Legacy parallel port for Dimension 5100

This won't appear until you install the PCI parallel port card and then install the driver that comes with the card and you're good to go.

Thanks for the assistance.

I installed the add on parallel port pci card and the drivers that came with it.  That went well and the card was listed in device manager as functional.

I then rebooted and entered the BIOS and under the PCI configuration page the add on card did show up as a present and available communication port but the usual BIOS settings to set a parallel port to enabled (as opposed to auto) and to IRQ 7 and/or address range 0378-037F  for legacy purposes still did not appear anywhere.

Going back into WinXP, the port did work with an attached printer from windows based software and using windows printer drivers.  But under DOS, the application or even a simple copy command to lpt1 still did not print anything.  However, before the add on card was installed, WinXP's emulated DOS just stated that the device (lpt1) was not available but now the emulated DOS looked like it was going to print but after a 30 sec or so wait  it failed anyway saying that it couldn't copy the file.

My belief is that since the BIOS doesn't seem to allow for the claiming and reserving of certain legacy resources before WinXP does it fancy footwork then any DOS app will not print.  Additionally, if one wanted to add  a second boot OS like Win98 or FreeDOS printing through DOS under them would also not work.

I appreciate any further comments you may have on this.

Thank you,

Sorry, I didn't realize how far you have already taken this.  I too have added a parallel card to my 9100 and the printer did print fine for windows programs (I have sinced replaced old printer with a new USB printer), but I have not tried an old dos program.    If you go to Device Manager, Ports, and click properties of the card, are there any options you can try changing there?  Don't know what else to tell you.  I hope you can solve this problem.

Allow me to push the envelope a little further on this subject.

The BIOS that came with the Dimension 5100 shows on the pci configuration page that the add on card was available and correctly recognized.  However, the pci configuration page seems to be informational only. It does not allow me to tab down to the add on card information line and change any of the cards parameters.

So, is this all that this BIOS has to offer. Or is there somewhere else in the BIOS that I should turn to.

There are certain peripherals that can be connected to the parallel port that require that the port's BIOS parameters be changed, lets say, from ECP to EPP or that the DMA usage be turned off or that the address range for the port be set to 0378-037F.  How are these changes to be made within this BIOS.

On the other hand, is it possible that Dell designed this unit to be legacy free and as such require that all operations be processed through a Windows Operating System.

I thank you for any further comment, enlightenment, or direction that you may be able to offer on this matter.

Sincerely,

old_skool

 

Did you ever resolve this LPT1 issue? I am considering a Dimension 5100 but I also have a DOS application that must run and print through WinXP (Prof). My DOS app happens to be a major part of my job, so I must be sure it will run on a new computer ! It is currently running on ( please don't laugh, but you probably will ) Windows 98.

I'm sorry catladyjane, neither Dell nor this community forum helped in resolving the lpt1 issue.  My work environment where I maintain and support a network and quite a few PC's also still use DOS programs.  From over 2 years experience with XP, I have found that XP along with its builtin DOS emulator is able to handle every DOS program that we brought forward.  And I too still keep my trusty Win98 machine behind me for its quickness, reliability, and a simple just in case.

Anyway, the 5100 and as I look it seems that most all Dell PC now come without a parallel port. Yet the important thing for compatibility with DOS is a legacy capable BIOS.  A PC may be available with a parallel port and if not you can add one via a pci add on card as I did. The port will work find under Win XP.  But under DOS it will not work unless the BIOS supports legacy parallel ports by way of allowing to set the ports interrupt, address range, dma, etc.

The 5100's BIOS does not allow for this. So the addon card worked as an lpt1 for windows programs but not for DOS programs.  DOS just didn't have the legacy line of communication for printing available to it.  So the card was useless for the purpose it was bought for so I pulled it out. It seems that Dell is fully buying into Microsoft's legacy free future as you can read about on their site.

Had to settle on a compromise.  In searching the internet for a resolution to the lp1 issue and not finding one there either, I did find some free and some costly software that will take what the DOS program is trying to print and redirect it to any windows legitimate printer.  The DOS program that got me started on this mission is an important one used frequently for entering data but infrequently for printing.  However, when printing it does put out half a dozen multi-page reports. Since the program allows us to send what we want to print to either a printer or a file, I set it to spool all reports to a set of files.  We then use a piece of free windows software to grab each file and forward it to the one of the PC windows printers to print.  And it works well. But would be to cumbersome for printing one page at a time frequently.

So my  original issue is settled for now. Not a perfect solution but it works well enough. If you need more information just post back.  I hope the above discussion helps you.

One last thing.  As I work with many XP pc's at the office, we have some that came with lpt1 and some that didn't.  Of the one's that came with lpt1, only the ones that have a non legacy free BIOS, that is that the BIOS has a settings page for ports like parallel and serial are the pc's that work flawlessy with DOS programs and printers.  With those systems I have even been able to get DOS programs to print to novell network printers besides the local lpt1.  So just because a pc comes built with an parallel  that is not indicative of whether the unit has a fully supportive BIOS.  All it means is that the operating system that came with your unit can print through to the lpt. And most pc manufactures don't give enough info on the BIOS that comes with the machine before you buy it. We have some Gateway Pcs here that fully support my DOS and Windows printing needs. But we had a chance to look before we bought and to check out the BIOS too.

Best of luck to you

till later....

 

Thanks for sharing your solution ! Usually when someone hears that I'm still using a DOS app their only advice is to get a new program...

You certainly had to jump through hoops to solve the problem. I don't have the expertise to follow your example  so I am going with a Dimension 1100 which does have the port and the necessary legacy support. It's a lesser machine but it has enough power for my needs. My son researched the manual and found that the BIOs can be manipulated in the proper direction. ( It always feels odd to ask my offspring for advice instead of giving the advice !)

I am sorry that this forum did not help you solve the issue when you encountered it. I am , however very grateful that you had to deal with it first ! You have provided information that prevented me from choosing the wrong machine and I am sure has saved me much time, trouble and most likely some substantial consulting fees.

Thanks again. I hope you have a very nice holiday season,

catladyjane