Cables that are compatible with Direct Cable Connection

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This article was previously published under Q142324

SUMMARY

You can use the Direct Cable Connection tool to establish a direct serial or parallel cable connection between two computers. Windows supports serial null-modem standard (RS-232) cables and the following parallel cables for use with Direct Cable Connection:

Standard or basic 4-bit cables
Enhanced Capabilities Port (ECP) cables
Universal Cable Module (UCM) cables

Parallel cable connections are faster than serial cable connections. Use a serial cable with Direct Cable Connection only if a parallel port or cable is unavailable.

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MORE INFORMATION

ECP cables work on computers with ECP-enabled parallel ports. ECP must be enabled in both computers' CMOS settings for parallel ports that support this feature. ECP cables allow data to be transferred more quickly than standard cables. Note that both computers must support ECP in order to use ECP cables.

UCM cables support connecting different types of parallel ports. Using a UCM cable between two ECP-enabled ports allows the fastest possible data transfer between two computers.

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Pin Connections for a Serial Cable

This section describes the wiring specifications for serial InterLink cables that can be used with Direct Cable Connection. To make a serial InterLink cable, make a serial cable with either a 9-pin or 25-pin female connector on both ends, and wire the cable as follows:

9-pin         25-pin              25-pin   9-pin         Description
----------------------------------------------------------------------
pin 5         pin 7    <------>   pin 7    pin 5         Ground-Ground
pin 3         pin 2    <------>   pin 3    pin 2         Xmit-Rcv
pin 7         pin 4    <------>   pin 5    pin 8         RTS-CTS
pin 1 and 6   pin 6    <------>   pin 20   pin 4         DSR-DTR 
pin 2         pin 3    <------>   pin 2    pin 3         Xmit-Rcv
pin 8         pin 5    <------>   pin 4    pin 7         CTS-RTS
pin 4         pin 20   <------>   pin 6    pin 1 and 6   DTR-DSR

The Ground (GRD) line is the reference signal ground for all other lines.
The Transmit Data (TD) line is used for sending data.
The Receive Data (RD) line is used for receiving data.
The RTS (Request To Send) line is used by the data terminal equipment (DTE) to indicate that it is ready to send data.
The CTS (Clear To Send) line is used by the data communications equipment (DCE) to indicate that it is ready to receive data.
The DSR (Data Set Ready) line is used by the DCE to indicate that it is ready to communicate.
The DTR (Data Terminal Ready) line is used by the DTE to indicate that the DCE should initiate communication.

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Pin Connections for a Parallel Cable

This section describes the wiring specifications for parallel InterLink cables that can be used with Direct Cable Connection. To make a parallel InterLink cable, make a parallel cable with male DB-25 connectors at both ends, and wire the cable as follows:

25-pin              25-pin   Description
------------------------------------------
pin 2    <------>   pin 15   N/A
pin 3    <------>   pin 13   N/A
pin 4    <------>   pin 12   N/A
pin 5    <------>   pin 10   N/A
pin 6    <------>   pin 11   N/A
pin 15   <------>   pin 2    N/A
pin 13   <------>   pin 3    N/A
pin 12   <------>   pin 4    N/A
pin 10   <------>   pin 5    N/A
pin 11   <------>   pin 6    N/A
pin 25   <------>   pin 25   Ground-Ground

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