Printing to LPR Ports and HP-UX Compatibility (150154)

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information on how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" online Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" online Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SUMMARY

When you set up a new printer on Windows NT, you can set it to print to a remote TCP/IP line printer daemon (LPD) printer using a line printer remote (LPR) port. Windows NT TCP/IP printing functions per RFC1179, which states:

LPR clients SHOULD be able to send the receive data file and receive control file subcommands in either order. LPR servers MUST be able to receive the control file subcommand first and SHOULD be able to receive the data file subcommand first.

For this reason, Windows NT sends the control file first by default.

However, when the remote printer resides on an LPD server that uses the "desirable but optional" order of data, such as HP-UX, difficulties may be encountered unless the data file is sent first. This also applies to IBM AIX version 4.3 and later.

MORE INFORMATION

To provide compatibility with HP-UX TCP/IP printing, a registry parameter is available. After setting up the printer, the following registry change can be made.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.

Run Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
1. From the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE subtree, go to the following key:
  
  \System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors\LPR Port\Ports
2. Select the LPR port that you wish to use HP-UX compatibility on.
3. On the Edit menu, click Add Value and add the following information:
  
  Value Name: HPUXCompatibility
  Data Type : REG_DWORD
  Value : 1
4. Click OK.
5. Exit Registry Editor.
Reboot the system or stop and start the Spooler and any associated services.
Test printing to the HP-UX LPD service.