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Enabling a Parallel Port Device from a Virtual Machine

You can attach up to two bidirectional parallel ports (LPT) to a virtual machine. The virtual machine creates a virtual parallel port that connects to a parallel port or a file on the host operating system. You can change the configuration of a parallel port on a virtual machine between virtual machine sessions.

To add a parallel port connection:

  1. Select File > Open and open the virtual machine configuration file (.cfg) you want to modify.

  2. Select Settings > Configuration Editor from the console.

  3. Click the + sign next to Parallel Ports.

  4. Select a device that is shown as Not Installed.

  5. From the Type drop-down list, select Device to connect to a physical parallel port on the host or File to send the output to a file.

  6. In the Path field, enter the path to the device or file you want to use.

    The path names of the host devices for bidirectional parallel ports are usually /dev/parport0, /dev/portport16, /dev/parport32 and so on. The VMware GSX Server installer creates these devices if they do not exist. They may also be created by hand using mknod. For example, to create the second parallel port (parport16) use this command:
    mknod /dev/parport16 c 99 16

    Note: If you are connecting with a Linux remote console to add a physical parallel port to a virtual machine on a Windows host, be sure to specify a Windows device name here, such as LPT1.

  7. In the Parallel Port window, select the Start Connected option if you want the parallel port device to be available as soon as the virtual machine powers on.

    Note: If the parallel port device may be inaccessible to the guest operating system when the virtual machine is powered on, deselect this option. For example, an Iomega Zip drive might not be connected when the virtual machine powers on. In this case, you can enable access to the parallel port after startup using the Devices menu.

    Warning: Exercise caution when you select the Start Connected option with bidirectional parallel port devices. Due to a limitation of the bidirectional parallel port controller, if a guest operating system boots with the controller disconnected, VMware GSX Server may misidentify the controller and not be able to use it later if the device is reconnected.

  8. In the Type field, make a selection:

  9. If you selected the Device option, you can check Bidirectional if you want this parallel port to be a bidirectional parallel port.

  10. Click Install.

  11. To save your changes and close the Configuration Editor, click OK.

  12. If this parallel port is bidirectional, enable it in the virtual machine’s BIOS. When you boot the guest operating system, press F2 to enter the BIOS. Complete the following steps.

    1. Use the arrow keys to select Advanced, then scroll down to I/O Device Configuration and press Enter.
    2. Scroll down to Parallel Port and use the -/+ keys to select Enabled.
    3. Scroll down to Mode and use the -/+ keys to select Bidirectional.
    4. Press F10 to save the BIOS changes and exit the BIOS setup utility.
    5. Press Reset on the console toolbar to restart the guest operating system.

Note: If an error message is displayed at power on stating the parallel port on the host does not have an ECR (Extended Control Register), it is possible the hardware supports it but it has been disabled in the BIOS. In this case, reboot your host, enter the BIOS configuration editor (typically by holding down the Delete key during early execution of the BIOS), find the parallel port field, and enable ECP mode (or other combination of modes that include ECP). Most modern computers should support ECP mode.

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