USB-to-Parallel converter

NTDEV
1

Hello all,

I am new to this forum. (as well as driver development). I’ve a few
questions would like to ask about the usb-to-parallel converter.

  1. Is there any usb-to-parallel converter that is able to enumerate port
    LPT? I have one converter but it is detected as USB Printing Support.

  2. Is there a way for me to write my own driver for the converter that I
    have? If yes, please advice on how to begin.

Thanks.

Regards,
TC

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2

Sorry,

Question 1 should be

  1. Is there any usb-to-parallel converter that is able to emulate port LPT? I have one converter but it is detected as USB Printing Support.

Would be appreciate for the help.

Thanks.

Regards,

TC

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3

Typically, no. the market for such a device is very small and then it
is usually only for parallel attached printers.

d

From: xxxxx@lists.osr.com
[mailto:xxxxx@lists.osr.com] On Behalf Of Tan Teik Chuan
Sent: Monday, March 13, 2006 11:11 PM
To: Windows System Software Devs Interest List
Subject: Re:[ntdev] USB-to-Parallel converter

Sorry,
Question 1 should be

  1. Is there any usb-to-parallel converter that is able to emulate port
    LPT? I have one converter but it is detected as USB Printing Support.
    Would be appreciate for the help.
    Thanks.
    Regards,
    TC

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Questions? First check the Kernel Driver FAQ at
http://www.osronline.com/article.cfm?id=256

To unsubscribe, visit the List Server section of OSR Online at

4

Thanks for your reply.

If that is the case, is there a way to write the driver for any usb-to-parallel converter so that is is able to emulate LPT? any good reference?

Is it possible to control individual bits of the parallel side? I believe it is possible since it is able to print.

Regards,

TC





From: “Doron Holan”
Reply-To: “Windows System Software Devs Interest List”
To: “Windows System Software Devs Interest List”
Subject: RE: [ntdev] USB-to-Parallel converter
Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 08:53:13 -0800
>Typically, no. the market for such a device is very small and then it
>is usually only for parallel attached printers.
>
>d
>
>
>From: xxxxx@lists.osr.com
>[mailto:xxxxx@lists.osr.com] On Behalf Of Tan Teik Chuan
>Sent: Monday, March 13, 2006 11:11 PM
>To: Windows System Software Devs Interest List
>Subject: Re:[ntdev] USB-to-Parallel
converter
>
>Sorry,
>Question 1 should be
>1. Is there any usb-to-parallel converter that is able to emulate port
>LPT? I have one converter but it is detected as USB Printing Support.
>Would be appreciate for the help.
>Thanks.
>Regards,
>TC
>
>
>
>Get an advanced look at the new version of MSN Messenger
>—
>Questions? First check the Kernel Driver FAQ at
>http://www.osronline.com/article.cfm?id=256
>
>To unsubscribe, visit the List Server section of OSR Online at
>http://www.osronline.com/page.cfm?name=ListServer
>
>
>—
>Questions? First check the Kernel Driver FAQ at http://www.osronline.com/article.cfm?id=256
>
>To unsubscribe, visit the List Server section of OSR Online at
http://www.osronline.com/page.cfm?name=ListServer

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5

The need for USB-Parallel adapters comes from the newer notebooks that
lack this io port. And then you have devices formerly connected to
parallel: Embedded Debuggers/ICEs, Security
Dongles, Harddisks/Tapes (slow...), ...

The only solution that I think might work are pc-cards for parallel.
They might have IO/IRQ so that the built-in drivers might work.

I have not tried it myself, yet,

Norbert.

"I dislike arguments of any kind. They are always vulgar, and often
convincing. - Oscar Wilde"
---- snip ----

6

Tan Teik Chuan wrote:

Thanks for your reply.

If that is the case, is there a way to write the driver for any
usb-to-parallel converter so that is is able to emulate LPT? any good
reference?

Is it possible to control individual bits of the parallel side? I
believe it is possible since it is able to print.

The fact that it is able to print does NOT mean that you can control
individual bits.

Remember that the operating system does not view this as a
“USB-to-parallel adapter”. Rather, it sees a USB printer. It doesn’t
know there’s a parallel port involved. The only public interface these
devices expose is the USB Printer Class specification. This is a
higher-level spec, which basically worries about transmitting “packets”
of printer information to a device at the other end.

Now, it is possible for the manufacturer to provide a “back door” to
tweak the individual parallel port signals, but that is completely
manufacturer-specific. You would have to contact the manufacturer, and
I suspect that leads nowhere fast.

–
Tim Roberts, xxxxx@probo.com
Providenza & Boekelheide, Inc.