Cannot print to LPT1

I have installed my Epson 440 on my XP machine but cannot
print to it. If I remove the printer and reboot the
Hardware wizard find and install the new Printer, yet I
cannot seem to print to it even after following all steps
in the trouble shooting wizard. I know the cable is okay
as my 98 machine prints to it fine and I have checked that
the parallel port on both machines has the same BIOS
setting. I cannot print to it from the DOS prompt. The
device manager indicates that the port is functioning
correctly so I am at a loss as what I should try next?