Download Belkin F1U400 - 4x4 USB Peripheral Switch Sharing Specifications

ISSN 1061-5725
This Month’s Presentation
Volume 28, No. 12
December 2010
www.ucs.org
This Month’s Meeting:
Wednesday 8th at 7 pm
Check Out the
Two part
Review of
PCmover Pro 6
HOLIDAY
MEETING
Open
Access
Time
on page
4
Utah’s Award Winning Computer Magazine!
By Cliff Millward, Editor
[email protected]
Barbie is a Geek?
You can now purchase a Barbie Computer Engineer
Doll. It comes complete with laptop, iPhone and bluetooth headset. However, in my opinion, the doll seems a
bit too good looking to be an actual computer engineer.
Coffee Anyone?
A coffee store in Eau Claire now features a brand of
coffee called Kopi Luwak. It is known as “cat poop coffee” because the beans are harvested from the feces of a
Thailand cat that eats coffee cherries.
Also, I wonder if it comes with a pizza
box and a few cans of soda.
Oh well, I guess Barbie really isn’t a
bimbo!
Recent
Tech Events
After the beans are passed through
the animal’s digestive system, workers
pick the seeds out — by hand — and they
are processed. (Anyone want a job?)
One cup of this stuff will cost you $25
(including tax) and a tin will sell for $60.
Maybe Barbie will want some of this,
but I think I’ll stick with Coke!
Sorry to be so short this edition, but I have not been feeling well.
Hope I feel better by Christmas!
Even the Blue
Oracle Can’t
Create New
Members. It’s up
to YOU to Bring
Them to Our
Meetings.
Finè
Page 2
Blue Chips Magazine —December 2010
Blue Chips
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December
Renewals
Jared Motogawa
Don Nendell
Donna Nendell
John Witzel
University of Utah, Union Building, 7:00 p.m.
Page 3
Blue Chips Magazine —December 2010
Laplink PCmover Professional, Part 1
Connect Your World - HIAWC
By Don Nendell
Happy December 2010 and Best
Wishes from sunny Las Vegas (although
today is cloudy and a little chilly, which
is more unusual than not) ;-}
Since I’m writing this in November,
my birthday month, I’d like to share with
you some photos from my new camera
Donna gave me (see graphics).
Also, lest I forget, for some reason or
other, may all of your Christmas wishes
come true for you and yours, and may
you have a Happy and Prosperous coming New Year. Now, on with the show.
to get a plane ready every time I had to
fly it, like I do my PC’s before a writing
a Review, I’d have never made it off the
ground, let alone taxi it out to the takeoff
runway, it’s that bad!
Donna and I sincerely hope you had
a wonderful and bountiful Thanksgiving
with your families (blizzard-like conditions and snow not withstanding), a
successful and profitable Black Friday,
a glorious, productive and adventurous
Black Monday, and of course, disposed
of all those delicious leftover turkey
parts efficiently, ugh!
Prelude
So here’s the deal. I could have just
as easily had Windows 7 PRE-installed
in my “Problem Child” PC when I took it
in to be fixed, again, HIAWC 4 to the
Doctors of Technology here in Vegas,
as to pre-install Windows Vista (lots
more on this later). Reason being, as a
Microsoft Partner, I have no shortage of
licenses for either one, so that’s no big
deal, right? Wrong! I thought I needed
a new PC running either XP or Vista in
order for it to qualify for this Review.
Here’s the “Poop from Group,”
as we called it back in my USAF days
of yore. You know, if I would have had
Page 4
Blue Chips Magazine —December 2010
Introduction
Let’s get one thing straight right
out of the chute, here. Funny choice of
words, that “chute” - because I’ve bailed
out of a crippled, like said dead, DEAD,
wing-missing DEAD, RCAF jet aircraft,
and like then as now, I didn’t have any
choice to do either one (see above) at all.
In this case, however, it’s because of my
ambivalence over losing all of my precious XP’s, and their dear and precious
“Stuff,” versus my total “Dread,” said
“Aversion/Angst/Disgust” of upgrading
to Vista/Win7. More on that later, too!
There are just way too many reasons
to count to justify that bold statement.
Topping the list, however, is the overall
totally unnecessary added expense of
the complete metamorphosis itself,
(you can just hear from here those cash
registers dinging like the incessant bells
of a Casino gaming floor (See graphic),
even as we speak? Ouch!). When you’ve
got something that works, why throw
it in the dumpster and start all over
again? “It’s the economy, stupid,” I’m
told repeatedly, with built-in planned
obsolescence that keeps America going/
growing.
Unfortunately, this situation is not
like when surrounded at Bastogne (WW
II Belgium, 1944), Brig. Gen. Anthony
McAuliffe’s historic answer to the surrounding Germans demand of surrender, “To the German Commander,
NUTS!” And the rest is, as they say,
history. The 101st `Airborne Division,
“Screaming Eagles,” fought on until the
siege was lifted and the tide was turned
then toward the ultimate VE day.
