DOCUMENT:Q181022
TITLE   :Err: Cannot Write to LPTx Printing to Parallel Port
PRODUCT :Microsoft Windows NT
PROD/VER:4.00
OPER/SYS:WINDOWS
KEYWORDS:kbbug4.00 kbfix4.00 kbprint ntprint 
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The information in this article applies to:

 - Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0
 - Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0
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SYMPTOMS
========

When you print to a parallel port on a computer running Windows NT, one of
the following may occur:

 - After you clear a paper outage or jam on the printer and click OK on the
   following error message, the same error may reappear until Windows NT is
   shutdown and restarted:

      Cannot write to LPTx

   where x is the LPT port number

 - On host-based printers, the printer does not reset properly if you
   shutdown and restart Windows NT without first actually powering off the
   computer.

 - When you print with an older parallel port printer, the output has
   invalid, garbled, or missing characters or nothing prints.

CAUSE
=====

The first two symptoms above are caused by the local port monitor resetting
faster than the port can become ready. The printer driver then interprets
that the printer is properly reset, which is not the case.

The third symptom is caused because the centronics handshake in
Parallel.sys is too aggressive for some older types of devices.

RESOLUTION
==========

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Technical Support to obtain the
following fix, or wait for the next Windows NT service pack.

This fix should have the following time stamp:

   03/24/98  01:22p                14,864 Parallel.sys  (Intel)
   03/24/98  01:24p                23,280 Parallel.sys  (Alpha)

This hotfix has been posted to the following Internet location:

   ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-public/fixes/usa/NT40/
   hotfixes-postSP3/prnt-fix/

NOTE: The above link is one path; it has been wrapped for readability.

STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 4.0.
A supported fix is now available, but has not been fully regression-tested
and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem.
Unless you are severely impacted by this specific problem, Microsoft
recommends that you wait for the next Service Pack that contains this fix.
Contact Microsoft Technical Support for more information.

Additional query words: 4.00 lpt1 lpt2
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