Dell 1710n printer - bidirectional support?

[Mike S.]

They just updated an aging HP printer with a Dell 1710n, using the
parallel port on my Optiplex. The BIOS is set to configure the parallel
port as ECP, and the device manager agrees. I am using a printer cable
that supported bidirectional communication in the past. Sending print jobs
to the printer ... ye,s it prints OK. But...

None of the utility or status monitoring software that requires
bidirectional communication with the printer is working. Going to the
PORTS section of the printer setup applet, the "enable bidirectional
communication" option is greyed out and not selectable.

Going to the online documentation, I am told I must "install bidi driver
support from the device driver CD". So I re-ran the same setup CD that
the tech guy installed from, and I certainly isn't any such option in
the setup program. I don't see any files or folders whose names might
indicate that's what they do.

So how, exactly, do I "enable bidi driver support"?

 

[Tom Scales]

They just updated an aging HP printer with a Dell 1710n, using the
parallel port on my Optiplex. The BIOS is set to configure the parallel
port as ECP, and the device manager agrees. I am using a printer cable
that supported bidirectional communication in the past. Sending print jobs
to the printer ... ye,s it prints OK. But...

None of the utility or status monitoring software that requires
bidirectional communication with the printer is working. Going to the
PORTS section of the printer setup applet, the "enable bidirectional
communication" option is greyed out and not selectable.

Going to the online documentation, I am told I must "install bidi driver
support from the device driver CD". So I re-ran the same setup CD that
the tech guy installed from, and I certainly isn't any such option in
the setup program. I don't see any files or folders whose names might
indicate that's what they do.

So how, exactly, do I "enable bidi driver support"?

Does the printer support both USB and parallel? It's possible it only works
through USB.

 

[Quaoar]

They just updated an aging HP printer with a Dell 1710n, using the
parallel port on my Optiplex. The BIOS is set to configure the parallel
port as ECP, and the device manager agrees. I am using a printer cable
that supported bidirectional communication in the past. Sending print jobs
to the printer ... ye,s it prints OK. But...

None of the utility or status monitoring software that requires
bidirectional communication with the printer is working. Going to the
PORTS section of the printer setup applet, the "enable bidirectional
communication" option is greyed out and not selectable.

Going to the online documentation, I am told I must "install bidi driver
support from the device driver CD". So I re-ran the same setup CD that
the tech guy installed from, and I certainly isn't any such option in
the setup program. I don't see any files or folders whose names might
indicate that's what they do.

So how, exactly, do I "enable bidi driver support"?

See this HP site that directly addresses Dell Optiplex
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=58710&docname=bpu08011


Dell computers that use the XT and AT compatible parallel port mode in BIOS

Many late 1990s Dell PCs use a different bidirectional parallel port
mode. Windows might not be able to configure to the different
bidirectional parallel port mode. This is true for all currently
shipping Dell Precision and Optiplex models. Instead of having the
normal ECP, EPP, or Standard bidirectional BIOS settings for the
parallel port, the settings are labeled XT, AT or PS-2 compatible. The
AT setting is the bidirectional setting, but does not appear to be
compatible with the industry standard ECP mode that most HP all-in-one
products require. Communication problems between the computer and the HP
all-in-one product will result. Check the Dell Web site for any
motherboard BIOS updates. Contact Dell for additional assistance.
Possible solution

1. Enter the BIOS of the computer by pressing F2 while the computer
is starting up. Contact Dell for assistance, if necessary.
2. In the BIOS setup screen, press the Down Arrow key repeatedly
until Integrated Devices is highlighted. Press Enter.
3. Press the Down Arrow key repeatedly until Parallel Port is
highlighted. Press Enter.
4. Press the Right Arrow key repeatedly until AT or PS-2 mode is
selected.
5. Press the Esc key three times to exit Setup. You should see the
message "Save Changes and Exit."
6. Press the Enter key to save the changes and restart the computer.

Q

 

[Mike S.]

Does the printer support both USB and parallel? It's possible it only works
through USB.

The online help suggests that this applies to both, but I could be
misreading it.

 

[Mike S.]

See this HP site that directly addresses Dell Optiplex
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=58710&docname=bpu08011


Dell computers that use the XT and AT compatible parallel port mode in BIOS

Many late 1990s Dell PCs use a different bidirectional parallel port
mode. Windows might not be able to configure to the different
bidirectional parallel port mode. This is true for all currently
shipping Dell Precision and Optiplex models. Instead of having the
normal ECP, EPP, or Standard bidirectional BIOS settings for the
parallel port, the settings are labeled XT, AT or PS-2 compatible. The
AT setting is the bidirectional setting, but does not appear to be
compatible with the industry standard ECP mode that most HP all-in-one
products require. Communication problems between the computer and the HP
all-in-one product will result. Check the Dell Web site for any
motherboard BIOS updates. Contact Dell for additional assistance.
Possible solution

1. Enter the BIOS of the computer by pressing F2 while the computer
is starting up. Contact Dell for assistance, if necessary.
2. In the BIOS setup screen, press the Down Arrow key repeatedly
until Integrated Devices is highlighted. Press Enter.
3. Press the Down Arrow key repeatedly until Parallel Port is
highlighted. Press Enter.
4. Press the Right Arrow key repeatedly until AT or PS-2 mode is
selected.
5. Press the Esc key three times to exit Setup. You should see the
message "Save Changes and Exit."
6. Press the Enter key to save the changes and restart the computer.

Thanks. I have tried ECP and EPP mode but not the AT or PS2 BIOS settings;
will give them a try.

 

[Mike S.]

Well, I got it working, but I'm not exactly sure what did it, as I am in
fact now using the identical parallel port settings as I did initially
when it didn't work.

In the end I decided to reinstall the drivers/software, this time
selecting the only optional component I could from the "custom" install -
the driver profiling utility. During that install, a significant amount of
time in the progress bar graph was occupied with "installing enhanced
communications support". The visible result of this was the addition of a
new service (dkab_device) as implemented by the file DKabcoms.exe, using
3.5 MB of memory. At that point, "bidirectional" support was no longer
greyed out in the control panel applet, and could be applied. Why all this
overhead is needed just to access a parallel port, is beyond me.

 

[Tom Scales]

Well, I got it working, but I'm not exactly sure what did it, as I am in
fact now using the identical parallel port settings as I did initially
when it didn't work.

In the end I decided to reinstall the drivers/software, this time
selecting the only optional component I could from the "custom" install -
the driver profiling utility. During that install, a significant amount of
time in the progress bar graph was occupied with "installing enhanced
communications support". The visible result of this was the addition of a
new service (dkab_device) as implemented by the file DKabcoms.exe, using
3.5 MB of memory. At that point, "bidirectional" support was no longer
greyed out in the control panel applet, and could be applied. Why all this
overhead is needed just to access a parallel port, is beyond me.

Isn't the 1710n made by Samsung? Doesn't Samsung make more memory for
computers than anyone else?

Do I smell a conspiracy?

 

[Mike S.]

Isn't the 1710n made by Samsung? Doesn't Samsung make more memory for
computers than anyone else?

Do I smell a conspiracy?

AFAIK this is a rebadged Lexmark E232.