5.0

What to do next
If the guest operating system is Windows 95 or Windows 98, run the Add New Hardware wizard to detect
and add the parallel port.
Configure a Virtual Parallel Port on a Linux 2.6.x Kernel Host
Linux 2.6.x kernels that support parallel ports use the modprobe modulename and modprobe parport_pc modules.
Player requires that the parallel port PC-style hardware option (CONFIG_PARPORT_PC) is built and loaded as
a kernel module.
Linux kernels in the 2.6.x series use a special arbitrator for access to the parallel port hardware. If the host
system is using the parallel port, the virtual machine cannot use it. If a virtual machine is using the parallel
port, the host and any users accessing the host are denied access to the device. You must use the Removable
Devices menu to disconnect the parallel port from the virtual machine to access the device from the host system.
Procedure
1 To determine whether the modprobe modulename and modprobe parport_pc modules are installed and
loaded on the host system, run the lsmod command as the root user.
You can also see a list of modules in the /proc/modules file.
NOTE In Linux 2.6.x, loading parport_pc does not load all modules.
2 If necessary, load the parallel port modules.
For example: modprobe parport_pc && modprobe ppdev
This command inserts the modules that are required for a parallel port.
3 If the lp module is loaded, run the rmmod command as root to remove it.
For example: rmmod lp
The virtual machine cannot use the parallel port correctly if the lp module is loaded.
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.
Getting Started with VMware Player
84 VMware, Inc.