This time, however, sad to say,
sooner rather than later, we’ll all be
forced to give in to the surrounding
enemy forces, as XP will no longer be
supported in any manner what-so-ever,
and of course, “Time (and the infamous
BSD) marches on!” 5
First Things First
As my usual MO with any Review, I
have to resurrect, at the very minimum,
or at least get, my wayward children
awake and behaving properly for me.
It is no different this time, for sure. I
have spent the past month and a half,
and about $400+, on getting the “Boat
Anchor” up and running smoothly.
This has entailed me making a number
of trips to the “Doctors of Technology,” as I mentioned above. Happened
again today, for the umpteenth time,
and it is not their fault, to be sure. It is
Review time, again, you know? They,
the “Doctors of Technology,” are very
trustworthy, friendly, reliable, reputable, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind,
Page 5
Blue Chips Magazine —December 2010
et al., you know, the all-around “Good
Scouts” types?
Here’s a synopsis of another HIAWC 4 problem concerning my getting
ready for this Review. This one is about
Tech Support on the Belkin 4x4 Peripheral Switch (FYI I paid $99 for it at Fry’s
Electronics here in Vegas) that I set up to
help me in converting the Vista machine
over to Win7. It then would be working
between both machines using four (4),
count them 4, USB devices between
them, with two (2) more PC’s yet to be
connected, just like “Gang Busters’?
Oh Ya!
Sirs [Belkin TS], “I followed the
directions listed in the support e-mail;
however, it did not correct the problem
on the F1u400 Belkin 4x4 Peripheral
Switch. Although the XP PC works perfectly, the Vista PC still does not display
the “Basket USB items” at all. Therefore,
although the agent was very helpful,
the corrective action was fruitless and
unsuccessful. Plus, the agent told me
he would have someone, a tier (level)
2 tech contact me ASAP at my home
telephone for further assistance in this
matter. This did not occur as promised,
so bottom line, there is absolutely no
way for me to be able to find any
additional help to correct this terrible and unforgivable problem.
“I just do not understand why Belkin has such a great product, and yet, I
cannot find it on the web site, nor get it
to work properly on the Vista machine.
I want very badly for this product to
work for me and am very disappointed
that I cannot get it to work properly, yet.
FYI Case is not closed, I am a Computer
Magazine Review Editor and will be
making reference to this “unacceptable” situation in the next issue (i.e.,
episode of “Happiness Is A Working
Computer” (HIAWC)) as I am writing
about upgrading the Vista machine to
a Windows 7 (Win7) machine using
the Laplink PCmover 6 product in the
process. I have my doubts about the 4x4
Peripheral Switch working there on the
Win7, as well? RSVP. Thank you for
your fine service, so far. Sincerely, Don
~, et cetera, et cetera.”
Update. After two (2) weeks of
Tech Support calls, we have currently moved up to level 3 support
and holding, because even during
the two (2) subsequent phone calls
with TS since I sent the above re-
sponse to their, “How’d we do?”
message, they still have not corrected the problem - although
their agent steadfastly assures me
that “it works in their laboratory
plus with other users, as well!”
OK! I’ve got two (2) more days
before I’m contacted again, but,
I’m sure it still won’t get fixed in
time for the publication date of
this Review. And, I most definitely
want this non-existent (on their
web site but sold at Fry’s) Belkin
4x4 Peripheral Switch to work
on the new Win7 setup between
it and the XP which should still
be standing after the holocaust?
Stay tuned!
I do. And, I know you’re pretty tired of
hearing about my HIAWC 4 trials and
tribulations, too! We’ll just have to wait
and see what comes down the pike next,
won’t we?
Life’s just too short ... Aw shucks!
Onward and upward we go, again.
Hoorah! Well, what are we
waiting for?
On the personal side
On top of all that, you know, I don’t
even know if you’ve ever/had the occasion to have to find a brand new “Techy
business” to help you in a strange - what
Vegas’ strange? - new town lately, or
ever before? It’s like pulling hen’s teeth.
I lucked out in my first choice, which
amazingly was responding to hand-held
advertising sign with their phone numbers on it. This time the ever-dependable
“Doctors of Technology” have made it so
I can finish this Review on time, thank
the Lord! Funny thing, I wouldn’t even
carry the “Boat Anchor” out of their shop
to the car this last time, I was so afraid
I’d break it somehow? I even asked the
tech rep if he would carry it in to my
little office for me, also, so I couldn’t
screw it up again? He refused politely, of
course. But I was deadly serious, folks.
I’m getting just a little bit tired of having
to do this every single time, with every
Review/Security-Related Report
All I Want Are The Facts,
Ma’am
Now, please turn the page and
proceed to “The Review - PCmover
Pro, Part 2”. Enjoy!
Footnotes
1
See the actual Reports/Reviews in
the Blue Chips Magazine Archives at
<www.ucs.org>. Note. Always choose
the .pdf format for its beauty.
