posted on February 20, 2001 08:39:58 PM
I have problems with the LPT1 printer port. In the device manager it shows an exclamation point over the printer. In properties it states that the device isn't present, not working, or doesn't have all the drivers installed. Everything worked fine till the other day when I turned my computer on and this took place. So I know the port is there. I attempted to reinstall the drivers from the Windows 98 disc, but it said the best drivers where already installed. I'm not sure how to proceed. Any advise or help?
Thanks a bunch!
posted on February 20, 2001 09:03:01 PM
I recently had the same problem on one of my computers and printers. Finally I shut it all down and unplugged it from the wall and then restarted it and reinstalled the printer and it worked fine. I was given this advice by someone else that had the same problem so it may be worth a try.
posted on February 20, 2001 09:22:08 PM
Have you opened the computer recently? If so, there's always the possibility that the cable isn't connected properly on the motherboard- it can be easy to pull it out part way without noticing while doing something else (like adding RAM).
posted on February 20, 2001 09:30:38 PM
The computer hasn't been opened. I did open it tonight just to make sure everything was plugged in really well and all was fine. I have a HP Deskjet 400 - color printer. Everything was working fine, I turned on my computer and it didn't boot properly, so when I hit reset and it did its scan disc, it said it found an error and corrected it. After that, the port hasn't worked. Several of my software programs didn't work properly either. But I was able to fix all the problems except this port problem. Thanks for the help!
posted on February 20, 2001 09:33:32 PM
The computer hasn't been opened. I did open it tonight just to make sure everything was plugged in really well and all was fine. I have a HP Deskjet 400 - color printer. Everything was working fine, I turned on my computer and it didn't boot properly, so when I hit reset and it did its scan disc, it said it found an error and corrected it. After that, the port hasn't worked. Several of my software programs didn't work properly either. But I was able to fix all the problems except this port problem. Thanks for the help!
posted on February 21, 2001 08:44:40 AM
First, disconnect your printer cable from the computer. The port should work without a printer connected, so eliminate the possibility of a problem with the cable or printer. Next, you can probably set the port through hardware to be standard parallel, bi-directional (EPP or ECP). Each one uses a different windows driver. So change the setting and let windows detect the new setting and install a different driver. You will probably want EPP or ECP anyway, so if you can get one of these to work, you should be fine.
posted on February 21, 2001 11:33:27 AM
Did anything in your computer system change recently? Did you add/remove programs, or install any hardware like a zip drive?
1. Right Click My Computer, Properties, Device Manager
2. Under the Ports branch, remove LPT1.
3. Restart your computer
4. When Windows starts, it should try to re-install the LPT1 driver.
5. Check Device Manager and see if the LPT1 still has the exclamation point.
1. Go to Start, Settings, Control Panel, Printers
Select your DeskJet 400 and delete it.
2. Restart computer.
3. Following step 1, and add your DeskJet 400 printer select LPT1 as printer port.
posted on February 21, 2001 12:01:05 PM
Before going and reinstallin stuff. Check in Device Manager under PORTS. Open the Properties of the LPT1 port. Make sure that there is not a check mark next to "Disable in this hardware profile". This is located at the bottom of the General tab. Uncheck the box if it is checked. Close the Properties and then click REFRESH on the bottom of device manager.
If this doesn't solve the problem, restart your computer. Watch the screen for any messages about this port. When the Windows splash screen comes on, hit the ESC key so that you can see what is loading behind it. This might give you a clue as to way it is not finding the port.
And if that doesn't work, go back into Device Manager - PORTS highlight LPT1, click remove, answer yes/ok then restart your computer again. If the drivers are not corruptted, it should find the port and reinstall it without you having to do anything.
posted on February 21, 2001 12:23:44 PM
I've located the first problem. The port became disabled in the BIOS. This happened once before when my computer had a mini crash episode. So I enabled it and it is now located in the device manager and says it is working properly. Now.....when I try to print I get a message saying there is an error writing to LPT1 and that the port may be in use by something else. It is not in use by anything else and there aren't any conflicts, according to the device manager. Now what!? Any ideas. Thanks for all the help so far.
Kecia
posted on February 21, 2001 01:12:13 PM
Update - I followed your advise and here is where I am. The port works properly, according to the device manager. When I rebooted, the computer recognized the HP printer, prompted for the disc and installed it. Now....when I try to print I get a meassage saying "problem accessing the printer port - the parameter is incorrect". Will it ever end!? Thanks for all the help. We're getting closer, hopefully.
posted on February 21, 2001 01:50:23 PM
open a DOS window. take a file you Know is plain text or make one in Notepad. Type the following command:
copy <file> lpt1
the printer should print, proving the cable, port, and printer are fine.
Go to printers and delete the printer. When Windows asks : Some files are only used by this device and are no longer needed, do you want to remove them. Answer YES
Then reinstall the printer with the printer disk. HP printers are notorious for getting their drivers corrupted.
Tony
posted on February 22, 2001 11:22:07 AM
I got it fixed! Thanks for the help. Looks like the trick was to hit Ctrl + Alt + delete and close all the programs before trying to install the printer drivers. Not sure why that made a difference because I've never had to do that before. I'm just glad it's fixed. I don't think I could write nearly as fast as that baby can print!
thanks again
