How to correct "Parallel port driver service failed to start"?

[Phoenix]

I recently disabled the parallel port in the BIOS (I wasn't using it
anyway) to try and free up an IRQ or some system resources, when I installed
a firewire controller (which I wanted to have its own IRQ if possible).
Then I periodically started getting this error "The Parallel port driver
service failed to start due to the following error:
The service cannot be started, either because it is disabled or because it
has no enabled devices associated with it." I Googled this, but any info I
found either was not applicable or was in incomprehensible techspeak. I
couldn't figure out how to prevent the error from occurring, so for the time
being I re-enabled the parallel port in the BIOS--disabling it didn't free
up any IRQ's anyway. I would like to know more about this, however. Is
there a proper way to go about disabling the parallel port so that this
error does not occur?
Should it be done before installing Windows? What are the advantages and
disadvantages of disabling the parallel port, other than freeing up IRQ's
(as I said, it didn't--unless this also happens only upon Windows install?).
Gurus, please respond!

 

[Guest]

Phoenix,
I haven't found any other way to fix this problem except through the
registry. So go run regedit and find the HKLM\System\Current Control
Set\Services\ParPort branch, set it's startup type to 4. Mine was 3 before
and when I disabled the BIOS it caused the same messages as you had.
This disables the driver/device so give it a shot although no reason why it
will or will not work.
As for disadvantages of enabling/disabling parallel port. Not too much. I do
it to minimize devices that could bring down a system so you don't have all
these things that you could plug into, especially when you don't need the
darn things.
R,
TF