XP Mode printing woes

[Cluent]

It seems that every time I log on to XP Mode, the printing ports change. The printer was initially on TS port 4, then it was 5, now it's 8. The only I can tell which it is is by printing a test page on each port until something comes out. What's up with that? Is there a fix?

 

[HughShaw]

Yes, switch to VMware Player 3.0 which uses "driverless printing", then import your Windows XPM base VHD file and install VMware tools.

 

[Cluent]

I use vmware player; it's not as stable and not as well integrated as XP Mode, and it installs too many "services" that run in the background even when it's not running. Also finding and installing Vmware tools is a real pain.

 

[HughShaw]

Oh, to me it is way more stable than XPM. I had strange glitches with XPM and was never able to reliably install themes. Not to mention it was very slow and could not install games that don't work in Win7. I guess we all have our favorites.

Edit: Not trying to argue...just pointing out that XPM has bugs that nobody can get around.

 

[Cluent]

I really just want to get the printer working more reliably and not argue about Vmware.