Page 6
Blue Chips Magazine —December 2010
If you are reading this Review from
directly off of an Internet search, you
are seeing it in HTML format. Yuk!
There’s No graphics there! To see all
the beautiful graphics in this Review the ones that we’ve worked so very hard
to entertain you with herein - you will
need to follow the procedures outlined in
Footnote 1 above. Enjoy!
3
Feature(s) precisely identified
as reason(s) for designating this Review/Report as “Security-Related.”
In this case, everything.
4
My Byline: Happiness Is A
Working Computer (HIAWC).
5
(http://www.cladriteradio.com/
images/marchoftime2.jpgHYPERLINK)
At its peak, The March of Time provided
news on current events for over 20 million people per month in 9,000 theaters
throughout the United States. Lasting
from 1935 through 1951, the series experienced the most sustained success of any
documentary-like programming before
the age of television, and it was recognized
with a special Academy Award in 1936 for
“having revolutionized one of the most
important branches of the industry - the
newsreel.” Its format and approach to
depicting news events became a major
influence on news documentaries and
public affairs programming. Probably
best known is the dramatic voice-over
by the deep-throated Westbrook Van
Voorhis. He became so associated with
the series that he was billed as the Voice
of Time - and occasionally mocked as the
Voice of God or Voice of Doom. His voice
of authority was particularly memorable
at the conclusion of each episode when he
emphatically pronounced, “Time marches
on!” (Source: Turner Classic Movies, www.
hboarchives.com/apps/searchlibrary/ctl/
marchoftime, and www.facebook.com/
themarchoftime?v=wall)
6
“Aye, that’s the rub!” See October
2010 BCM S-R #16 Report Footnote
4 for a more complete explanation of
this phrase.
2
Laplink PCmover Professional, Part 2
Connect Your World - The Review
By Don Nendell
Laplink Software Inc.
14335 NE 24th Street, Suite 201
Bellevue, WA 98007
Phone: 425-952-6001
Toll Free: 1-800-LAPLINK
Fax: 425-952-6002
Technical Support Hours (EST)
Access Laplink Technical Support:
http://www.laplink.com/support/
individual.asp
9 AM - 8 PM Monday - Friday. 11
AM - 4 PM Saturday 3 PM - 6 PM
Sunday
Customer Service Hours (EST)
8 AM - 8 PM Monday - Friday11 AM - 4 PM Saturday 3 PM 6 PM Sunday
System Requirements:
Windows 95/98/NT 4.0/Me/2000/
XP/Vista
Intel or compatible 486DX or higher
processor
16 MB RAM
20 MB of hard disk space
Specifications
Silver USB 2.0 Easy Transfer Cable
Length: 6ft cable
Connectors: 2 type-A
USB connectors
KEY FEATURES:
Complete Migration: Can move
all programs, files and settings in one
easy step.
Multiple Transfer Options:
Choose from USB cables, Windows Easy
Transfer cable, parallel cables, removable media or a wired / wireless network
to do the transfer.
Feedback and Support
Laplink invites your comments
about Laplink DiskImage Professional.
Please feel free to contact them at: [email protected]. In addition to
the contact information for Customer
Service at the top of this page, you can
engage in a live chat online with a
Technical Support Representative at:
<http://www.LapLink.com/contact/mychat.html>, during the hours
listed on the Web page.
Page 7
Blue Chips Magazine —December 2010
PCmover Key Features:
User Profile Selectivity: Transfer all or selected user profiles including
related settings in one easy step.
Easy-to-Use Wizard: Just install
PCmover on both of the computers and
Click through the simple Wizard to set
up the move and to start transferring
everything that is wanted to the new PC.
Complete Selectivity: Automatically copy which applications and
folders you’d like moved over to your
new PC; Select which folders you want
moved over to the new PC; and, Simply
uncheck any file types that you don’t
want transferred over to the new PC.
“Undo” Feature: Quickly reverse
a migration at any time with PCmover’s easy ‘undo’ feature. PCmover
is designed to move data from older
operating systems to newer operating
systems.
Note. Laplink does not recommend
using PCmover for migrations from
newer Windows operating systems to
older Windows operating systems.
Set it and Forget it: Start the
transfer and walk away, PCmover does
the rest!
Multiple Transfer Scenarios
Supported: Use PCmover to move
from an old PC to a new one, to transfer
contents of an old hard drive (or image),
or to perform and in-place upgrade even
from Windows XP.
Connectivity Options:
Users can connect their PCs with
the following: Laplink USB 2.0 Cable,
Laplink High-Speed Transfer Cable,
Network Connection, home or business,
even wireless.
Laplink Line of Products:
PCmover, PCsync, Defrag, Diskimage, Laplink Everywhere 5, Laplink Gold,
SafeErase, Switch & Sync, PDAsync,
FileMover, Controller, Remote Assist,
ShareDirect, V of DOS, DoubleView,
PCdefense, Conference Center, Secure
VNC.
