Can't connect to my WinXP machine

I can’t connect my Win7 computer to my WinXP computer with the USB Easy Transfer Cable. Software seems to install correctly on the XP machine, but I get a hardware wizard pop-up (that pops up a few minutes after plug in the cable) which says there was a “fatal error during installation” and the computers don’t connect.

I’ve installed both the Microsoft drivers and the Bravura software. I’ve also tried restarting the machine and trying different USB ports.

Hi Colleen,

Here’s a link to a page with detailed instructions on how to setup and use the Easy Transfer cable. Give it a try and let me know how it goes, it it’s still not working, let me know what went wrong and we’ll figure out our next steps.

http://plugable.com/2012/03/12/unleas…

Thanks,
Jerome

Plugable Technologies

These are the instructions I initially followed. The problem seems to be in Step 2: “Windows will attempt to install the driver for the cable. An Internet connection may be required so that Windows can get the cable’s drivers from Windows Update.”

Windows tries to install the drivers but seems to fail so I get the “fatal error during installation” message after a couple minutes.

I should mention that I had no issues using the cable with another Win7 machine, so it seems to be something with XP.

Hi Colleen,

We’ve seen that on some Win XP PCs, it’s best to try to install the drivers directly from Microsoft’s special download page rather than via Windows Update or the Win 7 PC running the Microsoft Windows Easy Transfer.

Please let me know if the following troubleshooting information solves the problem.

  1. Disconnect the cable from both computers.

Close Microsoft Windows Easy Transfer on both computers if it is open.

Close Bravura Easy Computer Sync on both computers if it is open.

  1. On the Windows XP computer, go to http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/wi… and download/install the latest drivers.

  2. Plug in the cable into an unused USB port directly on the Windows XP computer.

  3. Launch Microsoft Windows Easy Transfer on the Windows XP computer.

If Bravura Easy Computer Sync opens, too, please close it.

  1. In the Microsoft Windows Easy Transfer software, set the Windows XP computer as the old PC.

  2. Leaving the cable connected to the XP computer, plug in the cable to a spare port directly on the Win 7 computer.

  3. Launch Microsoft Windows Easy Transfer on the Win 7 computer.

If Bravura Easy Computer Sync opens, too, please close it.

  1. In Microsoft Windows Easy Transfer, set the Win 7 computer as the new computer.

Let us know if the situation is better, or where the breakdown in the process seems to occur. We’re here to help.

Best Regards,

Aaron
Plugable Technologies

I tried these over the weekend and it still got the same error message about it not finding the drivers. I even tried uninstalling and reinstalling the software with no luck.

Hi Colleen,

I’m going to continue this via a private support ticket. I will update the discussion board with the resolution for anyone else who encounters the same problem and needs to take the same steps. Please look for a private support ticket in your e-mail on this topic from support@plugable.com.

Best Regards,

Aaron
Plugable Technologies

For the benefit of anyone following this case, we applied a fix we’d used successfully before (credit to the Bleeping Computer forums where the solution initially was posted for another manufacturer’s easy transfer cable: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forum…).

Microsoft’s installation program for drivers for the Windows easy transfer cable fails when it can’t find a particular value in the Windows XP registry. We don’t know what causes the registry to get in this state, but here’s how you’ll know you’re encountering this issue.

  1. If your cable installation fails on XP, open c:\windows\setupact.log in Notepad.

  2. Scroll to the end of the file:

  3. Here’s what you’ll see if your installation is blocked by this problem (dates and times will differ):

WdfCoInstaller: [05/16/2012 17:29.45.970] ReadComponents: WdfSection for Driver Service TRANSFERCABLE_WINXP_X86 using KMDF lib version Major 0x1, minor 0x5

WdfCoInstaller: [05/16/2012 17:29.46.001] ArpEntryPresent: RegOpenKeyEx(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Wdf01005)

WdfCoInstaller: [05/16/2012 17:29.46.032] ArpEntryPresent wasn’t found so we will assume the package was removed: error(2) The system cannot find the file specified.

WdfCoInstaller: [05/16/2012 17:29.46.157] VerifyMSRoot: exit: error(0) The operation completed successfully.

WdfCoInstaller: [05/16/2012 17:29.54.314] Update process returned error code :error(1603) Fatal error during installation.
. Possible causes are running free version of coinstaller on checked version of OS or vice versa. Look at the Kmdf documentation as to what steps need to be followed to install the correct versionof the coinstaller

If you encounter this problem, here’s how to fix it.

