Cables Compatible with Direct Cable Connection

Windows 95 supports a serial null-modem standard (RS-232) cable and the following parallel cables:

• Standard or Basic 4-bit cable, including LapLink and InterLink cables available before 1992.
• Extended Capabilities Port (ECP) cable. This type of cable works on a computer with ECP-enabled parallel ports, which must be enabled in BIOS. This kind of parallel cable allows data to be transferred more quickly than a standard cable.
• Universal Cable Module (UCM) cable. This cable supports connecting different types of parallel ports. Using this cable between two ECP-enabled ports allows the fastest possible data transfer between two computers.

Parallel cables transmit data simultaneously over multiple lines, making it the faster of the two connection methods. Serial cables transmit data sequentially over one pair of wires, and are slower than parallel cables. Use a serial cable only if a parallel port is unavailable.