• Please review our updated Terms and Rules here

PCIE parallel port adapter--compatible?

Chuck(G)

Chuck(G)

25k Member
Joined
Jan 11, 2007
Messages
44,554
Location
Pacific Northwest, USA
Several of my systems lack parallel ports and this is a bit annoying at times. It forces me to go looking for a system with a parallel port.

I've seen several PCIE parallel port boards, such as this one.

Are these special-case items requiring drivers or can I boot MS-DOS and access these? Anyone know?
 
What do you plan to use the parallel port for?

I've been using the USB > Parallel adapter cable I got for my WIN 7 machine with success on my dot matrix parallel printer. I set up a virtual parallel port and walla.
 
I have one similar to this from SUNIX and I was going to say it won't work in DOS because they can't generally be installed on the normal port addresses. They normally sit up in the 64 bit port space at Dxxx and I don't think any DOS understands that. For some things, e.g. my old xilinx jtag programmer I can use VMWARE to map it back to normal addresses but for some high speed programs this isn't fast enough.

sunix.jpg

however looking on the SUNIX sit it appears I may be wrong as SUNIX do provide a DOS utility package.. (scroll down to the bottom),
http://www.sunix.com/en/product_detail.php?cid=1&kid=2&gid=5&pid=1440

which the readme says:-

"All PCI parallel ports are possible to be remapped to legacy I/O address (378h,278h)"

so perhaps the SUNIX card will work.

I think this is the card

https://www.amazon.com/1-Port-RS-232-Parallel-PCI-MIO6469A/dp/B015P30Y16/

perhaps I should give it a try...
 
I've got a few old device programmers that use the parallel port. Obviously, they need the legacy I/O addresses and functionality.

As far as I can tell, the various brands seem to use the same chip; some have EIA interface chips installed for 2 RS232 ports as well, so the Sunix may be overpriced for what it is.

But the "All PCI parallel ports are possible to be remapped to legacy I/O address (378h,278h)" doesn't seem to provide any detail on what "possible" means exactly. Does one have to be booted into a specific operating system, for example?
 
I have a PCIe card which uses the Oxford Semiconductor OXPCIe952 PCI Express Bridge to Dual Serial & Parallel Port chip. This particular board only populates the parallel port function. At one point I was able to get some Windows based device programmer software to work with it. I forget if that was an Altera ByteBlaster or a BP Micro device programmer.

I'd have to try putting it back into a system and booting DOS to see what happens there.

OXPCIe952 Data Sheet
www.semiconductorstore.com/pdf/newsite/oxford/OXPCIe952_ds.pdf

StarTech PEX1P product page
www.startech.com/Cards-Adapters/Parallel/1-Port-EPP-ECP-PCI-Express-Parallel-Card-~PEX1P
 
Chuck(G) said:
I've got a few old device programmers that use the parallel port. Obviously, they need the legacy I/O addresses and functionality.

As far as I can tell, the various brands seem to use the same chip; some have EIA interface chips installed for 2 RS232 ports as well, so the Sunix may be overpriced for what it is.

But the "All PCI parallel ports are possible to be remapped to legacy I/O address (378h,278h)" doesn't seem to provide any detail on what "possible" means exactly. Does one have to be booted into a specific operating system, for example?
Click to expand...

From the eBay listing: "Message: This card can not use for the 278 or 378 Port When you connect the external devices( such as plotter,machine tool ) to this card ,the PC's system automatically assigns the address port (such as LPT1,COM1). If this address port of the peripheral equipment isn't on 278 or 378 port ,or can modify to other port. The peripheral equipment can normal use . "

Odds are you will not be able to use this with DOS or anything expecting the "standard" ports. I have a similar device from StarTech and it required installation of its own driver before the system could recognize it.

-CH-
 
I grabbed a couple of cheapies off of eBay that promise support Win98SE and NT 4.0 through Win10.

I'm curious now--they do come with driver CDs.
 
I have a PCI (not PCIe) card that works sort of like that. It provides real hardware compatible serial and parallel, but at boot up BIOS can not assign a normal address. After running the vendor provided utility under DOS, it will force the addresses to the good old legacy address, and until the next reboot everything will be compatible with normal DOS programs.

