pci parallel port resource problems

hi
Just built a cnc milling machine, and fitted a pci parallel port as lpt 1 to run the machine
trouble is it wont run
actions
1) oem drivers set up and working
2) Device manager shows a new mulitfunction adapter - the same as the card make, using resources at EEOOO-EEOO7 (in the properties tab)
3) but the new pci parallel port in device manager oes not have the make perhaps just a generic?
in the resources tab it shows ---Input/Output Range EE00 - EE07 not available.--- (cut n pasted message)

I dont seem to have any communication to the main control board in the machine. is the re any way i can reallocate the resources?
I tried disabling the mulitfunctional adapter but as expected the parallel port dissapeared from device manager

The computer has been completely "bombed" and returned to factory settings

Any suggestions?
thanks Graham

Are you sure that the card is set up to run as LPT1? Most of those cards default to LPT3.

Well, see, the problem with most of these cards is that the card does not use the standard parallel port address in memory, which is 0x0378h to 0x037F. This is the normal port where LPT1 lives. These add on cards use a different I/O range, such as 0xEE00 to 0xEE07, for example. I have one that uses 0xD000 to 0xD007.

This I/O range thing isn't usually a problem until you run into either older software, or software that was badly written, and was hard-coded to expect the parallel port at 0x0378 - the normal place LPT1 is. Newer systems and software can put LPT1 anywhere you want, and the software's application program interface (or driver) will point at it, allowing the software that you're using to find it, no matter where it is.

I suspect that your CNC software is looking directly at port 0x0378 and not finding the printer port and giving up. There isn't much you can do in that case, unless the CNC software will allow you to define the address for the printer port. If not, another alternative is to buy a dedicated (usually old - meaning drivers are an issue) parallel card that actually can be set to use port 0x0378.

I wish I had a better idea for you, but I don't.

Yeah, it does seem like they are conflicting. It's funny that the driver for the LPT card doesn't automatically choose an address that isn't being used. You could try fiddling with the port settings. Mine are set like this:



You could try enabling Legacy Plug and Play and see if that helps.

I'm surprised that since they are conflicting like that, that you haven't had an issue with your graphics card. If you can't get the conflict resolved, you might have to buy a different card.

What is the make and model of the card you're using right now?

I realize that you are in the UK, and that this item is possibly unavailable there, at least from Newegg, but something like this might be worthwhile considering:

Rosewill RC-304 - 2-Port Parallel (SPP / PS2 / EPP / ECP) Universal PCI Card - Newegg.ca

Have a look at the specs. The main technology is made by MosChip. I've used MosChip based parallel/serial cards for years at work, and they have all worked flawlessly. I haven't tried to run a CNC machine, but I believe that at least the possibility of conflicts with your existing hardware would be low. I've never had a conflict yet with any of our adapters.

If you have a free PCI slot, something similar should be available in the UK, I would think.