Legacy Products: FYI The following items have been archived and
are no longer supported by Laplink.
Their knowledge base, however, has
many articles that are relevant to archived products: PDAsync 2.0 and
below; PCsync; PCsync 1.0; PCsync 1.5;
PCsync 2.0; PCsync 3.0; LapLink 2000;
LapLink FTP; LapLink Professional;
LapLink Exchange Accelerator; LapLink
Technical; LapLink 1; Ultimate ROM;
Appointment Manager; LapLink Mac 3;
LapLink 2; LapLink Plus; LapLink SE;
Battery Watch; PC Link for Casio Boss;
Desklink; LapLink 3; Viewlink; LapLink
Pro for DOS; Winconnect; LapLink
Remote Access; CommWorks; TS Fax;
TS Online; LapLink for Windows 3.x;
LapLink for Windows Host 3.x; LapLink
Wireless; LapLink for Windows 95;
LapLink for Windows 95 Host; LapLink
for Windows NT; LapLink for Windows
NT Host; WebEx; Remote Desklink;
Remote Network Accelerator; PointB;
LapLink Enterprise Network Accelerator; Office Star; LapLink Quick Connect;
TrueSyn.
Note. If you have a question about
your upgrade options or would like to
place your order by phone, please contact their sales department.
Laplink. “The word [Laplink] is
originally the name of a DOS program
that transfers files between laptop and
desktop computers. . . . It came with
a special cable that attached from one
computer’s serial port to the other. You
plugged the cable in, loaded the LapLink
software and transferred files back and
forth. You could do the transferring
from either computer. It was a nifty
program, the brainchild of Mark Ep-
pley, and he formed a company to sell
it called Traveling Software in Bothell,
WA. Eventually the program became
so successful that the word ‘to LapLink’
became a common verb to connote the
Page 8
Blue Chips Magazine —December 2010
transferring of files between computers
as in, ‘I’ll go LapLink this file over to
Mary’s machine.’. . . We use LapLink
every day. It’s one of those ‘must have’
pieces of software.”
- Newton’s Telecom Dictionary: The Official Dictionary of
Telecommunications & the Internet (1999)
LapLink has won acclaim for fourteen generations of award-winning
connectivity products and earned the
trust of more than 15 million customers
worldwide who transfer, synchronize,
share, and remotely access billions of
files per week, securely, and reliably.
LapLink continues to explore and refine
innovative instant connectivity solutions
for home, business, and enterprise use.
LapLink products have won innumerable awards over the years.
A Little History Is In Order Here
Overview. In spite of the current
economic conditions, the personal
computing industry continues to grow
at a rapid rate, but most explosively, the
handheld variety. In the US and other
mature markets, the majority of PC
sales represent either an additional PC
or a replacement PC. In addition, such
users have become very reliant on application software and data residing on
their existing PC. This reliance, in turn,
has resulted in the development of new
technology designed to save users time
and expense - migration software
Migration software. Migration
software is a relatively new sub-category
within the “PC Deployment” utility
category. Most deployment software
can be classified as either image-based
(so-called, “ghosting” software) or
facilitate ease of data transfer. Within
the migration sub-category, there are
several utilities that provide a higher
level of customization, moving user settings as well as data from one computer
to another automatically. However, the
industry’s leading migration software,
PCmover, is also able to transfer entire
software applications along with files
and settings from PC to PC.
The transfer of files conundrum. Hardware analysts estimate
the average computer’s lifespan to last
from two to five years with three years
being the average for ‘normal’ usage, but
then too, I don’t fall into that “normal”
category, which may account for most of
my problems. ;-} It is safe to calculate
that in 2010, with personal computers
first appearing twenty nine years ago,
that most consumers and businesses
are on their third, fourth, fifth, or even
sixth PC (FYI I’ve even got a working
Dell 233 MHZ laptop that has Win 98
on it). What this means is that with each
new PC the user has had to manually
transfer files someway, rework settings
and reinstall applications to recreate
the usability and personality of their
old systems, thus powering the growth
of migration software.
Enter PCmover. PCmover, the
world’s leading migration software utility was built to eliminate the traditional
rituals that come with the purchase of a
new PC. It offers an automated ‘hands
off’ solution that allows users to recreate their old computer’s personality
and functionality on their new PC while
experiencing minimal downtime and
reducing costs. Each user or employee
has an array of personalized settings
that they adjust throughout the lifespan
of their PC to effectively maximize their
productivity. For instance, sales people
might rely heavily on customized e-mail
templates, selective word processing features and spreadsheet software while a
teenager in high school might rely more
on his favorite ‘play lists,’ photograph
or video utilities and personalized signatures for his/her e-mail application.
In each of these instances, the usability
of their computer is inextricably linked
to the investment in personalizing their
“Personal Computer”.
