Specifications

4 Comment out the line that refers to the lp module in the /etc/modules.conf or /etc/conf.modules file.
The name of the configuration file depends on the Linux distribution.
When the line is commented out, the configuration file no longer starts the lp module when you reboot
the host system.
5 To make sure that the proper modules for the parallel port are loaded at boot time, add the following
line to the /etc/modules.conf or /etc/conf.modules file.
alias parport_lowlevel parport_pc
Configure Permissions for a Parallel Port Device on a Linux Host
Some Linux distributions do not grant a virtual machine access to the lp and parport devices by default. If
this is the case on your Linux host system, you must add the VMware user to the group that has permission
to access those devices.
Procedure
1 On the Linux host system, use the ls command to determine the owner and group for the device.
For example: ls –la /dev/parport0
The third and fourth columns of the output show the owner and group, respectively. In most cases, the
owner of the device is root and the associated group is lp.
2 To add the user to the device group, become root and open the /etc/group file in a text editor.
3 On the line that defines the lp group, add the Player username.
For example: lp::7:daemon,lp,player_username
The changes take effect the next time the user logs in to the host system.
Troubleshoot ECR Errors for Parallel Ports
A parallel port on the host system does not have an Extended Control Register (ECR).
Problem
When you power on a virtual machine after adding a parallel port, an error messages states that the parallel
port on the host system does not have an ECR.
Cause
This problem can occur when the hardware supports ECR, but ECR has been disabled in the BIOS.
Solution
1 Reboot the host system.
2 Early in the boot process, press and hold down the Delete key to enter the BIOS configuration editor.
3 Find the parallel port field and enable Extended Capability Port (ECP) mode or a combination of modes
that includes ECP.
Most modern computers support ECP mode.
Chapter 6 Configuring and Managing Devices
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