Cricut & Sure Cuts A Lot & USB cable

Please forgive me if I placed my topic/question in the incorrect category. Also I can't select a product here because the two I am referring to aren't listed on this website.

I have Cricut Personal Electronic Cutting System Version 1.31 and the Sure Cuts A Lot 2.0 Windows edition. There is a long story behind this, but I don't want to bore you all with it. Suffice it to say, that my question is can I use any USB cable to allow my Cricut to communicate with the SCAL software? I don't remember if my Cricut came with a USB cable. I have slept since I bought my Cricut Personal Cutter from Scrapbook.com in 2009.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me.
Barbara

yep- any usb will work. I tok mine off my printer and use it with mine. It has to have the funky square end to go into the cricut and the normal usb end into the computer.

Any standard USB cable will work, but not "any USB cable" - the ones with special-shaped or tiny ends will not work.

Thanks to those who responded to my question. I just figured out that not "any" USB cable will work. The Cricut has to have a USB cable with the "clippy" end like a landline phone jack. Oh well, now I have to find one in the house or buy one.

thanks so much!!!

A clippy thing? One side is the regular 2.0 usb connect which fits into the computer and the other side is a smaller end, goes into the Cricut...a printer cable will work....

I can see where she's getting that the standard B end kind of looks like a phone jack plug-in (though without the little clip that the phone cord has), but that is the standard end that works in the Cricut, many printers, and a lot of other devices.

OOHHHHH! Got it! I was thinking of the the end of the actual phone cord...lol. Thanks

Thanks all you lovely ladies for your replies. I was incorrect on the "clippy thingie". I went to an electronic store this afternoon. While looking at the mass of cables and such, I relized that I didn't want a "clippy thingie" on the other end but a boxy "thingie" that would plug into the Cricut. So I bought that. But now guess what? When I got home, opened the package, I read the package more closely and saw that it was for a Mac computer. We don't have a Mac, but a PC. I had my Dad on my mind at the time (he just suffered a mild stroke, but is doing fine now). So now another trip to the electronics store sometime soon.

Thanks again.

Uh... I don't think there's any such thing as a Mac-specific USB cable - the U in USB stands for universal. They might have been marketing it to a Mac audience but I don't see why it shouldn't still work. If the package is already open, give it a shot and see if it'll work anyway. Every USB port I've ever seen on a Mac is exactly the same as every USB port I've ever seen on a PC.

there's no such thing as a mac specific USB. If it's mac specific it's probably WAY over priced- I am a mac user and have NEVER bought one!

Just get a printer USB cable.

You guys probably think I'm a complete dunce when it comes to computers and such. I'm really not, but when it comes to hooking these puppies up, that is where my non-geekness shows.

I did open the pkg, so I will try it. thanks.

Hi... Also don't update your cricut firmware or you won't be able to use SCAL. You may have missed all the lawsuit stuff... So just a little FYI