# LPT Parallel Printer Port Missing!!!!



## splood (May 31, 2005)

An old computer I have running windows 95 has both COM and LPT printer ports but 
the LPT printer port "appears" to have disappeeared , I can no longer access it or 
locate it??

I donot know if the driver has disappeared , I cannot find any evidence of it on 
the machine although quite obviously it is there and was running!!!

Any ideas how I go about finding it or re-installing the driver , software or hardware??

I did go into the control panel system icon Device Manager and turn the hardware 
off because I was using Move It Software , I suppose this was wrong thinking about it - how do I get it back??


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## slashnburn (Oct 9, 2004)

Welcome to the TSG forums.

First of all, turn the hardware back on; I'm not sure how you turned it OFF, but that probably doesn't matter right now. Then, shut the system down, and turn the printer on BEFORE you reboot the system. Once the printer is ready, boot into Windows. Windows MIGHT find the port and printer at bootup, but if it doesn't, open the Control Panel (Start > Settings> Control Panel) and run the Add New Hardware wizard; let Windows search for any "new" hardware. With any luck, Win95 will then detect the parallel port and install it.

You'll have to be patient; a system that old isn't going to work too fast, but, you just might be able to get the port installed, and then you'll be able to re-install the printer.

Try that, and let us know what happens.


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## splood (May 31, 2005)

Thanks for the advice and guidance.
I was not 100% sure what you meant by "turn the hardware back on" but anyway I followed your advice through the Add Hardware wizard.
The system didnot detect any new devices automatically but when finished I then looked manually for LPT + COM ports.
The system did then find an ECP Printer port and a printer port *BUT NO LPT PORT* , both installed and the drivers installed from the Win95 cd ROM.
When rebooted though the system then reported on device status that they were "not working properly , not present or all drivers not installed (code 24)"
When I try to install printer software it still says there are no LPT printer ports available?
In the device manager there is another device with a Question mark against it titled "Other devices/unsupported device" and I an unable to update the driver or find out what it refers to?
I have also noted that on the 2 printer ports now showing installed on the system there are no port settings tabs as I have detailed on the 2 COM port settings?

Can you offer any more advice?


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## slashnburn (Oct 9, 2004)

You wrote:



splood said:


> I did go into the control panel system icon Device Manager and turn the hardware off because I was using Move It Software , I suppose this was wrong thinking about it - how do I get it back??


It was that remark you made about "turning off the hardware" which motivated me to tell you to turn it back on. I didn't understand what you meant by that remark, but I wanted you to UNdo whatever you had done, though from what you've posted recently, I guess it doesn't matter now.

You also wrote:

The system did then find an ECP Printer port and a printer port BUT NO LPT PORT , both installed and the drivers installed from the Win95 cd ROM.
When rebooted though the system then reported on device status that they were "not working properly , not present or all drivers not installed (code 24)"

The fact is, an LPT port IS a printer port (LPT = Line Printer Terminal, or some such thing; my memory isn't what it used to be). More importantly, an ECP port is ANOTHER term for a printer port (ECP = Enhanced Communications Port) ; IOW, you've used THREE terms to describe one device! That isn't a PROBLEM, though it seems to be confusing you somewhat, which is completely understandable. Believe it or not, there are ALSO EPP (Enhanced Parallel) ports, which are ANOTHER type of printer port, though the differences are not important now.

You also told us this:

When I try to install printer software it still says there are no LPT printer ports available?

I would have to think that no printer ports are available because they are ALREADY installed in Windows! I haven't worked on Win95 in YEARS; Win98 came with more information about how to install a printer, but I don't think you have the same information in the Windows Help file (wouldn't hurt you to check that); a lot depends on exactly which version of Win95 you're using, though we won't worry about that now.

Judging from everything you've told us so far, you have tied up all of the available printer ports, so your printer has none available to it; let's see if we can fix that.

Step ONE: Open Device Manager, and REMOVE any ECP ports, printer ports, LPT ports, and EPP ports you find, then SHUT DOWN your system.

