Making a LapLink Parallel Connection in Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows XP

Document relates to:   LapLink Classic, LapLink Gold 11.x, LapLink Technical, LapLink Professional, LapLink Gold, LapLink NT, LapLink 2000, LapLink Gold 11.5

SUMMARY

I just purchased a new PC, or I just upgraded from an older version of Windows. In the past, I connected via the yellow parallel cable. Why is the LPT port grayed out or missing when I look in LapLink's Port Setup?

CAUSE

Microsoft's Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 and Windows XP operating systems do not offer the driver architecture required to provide support for LapLink’s non-TCP/IP direct parallel data transfer.

Important: This is not a limitation of Laplink, and is not specific only to the latest versions of Laplink. This is a limitation of the Windows NT driver architecture. For example, the yellow parallel cable connection can still be made with our latest Laplink Gold 11 between two Windows 95/98/ME computers.

SOLUTION

For Windows 2000 and Windows XP, Laplink opted to support the faster USB architecture. All versions of LapLink designed for Windows 2000 and Windows XP support LapLink's USB cables. Please see your cable options here. (Since Windows NT 4 does not support USB devices, the only Laplink cable connection available for Windows NT is the blue serial cable.)

Note: It is possible to configure the parallel cable as a network connection for Windows 2000, Windows ME as well as Windows XP. As with any TCP/IP connection, this method of connecting will be subject to limitations such as interference from firewall software.

You can read more about this connection method on the Microsoft website.

There are some considerations:

1) This will not link a Windows 2000, ME or XP computer to a Windows 95/98 computer, since the latter cannot be configured to make a TCP/IP network connection over the parallel cable.

2) Network connections in Laplink are established differently than parallel connections between Windows 95/98/ME computers. For detailed connection instructions, see Technical Document #99: How to Install and Configure LapLink for Your First Local Area Network (LAN) Connection.

3) Do not attempt LapLink’s published Parallel Cable Troubleshooting document for this network connection. Technical Document #123: Troubleshooting a Parallel Cable Connection in LapLink applies only to Windows 95/98/ME computers using LapLink’s version of (non-TCP/IP) direct parallel data transfer.

Instead, please see the network connection troubleshooting found in Technical Document #132: Troubleshooting TCP/IP Network and Internet Connections in LapLink Applications.

4) Since this is a network connection provided as a core functionality of the Windows 2000, ME and XP operating systems, LapLink Technical Support will only be able to provide "Best-Effort" support. LapLink's Software assumes that you have a correctly configured and functional network over which to communicate. If you encounter difficulties not addressed above, please consult Microsoft Technical Support.

This Article can be found by searching for:

Keywords:   Cable: Parallel, Product: Compatibility

Platforms:   WinXP, WinNT, Win2K

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Last updated: Wednesday, December 10, 2003

Article #79

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