*IF/WHEN* it works, it's a great product

Ever since the USB specification became popular I had been looking for a good replacement for the good 'ol Laplink cables I once used to transfer files between PCs. Recently Belkin introduced one such product called the "Easy Transfer Cable". I was immediately leery of the product since every other product I have used that has had the word "Easy" in its name has been anything but easy to use. Still, having owned numerous Belkin products over the years without issue, I figured I'd give it a try.

I installed the software and driver software as indicated on the quick start guide then plugged the cable into the first of four computers that I would test the cable on. The PC went through the driver setup process and came to an abrupt halt with an obscure "Fatal Error During Installation". Long story short, I tried every trick I knew to get the drivers to install and the computer to see the cable but nothing worked. I then tried the cable on a Vista PC and the cable installed and worked just fine. Next, another Windows XP (Service Pack 2) machine that I had recently reloaded and it worked fine on that PC as well. Thinking that there was something wrong with the initial PC, I tried it on my wife's system (also Service Pack 2)... I got the same error as the first system. Completely puzzled I called Belkin support. The quality of Belkin's support system is completely abyssmal. There is no 2nd level of support so if the initial agent you get can't figure out what your problem is they simply try to push you off the phone with a "it must be a hardware problem with your computer." They had no response for why every other USB2.0 device works in my system *other* than their cable. I did my best to explain to the support tech that there was a driver issue and that we needed explore that route but it was obvious that the agent could do nothing but follow the prompts from the computer screen in front of him.

The other thing that struck me was when I called the support number there was a main menu option for the "Easy Transfer Cable" which tells me that they are having SO many issues and calls on this product that they've had to put a direct option in for it.

The last thing to consider before taking the gamble to see if this product will work on your system is to consider the return policy of the store you buy it from. On the back of the package is a warning that once it is opened, you can only exchange it for the same product (presumably because of the included PC Sync software). So, there is the possibility that you may be stuck with a $40 paperweight if the cable doesn't work with your PC.