. - Computer - Transfer Cable - Belkin - Windows Vista'
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