posted on October 7, 2001 10:26:06 PM new
OK knowledgeable or semi-knowledgeable PC folks... I have a question for you.
I just bought a zip drive which plugs into my computer's parallel port. Right now I have a scanner plugged into the parallel port and a printer plugged into the scanner. I only have one parallel port, and I'm prepared to only use the zip drive part time and keep my current setup, just unplugging the other stuff and swapping in the zip drive when I need it. It would be nice to have it hooked up more permanently, though, and I only have the one parallel port.
Would it be bad to hook up the zip drive to the parallel port, the scanner to the zip drive, and the printer to the scanner? Would that be "device overload" in one way or another?
posted on October 7, 2001 10:30:19 PM new
Don't you have a little rectangular USB port anywhere back there? You can get an adapter to plug the zipdrive into one of those and ignore the rest.
posted on October 7, 2001 10:53:02 PM new
I don't think I have a USB port... I see one free port back there, but it's not rectangular. It's the same shape as my parallel port, but a size which is similar to the port which takes my monitor cable. This is an older computer, only 233 MHz (to give you an idea of the vintage).
posted on October 7, 2001 11:03:26 PM new
Hmm. Well then, you could go ahead and plug things together and then use windows 'install new hardware' to detect and make sense of it if it can. If it can't it'll ley you know. A zipdrive is no more complicated to install than any other drive, so it could be put in series with your 3 1/4" and harddrive if it's internal, but I guess it isn't. In general I like to leave printers alone on LPT1 because it seems that they are often prone to conflicts when using shared resources.
posted on October 7, 2001 11:10:23 PM new
Rainybear:
I had a similar problem (too many devices for the same parallel port) about 8 years ago. As I recall, I purchased a small mechanical "switch box" very cheaply from a computer store. The devices all plugged into the switchbox and I just turned the dial to point to the device I wanted to use. However, I also recall that I did have problems with at least one of the devices working properly through the switch box. Of course, the switch boxes (if they are still being made) may have improved in the years since I bought mine.
posted on October 8, 2001 07:09:53 AM new
You can daisychain those three w/out a problem. However, be aware that *sometimes* a device can be very picky as to what position it's in, in that chain. If one doesn't work, rearrange till all three work. Typically the last one on the chain will be a bit slower in working.
HOWEVER, it would be easier to hook up either 1) a switch box, as someone already mentioned or 2) install another parallel port card into your computer if you have the room in your CPU. I'm not sure how much a switchbox runs these days, but a new parallel port card runs about $20 at office depot and is easy to install.
posted on October 8, 2001 07:20:42 AM new
krs, stockticker, and rosiebud - thanks much for your input and ideas! I'll try stringing 'em all together or getting a switchbox, and although I don't think I have room to install an additional parallel port (not only is this computer old and slow, it's not very expandable), that sounds like a good option, too.
I've noticed some funkyness with the printer/scanner chain, in that whenever I turn of the scanner lamp instead of letting it shut itself off, the printer prints some little characters on a page. Now I just shut it off before turning off the scanner lamp.
