Connect to parallel port

[Noa Slater]

Hi,

I am using Win7. I have a parallel port on a PCI card. I see it in the Device Manager as "PCI-PARALLEL (LPT2)" and in the Resources tab I see address range.
When I use my software to send data to it - it doesn't work (I use PsychoPy which is software for Psychological experiments and connected the port to osciloscope).
So I want to go to a lower level program to connect to the port and check whether I can communicate with it.

Simple "copy /b file > LPT2" from command line did not work, as "ping LPT2" did not succeed.

What are my options to communicate with the port to make sure it works?

Thank you very much in advance!
Noa

 

[COLGeek]

Does the targeted application "assume" that it will be communicating on LPT1? If so, you may need to change your adapter's settings to work as LPT1 (I assume you only have the single LPT device).

Does your PC also have a LPT port? If so, and you aren't using it, you should disable this port in your BIOS to prevent possible conflicts with your adapter. Do this if you only have a LPT header and nothing attached to the header.

 

[jsmithepa]

Are you sure you cannot update your software to use a more modern port, like USB?

Software which uses an LPT port in this manner, I have experience with, want to control the port's hardware registers directly, a practice prohibited since Win2000. There was an app that bypassed this restriction but it died with my old XP box.🙁

Aha! found it, it's called port95NT, it used to run on my XP32, hope it solves your problem.

 

[Noa Slater]

I had LPT1 as well and disabled it.
My experiment uses EEG and my application sends data to the EEG using the parallel port. It cannot work with USB.
(We have another computer on which it works OK but the parallel port is different and whoever made it work is no longer working here :-()
In the application I wrote the actual address that appears in the I/O resources for that port in the Deviבe Manager.

In the end, I did download this: https://www.downtowndougbrown.com/2013/06/parallel-port-tester/
and was able to connect to one port (I have 2 parallel ports).
I still have the problem with my other software but I will continue investigating...

 

[The Paladin]

why did you disable LPT1 and not using that since you had one ?

I have use for my business field of older embossers that need 9 pin serial or parallel connection a device that uses USB port but emulated LPT port, so your program accesses LPT1 for example but the computer handles it through the dongle that is a usb device,

looks like this

https://www.amazon.com/36-Pin-Parallel-Printer-Adapter-Cable/dp/B002YDJJY4

 

[Noa Slater]

For my program I do need to write the actual address and not the port name so it does not matter if it is LPT/LPT1/LPT2