Business migration. Laplink
reports that for businesses deploying department-wide upgrades, the ability to
automatically mass migrate each ‘digital
personality’ is essential to minimizing
employee downtime, reducing cost and
increasing productivity. Manually re-installing software (often including unique
or customized software), transferring
settings and documents, and keeping
track of each detail to be changed on the
new PC is a time consuming task for an
IT force, resulting in an estimated cost
(See graphic) of over $300 per migration
in labor expense and lost productivity.
Note. It’s cost me an awful lot
Page 9
Blue Chips Magazine —December 2010
more than that in time, as well as,
money, that’s for sure, to do my
own upgrade to Win7!
Post upgrade costs must also be
considered as employees searching for
lost files, understanding new features
and installing additional applications
that were on their original PCs can
increase downtime dramatically. Post
upgrade, computer help desks see an
increase in call volume of up to 30% 50% in the first thirty days.
Current migration market. In
the current migration market, there are
a few well-known programs: Detto Intellimover, CA Desktop DNA, and
Windows Easy Transfer, to name
a few. These three products can only
migrate files and settings from an old
PC to a new PC (See graphic). Although
it is useful to automatically migrate
files and settings, an employee will still
waste considerable time reinstalling
new applications or requiring an IT
professional to perform the reinstallations manually. Most applications
require ‘keys’ or licenses to function
and this information is often misplaced
– leaving the user to find CD jackets,
CD inserts or call customer support to
retrieve the necessary information for
a reinstallation.
PCmover features. A few of
the features that make PCmover the
global leader in migration include:
One Step Solution. Migrates applications, settings and files in a single
step to effectively recreate the personality of an old PC onto a new PC.
Selectivity Options. Allows the
user to choose which applications and
folders to move to a new PC therefore
eliminating the need to uninstall and
reinstall applications manually.
Multiple Connectivity Options. Laplink USB cable, Parallel
cable, LAN, WLAN, Removable media
(CD-R/RW or DVD-R/RW), Windows
Easy Transfer Cable (Laplink, Belkin,
Vivanco, and other brands).
Before We Start
A little upgrade background
info is in order here. Here’s what
“they’re”saying out
on the street. Windows 7 (Win7) is
touted as a stable
mature product,
so there’s no reason why not to
start migrating
away from XP into
Win7, that is, unless software (which I
have an abundance of) is not supported
(ditto) or is not compatible with Win7
(which we’ll definitely see first-hand for
ourselves, now) at all. Or, and here’s the
real winner of the deal, with some caveats, of course, you can run XP side by
side with Win7 using XP Vware, which
Microsoft will provide for free, and your
XP programs will run virtually from your
Win7 desktop, meaning, there’s no need
to start up a second VW program to run
that valuable XP Stuff.
Hoorah! Well, what are we
waiting for?
Sadly, in my case, it’s HIAWC
time, again 4 .
All I Want Are The Facts,
Ma’am
Well, it’s about
time 5, Don. “Happy New Year, Time
marches on, you
know?”
Yes, but I need
a great deal of help
migrating all my
XP files over onto
the new Win7 machine! OK?
Here’s what
the kind and
patient Laplink
PR person sent
to me to alleviate my concerns
about this major, major upgrade move for
me:
“We at Laplink are proud of our
software and stand behind them 100%....
PCmover is the #1 best-selling migration solution in the world and it makes
setting up a new PC easier than ever.
PCmover will automatically transfer
all or selected programs, files and settings from an old PC to a new one. With
PCmover, there is no need to find old
CDs or serial numbers, because all of
the programs are automatically installed
and ready to use on the new PC.”OK!
PCmover can do the following
transfers:
1. Transfer programs, files and settings from one PC to another
2. Upgrade an existing PC to Windows 7
3. The easyto-use wizard will
guide you in selecting which programs, files and
settings you want
on your PC. When
complete, your
new computer will
have the personality and functionality of your old PC.
And, PCmover is safe – it removes
nothing from your old PC, won’t overwrite anything on your new PC, and
includes an easy “Undo” feature.
4. Restore old Windows images (or
hard drive contents) to a new PC without
overwriting the new OS.
a. PCmover is the only software
that moves programs, files and settings
from your old PC to your new PC – even
restore from an image (or old hard drive)
or perform an in-place upgrade. Other
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Blue Chips Magazine —December 2010
disk imaging software will overwrite
a new operating system with the old
when restoring old images to a new PC
(See graphic on next page & CBC2
graphic on pages 15-19).
b. The functionalities of restoring
old Windows images (or hard drive
contents) to a new PC without overwriting the new OS are part of our software
entitled PCmover Image Assistant.
These functionalities are designed to be
used for the following scenarios:
1) Your computer crashes, but the
hard drive still functions. Use PCmover
Image Assistant to restore all or some
of the programs, files and settings from
that hard drive to a new PC even if the
new PC is running a different version
of Windows. For example, the old PC
might have been running XP and the
new PC has Windows 7. Nothing on the
new PC will be overwritten. And, all your
applications are transferred and readyto-use. No need to reinstall and no
need to find old serial numbers.
