# Solved: Parallel port needed on laptop



## Ziggy587 (Sep 23, 2005)

So I've been keeping around an older PC that has a parallel port with XP Pro on it. I use the parallel port in EPP mode for a Willem universal EPROM programmer and a proprietary programmer for a flash cart. This old PC is getting to be slow compared to my main PC and laptop (which have an i7 and i3 CPU respectively). It would be nice if I could replace this old PC with my laptop, but the laptop lacks a parallel port.

I was looking at those USB-parallel adapters, they seem to only be for printers. I haven't seen any that can function as anything but a virtual printer port. Then I found out that there are some ExpressCard parallel port cards. After reading, most of them can only be used for printers. But I did find some that say otherwise, like this one on NewEgg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...e=expresscard_parallel-_-39-158-026-_-Product

Says in the details that it supports EPP mode but a reviewer said, "Doesn't offer a regular (DOS) LPT port. Doesn't use standard LTP1/2/3 interrupt and port addresses so its not usable to interface to a device that requires them. It didn't work with my universal chip programmer." Now there's a chance that this reviewer didn't have it configured correctly, but then there's a chance that I just wont be able to use my programmers with it. $66 is a steep price to pay only to find out it doesn't work.

There are a lot of these ExpressCard parallel adapters on eBay for a lot less money, but I have no idea whether they would work for my needs or not. Has any one had any experience with this? I would very much like to ditch my old PC in favor of my laptop. Are there any other type of adapter that would get me a parallel port on my laptop? I would need something that is compatible with Win7 64-bit.

Also, I'm not too fimiliar with these ExpressCard slots. My laptop has an ExpressCard/54 slot but I read that it can also accept ExpressCard/34 cards. Is this true? I've never used an ExpressCard before.

Thanks for any help on the matter!


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## managed (May 24, 2003)

Some laptops have 'docking stations' with extra connectors, often a parallel port is included.

What laptop is it ?


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## Ziggy587 (Sep 23, 2005)

It's an HP Pavilion dv6-2150us. It has a port called "expansion port 3" which I believe is used for docking stations and port replicators. I'm not seeing any products for it that have a parallel port though. Maybe my Google Fu is poor, I've been told that before.


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## Ziggy587 (Sep 23, 2005)

I looked around for compatible docking stations and port replicators for my laptop. It seems that none of them have a parallel port. The only docking stations I was able to find with parallel ports on them were for older laptops and not compatible with mine. 

Does any one know of a product I can use? At this point I might have to risk getting one of those ExpressCard and crossing my fingers.


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## K7M (Feb 27, 2000)

I use a Targus pa090 (they have other models as well) port replicator. I don't know if it will work in your application or not. i use it with a printer and a vinyl cutter with no problems.


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## Ziggy587 (Sep 23, 2005)

Thanks for the info. I took a look at it, seems nice, but haven't found any info on the parallel port (other than it HAS one). I guess it would be the same risk as as the ExpressCard adapters I've found.

Does any one know if there's such thing as a docking station that has a PCI or PCIe slot? If that exists, I suppose I could get a PCI parallel card for it and that should work.


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## Ziggy587 (Sep 23, 2005)

I've actually decided to upgrade my parallel devices and ditch the need for a parallel port. After weighing through everything, I think it's the best choice for my situation. I thank every one for their input, it's always much appreciated.

However, for any one finding this thread in a Google, I would like to post a link to this product:

http://www.quatech.com/catalog/expresscard_parallel.php

I was told that this would work great, and it functions exactly like a computer's native parallel port would. However, it's a little expensive, so I decided to upgrade my programmers instead. This company, Quatech, makes a lot of other similar cards, so they might be worth a bookmark.


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