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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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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