Parallel Card for printer

[microsoft.news.com]

My new computer does not have a parallel card to allow me to hook up my
printer.

Is there anything special I need to look for in a parallel card for vista
compatibility.

I looked on the web and all the cards said they were compatible through XP,
I didn't see any marked Vista compatible.

 

[philo]

My new computer does not have a parallel card to allow me to hook up my
printer.

Is there anything special I need to look for in a parallel card for vista
compatibility.

I looked on the web and all the cards said they were compatible through XP,
I didn't see any marked Vista compatible.

Before you go any farther...since your printer is so old that it only has an
LPT port...
you should check to see if your printer is even supported by Vista

 

[microsoft.news.com]

My printer is an HP 1100 laser printer
Where do I check for compatibility?

 

[philo]

My printer is an HP 1100 laser printer
Where do I check for compatibility?

You're in luck...according to HP , Vista does have a driver for that
printer


now all you need to do is add a parallel port or perhaps a USB to parallel
converter

 

[Michael Chare]

My new computer does not have a parallel card to allow me to hook up my
printer.

Is there anything special I need to look for in a parallel card for vista
compatibility.

I looked on the web and all the cards said they were compatible through
XP, I didn't see any marked Vista compatible.

I use a Sweex PU003, see
http://www.sweex.com/producten.php?sectie&item=70&artikel=711&detail=oo

Although the product does not claim Vista compatibility, (I even rang the
support desk in Holland) it uses the
MosChip MCS9835 for which there are Vista Drivers. See
http://www.moschip.com/html/MCS9835.html


Better even than that - Vista itself contains the drivers for this chipset.
I just plugged my card in and Vista recognized it!

Fedora 6 and Ubuntu Edgy also support this chipset. No need to load anything
new.

I use the HP driver for my HP DeskJet 890C which also came with Vista.

My guess is that many PCI Parallel port cards use the MosChip chipsets.

I found out that the Sweex product used the MosChip (was NetMos Technology)
chipset by reading the Linux documentation and a bit of Googling.

HTH

 

[Pecos]

My new computer does not have a parallel card to allow me to hook up my
printer.

Is there anything special I need to look for in a parallel card for vista
compatibility.

I looked on the web and all the cards said they were compatible through
XP, I didn't see any marked Vista compatible.

For less than $20 you should be able to find a USB to Parallel cable. The
advantage of a cable is that you will not have to add another card to your
computer that takes up a slot.

I have tried the GWC USB to Parallel Cable (Bi-Directional) Model 80000 -
OEM in Vista Beta 2. The only problem I saw with it was some printer
control characters that were sneaking through and causing an extra page to
be printed. I believe that was an issue with the driver for my printer and
not the cable since it happens with my true parallel cable as well.

My review:
Wow! This was almost too easy to install. I was trying to make it more
difficult than it was. I didn't need the drivers that came with this cable.
I simply plugged it in and turned on my printer and Windows XP Pro x64
recognized it and the printer. It really was plug and play! At about $13,
this is a great way to save a PCI slot by not having to purchase a parallel
port card. Works great in Vista Beta 2 (plug and play). Highly recommended.

I don't see it anymore on Newegg where I got it, but perhaps you could find
it at another online store.

If you go with another brand/model be sure that it will work in Vista.
--
Alan Norton
Reviews of ABIT AN8 SLI, ECS P965T-A & Foxconn 975X7AB-8EKRS2H MBs
Vista Confusion, Missing Posts Mysteries & Playing the Rebate Game Articles
Arizona Pics and Cute Animal Pics
http://www.mindspring.com/~anorton1/

 

[DevilsPGD]

In message <[email protected]> "Pecos"

Wow! This was almost too easy to install. I was trying to make it more
difficult than it was. I didn't need the drivers that came with this cable.
I simply plugged it in and turned on my printer and Windows XP Pro x64
recognized it and the printer. It really was plug and play! At about $13,
this is a great way to save a PCI slot by not having to purchase a parallel
port card. Works great in Vista Beta 2 (plug and play). Highly recommended.

The only "tough" part is figuring out whether to connect it to the
printer or computer first.

If you connect it to the printer first, the computer does all the work.

If you connect it to the computer first, you have to either reboot, or
go to the "Add a printer" dialog.

 

[Hugh Wyn Griffith]

or perhaps a USB to parallel converter

I would not recommend USB to parallel converters for printers -- I see
many complaints of the printer not working correctly. They may be the
only solution for a laptop but for a desktop with PCI slots a parallel
card is cheaper and better.

Here's the simplest of the SYBA parallel cards:

http://www.syba.com/product/43/04/01/2/index.html

They don't mention VISTA either but do say:

Q: What kind of OS does it support?
A: Our multi I/O cards support DOS, Windows 95/98/98SE/ME/NT/2000/XP,
and Linux OS.

Q: Where to download the latest drivers for Netmos I/O cards?
A: Please visit www.moschip.com for all the latest drivers.

But I finally got to their download page and they do have a VISTA
driver:

http://www.syba.com/support_download/download/73-0401-1.html

Check out NewEgg.com.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Descri
ption=SYBA+PCI+parallel

I've used SYBA but there are plenty of others including SIIG that are
good quality.

What you might check out in the specification is something saying about
using High IRQs -- I don't know if that is important in VISTA or not
but it does extend the utility of the Parallel port card. I remember
way back this came up with a SIIG card I used on another machine.

 

[Hugh Wyn Griffith]

Not so much use for serial ports these days? <g>

Here's the simplest of the SYBA parallel cards:

http://www.syba.com/product/43/04/01/2/index.html

They don't mention VISTA either but do say:

Q: What kind of OS does it support?
A: Our multi I/O cards support DOS, Windows 95/98/98SE/ME/NT/2000/XP,
and Linux OS.