The old hard drive must be accessible
on the new PC and PCmover Image
Assistant does the rest.
2) You have a PC running an older
version of Windows that is stolen or
fatally damaged (e.g., won’t boot and
can’t be repaired). Most likely, you will
buy a new PC that is running Windows
7. Then, if you have used imaging software to maintain an image of the old
PC, mount the image as a virtual drive
and use PCmover Image Assistant to
restore it to the new PC, even if the new
PC is running a different operating sys-
tem. If you only use your imaging software to restore the old image, you will
overwrite everything on your new PC,
including Windows 7. Only PCmover
Image Assistant has ‘Operating System
Independent Restore’ functionality.
My PR friend at Laplink also wrote,
“PCmover also has a customized userinterface so users can easily select which
kind of transfer they would like to do.
This makes it easy for users to navigate
through the software so that they select
the correct transfer option and reduces
the likelihood of the software malfunctioning.”
Some products (See CBC2 graphics on pages 15-19) transfer files but
not programs. Others transfer the entire PC into a “Virtual Machine” (VM)
on the new PC, a time-consuming and
complicated process that still uses the
old operating system, meaning the user
hasn’t completely moved to the new PC.
And, to legally use the old operating system in the VM probably requires buying
an additional Windows license, forcing
users to spend more money or engage in
software piracy. PCmover is the ONLY
software that truly moves programs,
files and settings to a new PC without
installing this unnecessary VM software.
PCmover Professional
PCmover Professional (PCmP)
(as well as, PCmover) is the ONLY software program that moves the programs,
files and settings you select from your
old PC to your new PC, and all of your
applications will be installed automatically ready to use. You can even restore
from an image (or old hard drive) or
Page 11
Blue Chips Magazine —December 2010
perform an in-place upgrade.
Simply install PCmover Professional on both your old and new
computers and go! Click through the
easy-to-use wizard to select which type
of transfer you would like to do.
And, PCmover is safe - it removes
nothing from your old PC, won’t overwrite anything on your new PC, and
includes an easy “Undo” feature. When
the transfer is complete your new computer will have the same personality and
functionality as your old PC, plus there
is no need to reinstall your programs
because PCmover does it for you. PCmover is the easiest way to move into a
new PC without leaving anything behind
and works with almost any version of
Windows. You can even use PCmover
to migrate your PC to an Intel-based
Mac using VMware Fusion, Parallels or
Bootcamp.
“In the nightmare world of PC migration, PCmover is a rare pleasant
dream... While all software publishers
brag about how amazing their goods
are, Laplink actually has reason to.”Extreme Tech
Set up your new PC in three
easy steps!
Multiple Connection Options:
Use a Laplink High-Speed Transfer
Cable or USB 2.0 Transfer Cable, a network, or external drive.
Do you already own PCmP and
need to perform another computer
migration? To get a new serial number, just purchase a download edition
of PCmP. You will be e-mailed a new
serial number immediately and you
will be ready to do another computer
migration! A single license of PCmP
allows you to migrate from a single old
(source) computer to a single new (destination) computer. Additional computer migrations require the purchase
of additional licenses. As part of the
checkout process, you will be given the
option to purchase additional licenses
at a 25% discount.
“In the nightmare world of PC migration, PCmover is a rare pleasant
dream. Transferring from one system to
another via PCmover was an amazingly
simple and pleasant experience. The
results were outstanding. Everything
landed exactly where it belonged…. in
five migrations (three Vista-to-Vista,
and two XP-to-Vista), the results were
amazing - every single time…PCmover
performed as advertised, which is a rare
thing in today’s software environment.
While all software publishers brag about
how amazing their goods are, Laplink
actually has reason to.”- Joel Durham,
PC Magazine
Some Extra Caveats
After you use PCmP to set up your
new (destination) PC, you may need to
remove certain programs or files from
either your old (source) PC or your new
(destination) PC to remain in compliance with the End User License Agreements (EULAs) of your software. Also,
to maximize system compatibility, PCmover may not transfer certain system
settings. This may affect system utilities
(such as antivirus and antispyware) and
other applications that install system
services. You may need to reinstall those
applications on the destination PC. Additionally, PCmover does not transfer
hardware configuration information, so
printers and other hardware may need
their drivers installed on the destination
computer.
Files with Digital Rights Management (such as certain music files) and
applications that require keys or serial
numbers with a hardware fingerprint
may require reactivation or may not
function properly on the destination PC.
While reactivation or reinstallation will
usually resolve any problems, you may
need to contact the appropriate vendor
for specific instructions.
Note. Also refer to the Laplink web
site Knowledge Base (KB) for additional
help with any PCmover problems, plus
you can always get in touch with their
Tech Support (See above).
And Now, The “Dreaded”
Migration Story
I use the term “dreaded” advisedly, maybe even, ill-advisedly,
simply because of my history of
problems with, you know my byline, HIAWC? To begin with, I actually
had four (4) options to choose from to
make the actual migration. In the end I
chose the Laplink USB 2.0 Cable migration method over all of the other Connectivity Options (See above).