  1. Open your Registry Editor on the XP machine. If you haven’t done this before, the easiest way is to

–Open the Start menu

–Choose Run…

–Type regedit and Enter.

  1. Once the Registry Editor is open, can you expand the following branch:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
>SOFTWARE
>>Microsoft
>>>Windows
>>>>CurrentVersion
>>>>>Uninstall

  1. Within the Uninstall folder, is there a subfolder called Wdf01005 (you’ll have to scroll to find it in alphanumeric order in the W’s)?

  2. If there is no Wdf01005 folder, please add one by
    –Scrolling back to the Uninstall folder.
    –Right clicking on Uninstall.
    –Choosing New > Key and naming it Wdf01005.

  3. Once you have a Wdf01005 folder
    –Left click it to select it.
    –Right click it.
    –Choose New > DWORD Value. In the right side pane, this will show up with a as New Value #1.
    –Right click New Value # 1
    –Choose Edit Value.
    –In the window that appears, change the Value data from 0 to 1.

  4. Close the registry editor and reboot.

  5. Now try downloading the driver from http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/wi…, installing it, and attaching the cable.

We hope this information helps anyone else with the same problem. If this isn’t the issue you’re facing, the other thing we’ve seen block the installation of the easy transfer cable drivers is overzealous security software. You always can try temporarily disabling any security software on Windows XP before attempting an install.

For anyone continuing to have trouble installing the drivers for their easy transfer cable, please write us at support@plugable.com. We’re here to help.

This procedure has been helpful to others who have had difficulties getting the Easy Transfer Cable to install in some versions of Windows XP, so I have spelled it out a bit more clearly and added screenshots to make it easier to understand.

Before making any changes to the registry, it is important to take some safety precautions. Start by making a system restore point:

Go to All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore. Click on Create a restore point. Click Next. Give it a name like “before registry change,” then click Create. You can now exit System Restore.

Next, add a key to the registry:

  1. On the XP machine, click the Start button, click Run, enter “regedit” (without quotes), and click OK.

!](https://d2r1vs3d9006ap.cloudfront.net/s3_images/900124/reg1_inline.JPG?1368571172)](https://d2r1vs3d9006ap.cloudfront.net/s3_images/900124/reg1.JPG?1368571172)

  1. You will see the screen above. To be safe, make a copy of your registry by clicking File > Export. Give the file a name (I use the date). Click OK.

  2. Click the “+” sign next to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE to see the entries under it

!](https://d2r1vs3d9006ap.cloudfront.net/s3_images/900126/reg2_inline.JPG?1368571240)](https://d2r1vs3d9006ap.cloudfront.net/s3_images/900126/reg2.JPG?1368571240)

  1. Click the “+” next to Software, then Microsoft, then Windows, then CurrentVersion. Click on Unistall, then on the menu-bar, click Edit > New > Key

!](https://d2r1vs3d9006ap.cloudfront.net/s3_images/900127/reg3_inline.JPG?1368571283)](https://d2r1vs3d9006ap.cloudfront.net/s3_images/900127/reg3.JPG?1368571283)

!](https://d2r1vs3d9006ap.cloudfront.net/s3_images/900128/reg4_inline.JPG?1368571311)](https://d2r1vs3d9006ap.cloudfront.net/s3_images/900128/reg4.JPG?1368571311)

  1. A new key will appear under Uninstall named “New Key #1”. Rename it to “Wdf01005” (without quotes).

  2. Click on the new Wdf01005 key and select Edit > New > DWORD Value.

!](https://d2r1vs3d9006ap.cloudfront.net/s3_images/900130/reg5_inline.JPG?1368571353)](https://d2r1vs3d9006ap.cloudfront.net/s3_images/900130/reg5.JPG?1368571353)

  1. In the pane to the right a new entry will appear called “New Value #1.” Right-click it and select Modify.

!](https://d2r1vs3d9006ap.cloudfront.net/s3_images/900132/reg6_inline.JPG?1368571409)](https://d2r1vs3d9006ap.cloudfront.net/s3_images/900132/reg6.JPG?1368571409)

  1. A new dialog box will appear called Edit DWORD Value. At the bottom-left, “0” will be highlighted. Change it to “1” and click OK.

!](https://d2r1vs3d9006ap.cloudfront.net/s3_images/900134/reg7_inline.JPG?1368571456)](https://d2r1vs3d9006ap.cloudfront.net/s3_images/900134/reg7.JPG?1368571456)

  1. Reboot your computer and reinstall Easy Transfer. Download it from this link:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/downlo…

If you have any difficulties with this procedure, or have any questions, please feel free to contact us at support@plugable.com