Two LPT-1 ports showing in Win7Pro pc: neither works!

[JohnDohe]

Hi!


I have two LPT-1 ports showing under Device Manager of my Win7Pro pc.

Any printer I plug into the (physically only) LPT-1 port does not work.

Whats going on?

What to do?

Thanks!

 

[Megahertz07]

You have two LPT ports. The fist one I suppose is on the MB and the second from a add on PCIe card.
If it shows under device manager it should be working. The only strange thing is that there are two LPT1.
Did you install the printer software?

 

[JohnDohe]

You have two LPT ports. The fist one I suppose is on the MB and the second from a add on PCIe card.
If it shows under device manager it should be working. The only strange thing is that there are two LPT1.
Did you install the printer software?

Hi!

(BTW: I'm doing all this in an ACER Veriton VM4630G-i7477X with 32GB RAM and Windows 7 Pro.)

Very perceptive of you!

The MB does have its factory LPT port.

And I did install an LPT PCIe card.

I have two (2) old Okidata 810's and one Okidata 800 that only run from LPT's. This card expanded my LPT's to three, just what I needed.

For the longest time, the Oki-800 on LPT-1 was working perfectly. For years.

Some years ago, it stopped.

The printer would work if attached to LPT-2 or -3.

LPT-1 seemed dead.

I had moved into more modern equipment, with a networked printer (Lexmark OptraImage T616n with four 500-sheet and one 2,000 sheet drawer, networked and with a twinax adapter card to communicate with my AS/400) so when LPT-1 went down, it wasn't a pressing issue.

As time went on I could not print various jobs to the Oki's more and more. Just don't have enough memory or whatever (even with their memory expansion cards).

Then the Oki-800, my first ever laser printer from 1986, finally said "enough" and . . . died.

After a period of mourning and recovery, I pressed on.

I decided to get another Lexmark as a spare. So now I had two of them. One in production and the other just there "in case".

Then I decided that instead of having the spare Lexmark sitting in its box, to put it to good use and replace the dead Oki-800 that was on LPT-1.

The Oki-810's are attached to LPT-2 and LPT-3 and they work albeit for very simple print jobs. Don't ask them to deal with a pdf!

I set up the (spare) Lexmark onto LPT-1: won't print.

Put it onto LPT-2 or -3 and it works.

So I decided to dig into why LPT-1 isn't working.

Digging around the 'net I got a tip to try uninstalling both LPT-1's, rebooting and seeing what happens:

Here's what happened:

https://i.imgur.com/L671e47.jpg

Ok, now I've got just one LPT-1 but there's an LPT-4 that was never there before!

Until I get back to the office (I remoted in and did the uninstall's) I won't know if the Lexmark works or not.

But what to do about LPT-4?

If I point the Lexmark to LPT-1, and it doesn't work, but it does work if pointed to LPT-4, can I uninstall LPT-1, reboot, rename LPT-4 to LPT-1 and re-point the Lexmark to LPT-1?

Or have I made an even bigger mess than before?

Thanks!

 

[Megahertz07]

Please don't use external links. Use the paper clip, browse to your file and upload.

Now it seems a little more correct as you don't have two LPT1.
As the LPT1 is on your MB, you should go into BIOS and have a look at the peripherals - parallel port and look how is it set.

Selects an operating mode for the onboard parallel (LPT) port. Options may are: SPP (Standard Parallel Port)
(default), EPP (Enhanced Parallel Port), ECP (Extended Capabilities Port), ECP+EPP.

You may also have to set its base I/O address and corresponding interrupt. Options may are: 378/IRQ7 (default), 278/IRQ5, 3BC/IRQ7

Run System information (%windir%\system32\msinfo32.exe) and see if there is a same IRQ being used by two LPT ports.

 

[JohnDohe]

Please don't use external links. Use the paper clip, browse to your file and upload.

Now it seems a little more correct as you don't have two LPT1.
As the LPT1 is on your MB, you should go into BIOS and have a look at the peripherals - parallel port and look how is it set.

Selects an operating mode for the onboard parallel (LPT) port. Options may are: SPP (Standard Parallel Port)
(default), EPP (Enhanced Parallel Port), ECP (Extended Capabilities Port), ECP+EPP.

You may also have to set its base I/O address and corresponding interrupt. Options may are: 378/IRQ7 (default), 278/IRQ5, 3BC/IRQ7

Run System information (%windir%\system32\msinfo32.exe) and see if there is a same IRQ being used by two LPT ports.

Apologies for the link. I will browse, insert, etc. from now on

I ran %windir%\system32\msinfo32.exe and man! There's SO much there!