Well, I followed the PCmover
User Guide to the letter. I even printed
it out so I wouldn’t make any mistakes.
Surprisingly, you know, it turned out
to be very simple, in actuality. Whew!
Pre-Installation checklist
(both PCs)
After making doubly sure I had
all the System requirements for
each PC (See Part 1), Installing PCmover (both PCs), Pre-Migration
Checklist (both PCs) and Migration Information Sections covered
like a blanket, as indicated in the User
Guide, I installed the PCmP software
without a hitch on the Destination PC 5
first (like the User Guide said to do), I
attached the Laplink (orange) transfer
USB cable to a Dlink USB 2.0 4-port
hub, and then installed the PCmP software on the Source PC 5 (like the User
Guide said to do), I attached the other
end of the Laplink (orange) transfer USB
cable to a USB 2.0
port on the Source
PC (like the User
Guide said to do),
Then, I started the
Migration (like the
User Guide said to
do), Oh! No! It’s
Page 12
Blue Chips Magazine —December 2010
HIAWC, syndrome time again.
The destination PC (Vista)
Acts Up
The destination PC (Vista) started
off real good, the only thing was I got an
Error message stating that the “Snapshot of the PC did not start properly!”
That may not be the same identical
wording, but it’s trouble spelled with a
capital “T”. At least that’s what “immediately” went through my mind, given my
proclivity for “PC Troubles, especially
with a capital ‘T’?”(See Part 1)
Well, here are my thought processes, in maybe not exact order, but, since
I only had about a day and a half before
my publishing deadline to solve the
problem(s) with tech Support, I “Froze”
the Error Message up on the monitor
screen, didn’t touch it again, and immediately started the processes so very
well known to me - getting in touch with
TS. Turns out, I missed the first window
of opportunity to talk to TS, i.e., in my
half-day time frame, because they are
on EST (not PST, a 3-hour difference, to
begin with) plus, I didn’t see the answer
to the problem as pointed out to me in
an e-mail from PR/TS, the next day:
Laplink e-mail: “This issue is
mentioned on page 16 of the User Guide:
(http://www.laplink.com/documentation/pdf/pcmover/pcmpro/PCmover_
Pro_QSG.pdf).
You can also find steps to resolve
this issue here: (http://www.laplink.
com/faq214.html”).
We now continue the saga, as
it is unfolding rapidly for me in a
“hyper-sweat.”
OK! The cheese definitely is
getting more binding now. But
no sweat, “mai pen lai,” as they
say in Thailand, we’ll just call
TS tomorrow and get all this
straightened out nice and easy.
Amazingly, when I clicked the Error Message off, the whole thing
started running like a champ.
“Hot damn, ya’ll I swear!” “This
time, we made it, didn’t we girl?”
“The music is pounding in my
ears, will success spoil Rock
Hunter?” All sorts of hilarious,
gleeful, happy thoughts were flying around in my brain. But wait!
Houston, I’ve just realized I’ve
got a problem.
Now all I have to
do is do is an “InPlace Upgrade to
Windows 7 Option” 6 using the
PCmover Windows 7 Upgrade
Assistant on the
Vista and everything will be hinky
dory. Or, how
about being expressed in a more
current colonialism, “Cool!”?
Hold on. Please re-read this paragraph again, folks. I’m not finished with this migration by a
long shot, no siree Bob! PCmover
made the migration to the Vista,
but it’s not to Win7, yet. OMG!
You know, I may be dumb, but
I’m not stupid,
or maybe it’s vice
versa, I’m not
sure which, but
the User’s Guide,
which I was following religiously, not once ever
said when I was
supposed to put
in the Windows
7 Professional Installation
Disk, not once.
OK! “Back to the
drawing board
time, for Big Don,
it is,” says Yoda. Yes, it is!
I talked to my Laplink PR
friend that final day of availability
of TS about this “diffugalty,” as my
dad was fond of saying. He sent me
an e-mail, at my request, explaining what had just transpired in the
previous episode:
e-mail. “You should be able to upgrade
to Windows 7 from Vista natively. Place
the [Windows 7] Install disk into the
Vista PC and run the install wizard.
You should have the option to choose
“Upgrade” from the wizard.
“[Note.] See this page on the
Microsoft site: (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/help/
upgrading-from-windows-vista-towindows-7).
“If that does not work, let me know
and we can look into using PCmover
Windows 7 Upgrade Assistant to
handle the upgrade, but you should be
able to do it from the Windows 7 disk.
[OK!]
“As far as what I mentioned about
PCmover: The important thing to understand about PCmover is that it will
help you move all of your programs, files
and settings from one PC to another. No
matter if you are moving from XP-XP,
XP-Vista, XP-Win7 and so on, it will
do it.”
OK then! We’ll finish up on
that one on my own time, but,
certainly not now, we’ve got a
deadline to meet!
