Jack is right, installing another LPT card is an alternative solution, and
is cheaper than buying the IEEE 1284 box.  If you are OK opening up your
case and doing that, by all means do it.  But first see if your printer
works connected directly to your existing LPT with no Zip drive on the line.
If it does work that way, you have two choices: 1) open your case, correctly
set the jumpers on the new LPT card (you can see the I/O setting and IRQ
settings for your existing LPT in device manager) to not conflict with any
other already installed cards, and if you get it right you'll be up and
running; 2)Buy a 2 or 4 LPT port IEEE 1284 box, plug it into your existing
LPT port, then plug the devices into different ports on the box, and you'll
be up and running (if you bought the 4-port box you'll have two more LPT
ports if and when you need them). But again, make sure that piggybacking is
the problem.  I have been using the Belkin F1U123-KIT boxes for 3 years.  I
stopped using them (I had 2 of the 2 port boxes connected to 2 LPT's on my
computer) in the last year because I got rid of my LPT connected scanner for
a USB one, and I converted an HP 6L personal laserjet (now the HP 1220) to
USB.  At this time I have only one LPT connection, an older Epson Stylus
Photo 700 printer.  I took the additional LPT card out of my computer, but
keep one box connected to it because I have Snappy 4 screwed into one port
on it.  Also, in case the USB quits, the converted 6L can also print from
LPT.  Soon Firewire ports will begin to replace USB, just as USB has started
replacing LPT connections.  If you ever get around to replacing your
printer, you might want to look into Firewire connected printers because if
your OS supports it, there are now multiple port firewire PCI cards
available.



I'm one of those who has never had a problem piggy -backing a printer
onto a Zip drive - even an HP laserjet - although I cant deny that such
problems exist. However, there is another solution - buy another parallel
port card so you can plug the Zip into one parallel port & the prn into
the other.

On Fri, 1 Jun 2001 17:41:00 -0700 "Joel M. Blackman" <[log in to unmask]>
writes:
> Try unplugging the zip drive and plugging the printer directly into
> your
> LPT.  If it works like that you need to buy a IEEE 1284 compliant
> box that
> will make your one LPT into 2 or 4 if you have other LPT devices.
> Belkin
> makes the F1U123-KIT for this.  Most printer manufacturers recommend
> that
> you do not connect their printers through a passthrough on a zip
> drive or a
> scanner.  Some people have written in to say this is not a problem,
> but I
> know that HP definitely recommends against it.  Try it and see.
>
>
>
> >I have a Pentium 133 with 64 Meg RAM running Win98.  Peripherals
> are a
> >100Meg Zip Drive, an Optic Pro Scanner, a Canon BJC4200 printer and
> a 33.6
> >Banksia Wave modem.  I recently formatted my HDD due to having far
> to much
> >on the system. Now my printer won't work.  The printer is connected
> to the
> >Zip Drive.

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