Most guest operating systems automatically detect the parallel port(s) at installation time and install the required drivers — even if those devices are not enabled in the VMware GSX Server virtual machine configuration. Operating systems that auto-detect at boot time include Linux, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows .NET Server.
Note: These virtual devices do consume guest operating system IRQ and I/O address resources and appear from within the guest operating system to be present. Leaving these devices as is, but not configured in VMware GSX Server does not cause any problems. To enable a device, shut down the guest operating system, power off the virtual machine and use the Configuration Editor to enable the parallel port device.
Others operating systems — like Windows 9x — do not automatically detect parallel port devices. On Windows 9x, when a port is changed from unidirectional to bi-directional or vice versa, it is necessary to remove the device driver for that port (double-click the System icon in the Control Panel) and add a new one. Adding a new driver is also required when a new port is added. In both cases use the Add New Hardware icon in the Control Panel and let Windows detect the new device(s). Manually selecting the devices from a list may result in an incorrect configuration.
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