BTW Let me first say that “The
‘XP Stuff’ that’s now working on
the Vista Desktop is simply amazing, amazing! ”
1. The Belkin 4x4 Peripheral Switch
now works, yes, works like clockwork,
absolutely perfectly on three (3)
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Blue Chips Magazine —December 2010
different machines, two (2) of which,
are Vista machines (the desktop and
a laptop, but remember, the laptop
is completely controlled from the
XP), plus the original XP, which has
always worked perfectly. And best
of all I didn’t have to install their,
i.e., Belkin’s, defective, non-working
download software fix (or use the defective, non-working install CD that
came with the original carton, nor
wait any longer for the imaginary tier
3 TS to call from India) either. It just
up and worked, And, IT WORKS
ON ALL 3! Go figure?
HIAWC. You know, I’ve been
shuttling stuff back and forth
between those 3 PC’s like gang
busters using assorted different
USB’s, even printing from all
three machines simply by dragging and dropping the printer
icon/image from one PC to the
other on the Belkin Peripheral Switches control box. FYI
THAT’S ONE (1) PRINTER AND
THREE (3) DIFFERENT MA CHINES. Hoorah!
2. OMG Shockingly, my beloved Comic Book Creator 2
migrated over to the Vista Pro
perfectly, too. All I had to do
was type in the XP, repeat, the
XP CBC2 License Key, and IT
WORKED PERFECTLY! That
could be called piracy, except
that I have permission to use it
that way because of my Reviewing it in the BCM, so there! ;-p
3. Diskeeper 2010, Aha! IT,
TOO, WORKED PERFECTLY! No
new license key required there
either. FYI Same story with the
extra licenses here, as well - I’ve
only Reviewed 14 of their great
products to date, you know?
4. Vipre, IT, TOO, STARTED
WORKING PERFECTLY, ALL ON
ITS VERY OWN. I DIDN’T HAVE
TO DO A SINGLE THING! Ditto!
5. GhostSurf, Yep, IT TOO!
6. There’s lots of other great
stuff that migrated perfectly; and some not, exactly like
Laplink states, plus makes you
acknowledge beforehand you
know about, but then you get the
idea. It’s amazing Gracie. “Say
goodnight Gracie!” 6
Goodnight Gracie!
Footnotes
1
See the actual Reports/Reviews
in the Blue Chips Magazine Archives at <www.ucs.org>. Note.
Always choose the .pdf format for
its beauty.
2
If you are reading this Review
from directly off of an Internet search,
you are seeing it in HTML format.
Yuk! There’s No graphics there!
To see all the beautiful graphics in this
Review - the ones that we’ve worked so
very hard to entertain you with herein
- you will need to follow the procedures
outlined in Footnote 1 above. Enjoy!
3
Feature(s) precisely identified as reason(s) for designating
this Review/Report as “SecurityRelated.” In this case, everything.
4
My Byline: Happiness Is A
Working Computer (HIAWC).
5
Glossary of Terms:
1. Old PC/Source PC. The source
PC is the “old” PC that contains the applications,
files, and settings that you wish to
move to the destination (i.e., the XP
Professional), or “new” PC.
2. New PC/Destination PC. The
“new” PC is the PC to which the applications, files, and
settings are moved (i.e., the Vista
machine).
3. Transfer/Migration. The process of copying all of your applications,
files, and
settings from your “old” PC to your
“new” PC.
4. In-Place Upgrade to Win-
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Blue Chips Magazine —December 2010
dows 7 Option. For upgrading from
Windows XP/Vista to Windows 7 on the
same PC, PCmover offers an in-place
upgrade. This option allows you to upgrade to Windows 7 and automatically
restores all your applications, data, and
settings after the upgrade. See the Windows 7 Upgrade Assistant user guide on
Laplink’s Web site for complete instructions for an in-place upgrade (the user
guide you are currently referencing only
gives instructions for a standard “old”
PC to “new” PC migration). (http://
www.laplink.com/pcmover/inplaceupgrade/pro)
6
Adapted from the reminiscences of
George Burns, the multimedia presentation traces the comedian-raconteur’s life
from his childhood on the Lower East
Side of Manhattan to his early career in
vaudeville to his momentous meeting
and subsequent personal and professional relationships with wife Gracie
Allen. (Source: Wikipedia)
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Blue Chips Magazine —December 2010
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Blue Chips Magazine —December 2010
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Blue Chips Magazine —December 2010
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Blue Chips Magazine —December 2010
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Blue Chips Magazine —December 2010
Utah Blue Chips Calendar
December, 2010, January 2011
UBC
General Meeting
U of U
7:00 p.m.
Holiday
Meeting
Magazine
Deadline
U of U
7:00pm
UCS
Board of
Trustees
C&C Bldg.
Room
N3005
6:30 p.m.
UBC
General Meeting
U of U
7:00 p.m.
TBA
Magazine
Deadline
Blue Chips — Utah’s Computer Guide in the 21st Century