03/17/2026
Yesterday I ran into an issue trying to use a data transfer cable (from Insignia) to copy data from a Windows 10 pc to a new Windows 11 pc. The built-in software worked fine with the Windows 10 system, but wouldn't launch on the Windows 11 system. After several failed attempts, I tried an older cable I carry (The Tornado) and had similar results. It worked with 10, but not 11.
It's a rare month that I am not copying data to new computers, so this was really baffling. Looking online I learned that Microsoft has been doing several things to harden security over the last couple years. These include...
Portable EXEs from USB devices requiring explicit approval.
Auto-launch from virtual CD devices being blocked by default.
Legacy USB-bridge devices being blocked.
Unsigned kernel-mode drivers not loading at all.
EXEs without modern signatures being blocked.
No loading of deprecated USB-bridge chipsets.
Mandatory driver signature verification.
Blocking of 32-bit helper services.
So, it seems I need to find a transfer cable that isn't impacted by these changes. I asked Copilot what other devices are likely to be impacted by these changes. I will post it's reply as the first three comments as it's a bit lengthy. For most computer users, they won't likely run into much, if any, issues. But if you are trying to use older equipment, you may want to read that list.
And as for how I resolved copying data from the old pc to the new, I ended up copying the data to an external hard drive and then copying it from that to the new pc.
(Image is not of the actual model cable I was using)
