Can't get Win XP to recognize bi-directional parallel port

[Jerry Rivers]

I have a dual-boot system with Win 98 SE and a clean install
of Win XP Pro. I have an HP 1220C inkjet printer which prints
just fine on both 98 and XP but I cannot get the "toolbox"
utility software that comes with the printer to work with XP.

The HP Toolbox, among other things, interrogates my printer
and reports how much ink is left in the cartidges, which is
very useful.

But, in Win XP, the Toolbox says it cannot monitor LPT1
because it is not bi-directional.

The first thing I checked was my BIOS. LPT1 is set to EPP+ECP
which is right for bi-directional operations. And, Win 98 SE
recognizes this and the HP Toolbox works as expected.

But, in Win XP, when I go to Control Panel>Printers and check
the Properties for my HP 1220C on LPT1, the check box for bi-
direction communication is greyed out and cannot be selected.

I have also checked System>Device Manager, which reports my
parallel port is running fine.

I do not understand why Win 98 recognizes my parallel port as
bi-directional and Win XP does not. And, I don't know what to
do to fix this. I can find no errors anywhere in Win XP, I
just can un-grey the checkbox I need to turn on bi-
directional printing.

Any assistance would be appreciated.

-- Jerry Rivers

 

[Topsnagger]

Hi Jerry,
I don't wish to teach you to suck eggs, but have you
downloaded the latest drivers for XP from your print
manufacturer. They must be digitally signed for them to
work within XP.

 

[Si Ballenger]

I have a dual-boot system with Win 98 SE and a clean install
of Win XP Pro. I have an HP 1220C inkjet printer which prints
just fine on both 98 and XP but I cannot get the "toolbox"
utility software that comes with the printer to work with XP.

The HP Toolbox, among other things, interrogates my printer
and reports how much ink is left in the cartidges, which is
very useful.

But, in Win XP, the Toolbox says it cannot monitor LPT1
because it is not bi-directional.

The first thing I checked was my BIOS. LPT1 is set to EPP+ECP
which is right for bi-directional operations. And, Win 98 SE
recognizes this and the HP Toolbox works as expected.

But, in Win XP, when I go to Control Panel>Printers and check
the Properties for my HP 1220C on LPT1, the check box for bi-
direction communication is greyed out and cannot be selected.

I have also checked System>Device Manager, which reports my
parallel port is running fine.

I do not understand why Win 98 recognizes my parallel port as
bi-directional and Win XP does not. And, I don't know what to
do to fix this. I can find no errors anywhere in Win XP, I
just can un-grey the checkbox I need to turn on bi-
directional printing.

Any assistance would be appreciated.

-- Jerry Rivers

The tool kit may have been developed for use with win 95/98,
which allow direct access to the printer port. XP doesn't allow
direct access, which may be the problem. You can do a google
search for a simple program called userport.zip and use it to
gain hardware access to the parallel port. This might allow the
tool kit to work.

 

[Jerry Rivers]

shb*NO*SPAM*@comporium.net (Si Ballenger) wrote in

The tool kit may have been developed for use with win
95/98, which allow direct access to the printer port. XP
doesn't allow direct access, which may be the problem. You
can do a google search for a simple program called
userport.zip and use it to gain hardware access to the
parallel port. This might allow the tool kit to work.

Are you saying that XP is *designed* not to use bi-
directional comm on LPT1 and I have to use a free-ware
program and some Registry hacks to get it to work?

I plain don't understand what is going on here. The problem
is *not* with the HP Toolkit - it works fine on Win 98.

In Win XP when I look at the Properties for my printer (HP
1220C) "print bi-directional" is greyed out - I can't select
it. Nothing wrong with my mobo - it is up-to-date and the
BIOS is set properly (if it weren't, the Toolkit woulnd't
work in 98 either, would it?).

Maybe this is Bill Gates way of protecting me from people who
want to hack into my PC through the unprotected parallel
port, but it is damned frustrating not to be able to set my
port the way I want to. The least that XP could do is put in
an option to turn bi-directional comm back on, even though it
is a security risk. I'd even settle for an MS KB article
telling how to do a Registry hack to restore this valuable
function.

I haven't tried userport.zip yet so I can't comment if it
works.but frankly, I am sick and tired of all the stuff that
worked fine in Win 98 that no longer works in XP or does
strange things.

Call me a complainer, but I see precious little in the way of
advantages for XP and a *lot* of disadvantages. For one,
TCP/IP transfer to my wife's PC is slug slow, where it used
to be fast. And there's bullshit crap built into XP to
"protect me" like preventing me from renaming a folder as
long as there is an open program which referenced a file from
that folder. And, then, there's the special security warning
I get when I try to open an attachment in Outlook Express. I
already have it set to "ask before opening this type of
file" but OE insists on warning me a second time, as if it is
saying "are you *sure* you want to do this?

Please be aware that I am not shooting the messenger. I
appreciate your taking the time to respond to my request for
help. Perhaps userport.zip will fix this problem. I noted
that several people responding to my post said they lost bi-
directional comm for LPT1 when they upgraded to XP, too, and
don't have a clue what to do about it.

I suppose I could always fork over the $35 it costs to talk
to one of Bill's tech support people, but for now, I'll just
let my ink run completely out and change the cartridge -
that's the way things were done before there were fancy
Toolkits to monitor usage for me.

Thanks again for your reply,

-- Jerry Rivers