Forget cables. I tried the following once and haven't bothered with cables ever since:
Download an app onto your phone called, "AirDroid".
Open the app and in the top right hand corner, to the left of what looks like a clock, is a square shaped icon with a horizontal line through it. Click on that and it'll open up your camera.
Now on your laptop, go to,
http://web.airdroid.com/
This will bring a page up with a QR code on it. Point your phone over it until the camera registers the code and then confirm that you wish to connect.
Once you connect, you can view your photos, videos, etc on your laptop and you can download whatever you wish to your laptop, all wirelessly .... no need for cables anymore :)
It sounds complicated, but trust me, once you've done it once or twice, it's really easy and simple to do.