Q: Where to download the latest drivers for Netmos I/O cards?
A: Please visit www.moschip.com for all the latest drivers.

But I finally got to their download page and they do have a VISTA
driver:

http://www.syba.com/support_download/download/73-0401-1.html

 

[Michael Chare]

Not so much use for serial ports these days? <g>

True, but I still have my V90 modem, phone, GPS and satellite receiver all
of which I can connect using a serial port.

Here's the simplest of the SYBA parallel cards:

http://www.syba.com/product/43/04/01/2/index.html

The Syba and Sweex 1parallel and 2serial cards do both look very much the
same, which suggests a common design if not a common manufacturer!

 

[Pecos]

I would not recommend USB to parallel converters for printers -- I see
many complaints of the printer not working correctly. They may be the
only solution for a laptop but for a desktop with PCI slots a parallel
card is cheaper and better.

Here's the simplest of the SYBA parallel cards:

http://www.syba.com/product/43/04/01/2/index.html

They don't mention VISTA either but do say:

Q: What kind of OS does it support?
A: Our multi I/O cards support DOS, Windows 95/98/98SE/ME/NT/2000/XP,
and Linux OS.

Q: Where to download the latest drivers for Netmos I/O cards?
A: Please visit www.moschip.com for all the latest drivers.

But I finally got to their download page and they do have a VISTA
driver:

http://www.syba.com/support_download/download/73-0401-1.html

Check out NewEgg.com.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Descri
ption=SYBA+PCI+parallel

I've used SYBA but there are plenty of others including SIIG that are
good quality.

What you might check out in the specification is something saying about
using High IRQs -- I don't know if that is important in VISTA or not
but it does extend the utility of the Parallel port card. I remember
way back this came up with a SIIG card I used on another machine.

Hi Hugh,

I'll defer to your greater experience on this one - mine is quite limited!
I have noticed that the ratings for many of the USB to parallel cables have
been average at best. I chose the GWC because it had fewer complaints. It
worked out well for me but I print out the occasional document or two very
infrequently and I only have two PCI slots on my motherboard that I want to
keep open for a tuner card and audio card. I was running the USB==>parallel
cable to an HP LaserJet 5P off of a Foxconn 975X7AB-8EKRS2H motherboard.

As I mentioned in my other post, I was getting some stray printer control
characters sneaking through at the beginning of each print job, but have the
same thing happen with my parallel cable.

For someone wanting or needing to go the USB==>parallel cable route, this
might be one of those items where it may be best to buy at a local retail
store that guarantees returns and keep the receipt. If it doesn't work out,
return it for a refund.

Thanks for the info.
--
Alan Norton
Reviews of ABIT AN8 SLI, ECS P965T-A & Foxconn 975X7AB-8EKRS2H MBs
Vista Confusion, Missing Posts Mysteries & Playing the Rebate Game Articles
Arizona Pics and Cute Animal Pics
http://www.mindspring.com/~anorton1/

 

[Pecos]

Hi Hugh,

I'll defer to your greater experience on this one - mine is quite limited!
I have noticed that the ratings for many of the USB to parallel cables
have been average at best. I chose the GWC because it had fewer
complaints. It worked out well for me but I print out the occasional
document or two very infrequently and I only have two PCI slots on my
motherboard that I want to keep open for a tuner card and audio card. I
was running the USB==>parallel cable to an HP LaserJet 5P off of a Foxconn
975X7AB-8EKRS2H motherboard.

As I mentioned in my other post, I was getting some stray printer control
characters sneaking through at the beginning of each print job, but have
the same thing happen with my parallel cable.

For someone wanting or needing to go the USB==>parallel cable route, this
might be one of those items where it may be best to buy at a local retail
store that guarantees returns and keep the receipt. If it doesn't work
out, return it for a refund.

Thanks for the info.
--
Alan Norton
Reviews of ABIT AN8 SLI, ECS P965T-A & Foxconn 975X7AB-8EKRS2H MBs
Vista Confusion, Missing Posts Mysteries & Playing the Rebate Game
Articles
Arizona Pics and Cute Animal Pics
http://www.mindspring.com/~anorton1/

Let me clarify my last post. I have my history all mixed up!

I got the GWC USB==>parallel cable with an ABIT AN8 SLI motherboard that
didn't have a parallel port external or a parallel header internal, but did
have only two PCI slots. If I remember correctly ;-) see
http://www.mindspring.com/~anorton1/ABIT_AN8_SLI/AMD_Component_Reviews.html#GWC,
the cable worked fine with the ABIT motherboard except for the
aforementioned printer control character issue at print job start.

I *may* have tested the GWC cable with the Foxconn motherboard, but it does
have a parallel port on the rear I/O panel so I can't be sure that I
actually did. Alas, the cable and ABIT motherboard have gone to a better
place (Ohio), so I can't test it now with the Foxconn motherboard.

Alan

 

[Hugh Wyn Griffith]

My life is obviously simpler than yours <s>

Yes I noticed the similarity of the cards.

 

[Hugh Wyn Griffith]

Thanks for all the details -- I've always gone for a proliferation of
slots!

I;ve nbot had to use a USB to parallel converter but I see a lot of
people with problems using them -- I suspect with more modern hardware
that really insists on bi-directional communication. I noticed that XP
installed by LJ2200 to a DOT4 port when I switched from Parallel to USB
to get a longer cable more cheaply and looking up some information
about DOT4 it says it was developed to deal with bilateral
communications.

In fact you might look at seeing if you can set up a DOT4 port for your
USB to Parallel and whether that cuts out the extraneous character
strings.