SETPORT UTILITY Laptop Parallel Port Configuration Utility VERSION 1.0 (SOFTPAQ SP2158) PRODUCTS AFFECTED: Contura Aero, LTE Elite, Contura 400 Series, LTE 5000 Series, Armada 1100 Series, and Armada 4100 Series OPERATING SYSTEM: DOS, Windows 3.1, Windows 95 DESCRIPTION: The SETPORT utility allows a user to configure the parallel port in the following modes on the Compaq laptop products mentioned above that support these modes: - Standard unidirectional mode - Bidirectional mode - EPP mode - ECP mode SETPORT uses the IEEE 1284 BIOS specification. Installation and Use -------------------- 1. Determine which mode switch is required. SETPORT -- Reads the current mode the port is in, but doesn't alter mode. SETPORT 1 -- Places the port in standard mode. SETPORT 2 -- Places the port in Bidirectional mode. SETPORT 3 -- Places the port in EPP mode. SETPORT 4 -- Places the port in ECP mode. SETPORT ? -- Displays a help screen. 2. Add a line to either AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS (not both) to load SETPORT, as in the following examples. IMPORTANT: SETPORT must be loaded prior to any other drivers that require Bidirectional, EPP, or ECP support. To load SETPORT from the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, add the following line: <drive>:\<directory>\SETPORT.EXE <Mode Switch> The following example will place the parallel port in bidirectional mode. Example: C:\CPQ\SETPORT.EXE 2 To load SETPORT from the CONFIG.SYS file, add the following line: DEVICE=<drive>:\<directory>\SETPORT.EXE <Mode Switch> The following example will place the parallel port in EPP mode. Example: DEVICE=C:\CPQ\SETPORT.EXE 3 3. Save the changes to the appropriate file, and exit the editor. 4. Reboot the computer for the changes to take effect. 5. The following message should be displayed briefly as the computer restarts: "The parallel port is in XXXXXXX mode." NOTE: It may be very difficult to see this message if SETPORT is loaded from the CONFIG.SYS file on a computer running Windows 95. Setport will return an errorlevel 0 if successful, and an errorlevel 1 if unsuccessful, allowing conditional branching in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file if necessary. Known Limitations ------------------ Setport will not work if the parallel port is configured to use 3BCh. Setport will not work in a Windows NT environment. Selecting the proper mode -------------------------- Different parallel port devices require different modes of operation. The best way to determine what a device requires is to read the documentation that shipped with your parallel port device, or to contact the manufacturer of the device. The best performance is achieved by using ECP or EPP modes, while bidirectional mode is usually faster than standard mode. Try to use the fastest mode your device supports, and if that doesn't work then try the next slower mode. Some third party drivers require specific switch settings to tell their driver what mode you have configured the port for. Adaptec -------- Adaptec's MiniSCSI EPP adapter typically works best in bidirectional mode, and it requires the /M2 switch on its driver in Win95 under adapter settings. It will also require this switch on the config.sys driver in a DOS/Windows 3.1 environment. Epson ------ The Epson Actionscanner II assumes the port is in bidirectional mode; therefore, it will require the bidirectional switch on some Compaq PC's. Troubleshooting Errors ---------------------- Listed below are several different error messages and how to resolve them. 1. The following error message can be caused by several different problems. "This system does not support the IEEE 1284 BIOS specifications or an application is trapping the printer interrupt calls. Verify Windows is not trying to capture print from the same LPT port. If you are using a network printer verify it is on a different LPT port." a. If you are running Windows 95, check to make sure that the unit is not trying to capture print from the same port you are trying to change the mode on. This may be checked by the following. Click on "Start" Click on "Settings" Click on "Printers" Right Click on your default printer Click on "Properties" from the menu. Click the "Details" tab. Click the "Capture printer port" button. See if the parallel port is being captured. b. This error can also be caused by other third party software that traps the printer interrupt (Interrupt 17h). Network printer drivers sometimes will do this. If you are using a network printer try setting it up on a different LPT port like LPT2 or 3. c. Some Compaq computers do not support this interface. The Compaq laptops mentioned above support this interface. It is very possible that future products will also support this interface, but testing was only done on these products. d. On the LTE 5000 family be sure you have the lastest version of ROM. Some of the early versions of ROM didn't support this interface properly. Versions P5.07 or later should function correctly. 2. "Unable to configure parallel port to this mode." This message is caused by attempting to put the parallel port in a mode it doesn't support. ECP mode is not supported on the Compaq Aero, LTE Elite, or Contura 400 Series. These systems support ECP mode in Windows 95, but not through the IEEE 1284 BIOS interface. 3. "This port address does not support EPP. Change the I/O address setting of your parallel port in Setup." a. This message is often caused by having the parallel port configured to use I/O address 3BCh. It is somewhat an industry standard that this address does not support EPP or ECP mode. Change the setting of the parallel port address by going into F10 Setup to configure the parallel port to 378h or 278h. b. Setport will not work properly with Windows NT. Windows NT traps the INT 17h calls, so this utility will not work. NT also handles the parallel port differently than DOS, Windows 3.1, or Windows 95, which will cause it to generate this error message. Copyright 1996, Compaq Computer Corporation. All rights reserved. Product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companiesDownload Driver Pack
After your driver has been downloaded, follow these simple steps to install it.
Expand the archive file (if the download file is in zip or rar format).
If the expanded file has an .exe extension, double click it and follow the installation instructions.
Otherwise, open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting Device Manager.
Find the device and model you want to update in the device list.
Double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.
From the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab.
Click the Update Driver button, then follow the instructions.
Very important: You must reboot your system to ensure that any driver updates have taken effect.
For more help, visit our Driver Support section for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.