Step TWO: Reboot the system; starting from shutdown is the best way to get Windows to recognize that something has changed. Windows should automatically detect the (newly available) printer ports, and install them without a lot of fuss. You can look in the Device Manager to see if Windows has installed the printer ports again, but DON'T worry if you don't notice any, just move on to the next step.

Step THREE: Shut the system down again, then turn your printer ON, and wait for the Ready light, or whatever indicator it has to show you that it is functional. Once the printer is READY, go to the next step.

Step FOUR: Boot the system again; Windows MIGHT detect your printer, or it might not. If Windows DOES detect your printer, you will be on your way to getting it installed. If Windows does NOT detect your printer, don't be too concerned about it; simply run the Add Printer wizard (Start > Settings > Printers > Add Printer) and let WINDOWS do the work.

As long as your printer is hooked to the system with the correct printer cable, and the printer is READY, Windows SHOULD be able to detect it WHEN YOU RUN the Add Printer wizard. If you think about it, you'll realize that the Add Printer wizard was included because of all the problems people had trying to get printers to work in Windows 3.1; Win95 is really just Win3.x with a little lipstick on it, to make it LOOK new. As a wise man once said, Win95 is five percent new code, and 95 percent ADVERTISING.

NOTE: Do NOT go poking around in the Device Manager to make any changes now; printers can cause a LOT of problems for Windows, which is why Win95 set up the Add Printer wizard, and keeps printers (though not the PORTS) out of the Device Manager. The printer (parallel) ports can be used for OTHER devices, such as scanners and ZIP Drives, which is why they are included in the Device Manager, rather than being separated from the rest of the hardware, as the printers are.

Step FIVE: Try to print a small document, and let us know what happens.

The point I'm trying to make here is this; according to what you've told us, you have ALL the ingredients you need to SUCCESSFULLY install your printer TODAY (I only hope you have the printer drivers handy). You seem to be confusing the various TYPES of printer ports, but I've typed all of this information to help you realize that your only REAL problem seems to be a slight bit of confusion, and if you follow the steps I've outlined here, you should be printing soon, whether you understand the nuances of printer hardware or not; trust me on this, FEW people understand this stuff, and you already know more about printer ports than most computer users.

In fact, from what I can tell, you know MORE than enough to install a printer; as for the finer details, I only ask that you let Windows deal with those for now; once your printer is installed and working, you'll have plenty of time to research the differences between EPP and ECP and LPT ports, should you be so inclined, though I hope you have better things to do with your time.

As for the error messages you've described, removing the various printer ports from Device Manager will get rid of those, so they aren't worth the time it would take me to type the explanations.

Whatever else you do, be CAREFUL; do NOT remove any COM ports when you open Device Manager to remove the printer ports.

Post any questions you might have BEFORE you do this; I THINK I've given you all the information you need, but if not, I'll do my best to provide answers for you.

Follow the steps I've suggested, and odds are good that Windows will find AND install BOTH the printer ports AND the printer WITHOUT a lot of fuss, as long as you have the Win95 drivers for the printer you're installing.

Good luck with this, splood; read my suggestions SEVERAL times before you begin this. Do NOT rush; from what you've told us already, you should be able to install your printer today without a lot of aggravation. I only ask that you take a few minutes to understand the sequence of events I'm asking you to follow; I want you to focus on installing the PRINTER, and let WINDOWS deal with installing and assigning the PORTS.

Let us know what happens; I'm willing to bet you'll get this straightened out soon.

EDIT: For an explanation of Device Manager Error Codes in Win9.x, read this article:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;125174

Good luck with this; post any questions you might have, and we should be able to help you get this working properly soon.


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## splood (May 31, 2005)

Hi
I thought I would check in the system BIOS....at boot up and there you go - the port was disabled.
Enabled it again and windows recognised the port , printer and installed the software straight away.
Many thanks for taking the time and energy to help me out.
Regards
Mike


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