This does mean that other earlier non-DOS based OSes will not work with it. Later OSes with P&P should be able to find it.

Of course, that assumes a newer motherboard can even boot DOS at all.
 
Chuck(G) said:
I've got a few old device programmers that use the parallel port. Obviously, they need the legacy I/O addresses and functionality.

As far as I can tell, the various brands seem to use the same chip; some have EIA interface chips installed for 2 RS232 ports as well, so the Sunix may be overpriced for what it is.

But the "All PCI parallel ports are possible to be remapped to legacy I/O address (378h,278h)" doesn't seem to provide any detail on what "possible" means exactly. Does one have to be booted into a specific operating system, for example?
Click to expand...

There is a utility on the SUNIX site that you download and run in DOS to re-configure the card
 
Got my PCIE parallel port adapters from China today. Cost me $4.99 each including shipping.

Basically, they're the same as the Parallel+2 serial adapters, simply not populated with the serial parts. Uses the WCH 382L chip, as most of these things seem to. Linux recognizes it right away and gives me /dev/lp0. I haven't tried it yet with Windows or DOS, but there's a CD that comes with driver software.
 
Chuck(G) said:
Got my PCIE parallel port adapters from China today. Cost me $4.99 each including shipping.

Basically, they're the same as the Parallel+2 serial adapters, simply not populated with the serial parts. Uses the WCH 382L chip, as most of these things seem to. Linux recognizes it right away and gives me /dev/lp0. I haven't tried it yet with Windows or DOS, but there's a CD that comes with driver software.
Click to expand...

I was thinking to make some tests with similar PCI(E) LPTs because I am curious if they can make higher throughput compared to ISA LPTs or built-in to south bridges LPTs...I need higher frequencies for my project(s) and I don't mind controlling them at other (PCI) ports under DOS. Has anybody tried their throughput?
 
Not me--it turns out that I don't have a lot of use for parallel-port stuff anymore. Even my laser-printer talks to a Wifi box (saves running cable). I've still got a couple parallel-port EPROM programmers, but they don't require a lot of bandwidth.
 
About the only thing I'd need a parallel port cable for, is my Sega Genesis. There's this cable I own for it that plugs into the second controller port, and it wires to a parallel port of a PC, and what you do is boot the Sega CD to some special software, tape off a pin on the cartridges, and it ROM dumps the cartridge to the PC. Can also send data to the Genesis but with SD card equipped flash carts, that's no use to me anymore. Just ROM dumping my own games.
 
FWIW, you can STILL get motherboards with LPT headers run off the LPC bus that work under DOS. Both Socket 1151 and AM4 boards can be had with them.
 
Oh, I've got a number of boards with them, including an AM3+ board. I just wanted a printer port on a couple of boards that lack them--I felt a bit naked. For programming, I just use a Neoware thin client. Runs Linux and DOS/XP just fine and is, in at least one case, smaller than the device it's driving.
 
OK, I did some preliminary tests. It turns out that a PCI LPT card based on Moschip MCS9815CV outputs at twice the speed of a built-in LPT port! (1 MHz vs. 450kHz). The maximum measured now is on 440BX chipset there it goes up to 1.2MHz. No overclocking was done. I have no experience with PCI overclocking so far...
 
Reviving this thread,
There is a reference here to the WCH chip for PCI parallel; sounds like you had luck with it but not I.

I was hoping the Oxford ox16pci952 chip, was hoping it provided a port usable by legacy dos apps.

The Moschip mcs9805 is used in a couple of lpt port cards too. Curious, George, did they chip configure to provide a legacy compatible port?

Thx
 
Yah I guess the idea with the video is that it provides the emulated standard lpt port, and the virtualization manages the new non legacy port mapping.

I seem to recall that lpt ports were not supported in the virtualization I tried on Ubuntu. Do you recall what vm platform you used? Thanks
 
Twospruces said:
Yah I guess the idea with the video is that it provides the emulated standard lpt port, and the virtualization manages the new non legacy port mapping.

I seem to recall that lpt ports were not supported in the virtualization I tried on Ubuntu. Do you recall what vm platform you used? Thanks
Click to expand...
I used VMWARE player.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top