What screenshots would you like to see?

 

[Megahertz07]

In system information, see if there is any conflict on same IRQ or address.
You can also open device manager, printer port LPT1 - Properties - resources and see address and IRQ.

 

[JohnDohe]

In system information, see if there is any conflict on same IRQ or address.
You can also open device manager, printer port LPT1 - Properties - resources and see address and IRQ.

Please have a look at these attached screenshots.

Tell you anything?

Thanks!

 

[Megahertz07]

You can also open device manager, printer port LPT1 - Properties - Resources tab and see address and IRQ.

 

[JohnDohe]

You can also open device manager, printer port LPT1 - Properties - Resources tab and see address and IRQ.

Ok, here they are:

Thoughts?

 

[Megahertz07]

No conflicts. Should be working.
Did you check the BIOS settings?

 

[JohnDohe]

No conflicts. Should be working.
Did you check the BIOS settings?

Ok, I know how to get into the BIOS, but, what to look for?

What do you need to know from the BIOS?

Thanks!

 

[townsbg]

In post #7 the top screenshot (the one for WCH pci express parallel lpt-4 doesn't have a port assigned. Try changing it to lpt 4.

 

[Megahertz07]

Ok, I know how to get into the BIOS, but, what to look for?

What do you need to know from the BIOS?

Thanks!

Read my post #4

 

[JohnDohe]

Read my post #4

Ok, here it is:

"You can also open device manager, printer port LPT1 - Properties - Resources tab and see address and IRQ"

What will the BIOS tell us that we don't already know?

Thanks!

 

[townsbg]

Did you try my suggestion?

 

[JohnDohe]

Did you try my suggestion?

Once I get into the location tomorrow, I will.

In the meantime, what are you hoping to see in the BIOS that we don't already know?

Please tell me what to look for and report back on (2nd request).

 

[townsbg]

It is next to impossible to tell you what to look since different manufacturers have programed the BIOS menu to look differently, especially without knowing anything about your computer. You might look in your manufacturer's instructions, which you should be able to find it online, or you might try a reset. There should be an option for resetting the settings or returning to the manufacturer's defaults.

As an FYI Samuria is very helpful. You might send him a private message, apologize, say that you where confused as to his advise, and ask that he help.

 

[JohnDohe]

It is next to impossible to tell you what to look since different manufacturers have programed the BIOS menu to look differently, especially without knowing anything about your computer. You might look in your manufacturer's instructions, which you should be able to find it online, or you might try a reset. There should be an option for resetting the settings or returning to the manufacturer's defaults.

As an FYI Samuria is very helpful. You might send him a private message, apologize, say that you where confused as to his advise, and ask that he help.

Dear Sir,

I respectfully understand your point.

But I am not asking you to be an expert on every variation of BIOS there could be.

Rather, I am asking that you detail what you would be looking for in my BIOS
if you had access to it.

Please explain, in general terms, what you would be looking for in the BIOS.

I'm not asking for you to detail exactly what I might see in my BIOS.

Could you include screenshots of your BIOS and what (in your BIOS) you are
looking at that gives you the information you wold want me to report back with
from my BIOS?

Because until I know what to look for I cannot even begin to search my BIOS.

Show me what you're looking at in YOUR BIOS and I will find it in MY BIOS.

(FYI: no, I will not communicate with Samuria nor will I "apologize". I did nothing incorrectly.
He was vague and when I asked for clarification, he continued to be evasive.
But in true troll fashion, he continues to engage more and more persons in this forum with
regard to his being "victimized" by me . . . and sits back grinning, silently, while we continue
to acknowledge and second-guess him.
You cannot read his mind and therefore cannot know what he is about.
I ask that you look at the other answers in this post.
None are as vague as Samuria's.
His is the only post that provides no help whatsoever.
Samuria is a big boy. He can write back to me and apologize for being so vague and evasive )

Thanks!

 

[JohnDohe]

It is next to impossible to tell you what to look since different manufacturers have programed the BIOS menu to look differently, especially without knowing anything about your computer. You might look in your manufacturer's instructions, which you should be able to find it online, or you might try a reset. There should be an option for resetting the settings or returning to the manufacturer's defaults.

As an FYI Samuria is very helpful. You might send him a private message, apologize, say that you where confused as to his advise, and ask that he help.

Please see screenshot of my BIOS:

What does it tell you?

Thanks!

 

[townsbg]

I don't see any issues but I've never really used parallel ports and the only computer I have old enough to have any only has 1. I don't even have any devices to use on it. Have you tried a BIOS reset as I suggested? Have you tried what I suggested in post 12?