Parallel and Printing Problems After Upgrading to WFWG 3.11 (116111)

SYMPTOMS

Some hardware may have problems with the Virtual Parallel Device (VPD) used by Windows for Workgroups 3.11. Symptoms include garbled printing, hanging print queues, and the inability to use fax drivers or parallel sound devices.

Microsoft has received reports of printing problems on Gateway 2000 computers and reports of problems on parallel devices with software that requires direct access to the parallel ports, such as Logitech Soundman and Hewlett-Packard (HP) LaserJet Fax.

WORKAROUND

Method 1:

If you do not use your LPT: port for local printing, you can disable device-contention checking by removing the following line from your Windows SYSTEM.INI file:

     DEVICE=*VPD

Disabling VPD does not affect the ability of Windows for Workgroups to print over the network. However, if you are printing locally from an MS-DOS-based application at the same time as Windows is trying to access the parallel port, no warning appears and printouts may have garbled characters, or you may experience network communication problems.

Method 2:

In Control Panel, choose the 386 Enhanced Mode icon. To turn off VPD trapping for that port, choose the Never Warn option for the port in question.