The VMware Knowledge Base provides support solutions, error messages and troubleshooting guides
Search the VMware Knowledge Base (KB)
View by Article ID
Cannot use Parallel Port Device Through /dev/parport0 or /dev/parport1
Details
I have tried setting the virtual machine up to use
/dev/parport0 and /dev/parport1, but the guest operating system still
cannot see the device that is attached to the port. What is
wrong?
Solution
There are some known issues with ESX Server virtual machines
using parallel ports in releases prior to ESX Server 1.5.2 patch 3.
If you DO NOT have ESX Server 1.5.2 patch 3 installed, please upgrade
to ESX Server 1.5.2, patch 3, and test the parallel port again. All
known parallel port issues have been addressed with this release.
Once the upgrade is complete, be sure to follow the parallel port
configuration instructions found in the ESX Server release notes: www.vmware.com/support/esx15/doc/releasenotes_esx152.html#parallel.Other Solutions If upgrading to patch 3 does not allow you to
use the device in question, it is possible that the motherboard of
the server in question has an onboard parallel port controller
device. On some configurations, there may not be a PORT for said
onboard device, which creates confusion. If this is the case, the
parallel port device that you are trying to use is actually the
second parallel port device on the system. The Service Console code
expects to find the second parallel port on /dev/parport16. However,
the Service Console insists on using /dev/parport1. To work around
this, create a link called "parport16" which points at
/dev/parport 1. Do the following at the Service Console command
prompt as the root user: rm /dev/parport16 ln -s /dev/parport1
/dev/parport16 When this is done, edit the .cfg file for the virtual
machine to use /dev/parport16 instead of /dev/parport1. When you boot
the virtual machine, the parallel port should be accessable.
Keywords
1017; urlz; lpt1
Request a Product Feature
To request a new product feature or to provide feedback on a VMware product, please visit the Request a Product Feature page.
