6.0.1

Change the Parallel Port Configuration
You can change the output file for peripheral device output and schedule the parallel port to connect when
the virtual machine powers on.
NOTE If you are changing the parallel port on a virtual machine that runs on an ESXi 4.1 or earlier host, you
can send output to a physical parallel port on the host or to an output file on the host. This option is not
available with ESXi 5.0 and later.
Prerequisites
Verify that you have the following privileges:
n
Virtual machine.Configuration.Modify device settings on the virtual machine.
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Virtual machine.Interaction.Device connection on the virtual machine to change the device connection
status.
Procedure
1 Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.
2 On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand Parallel port.
3 For virtual machines running on ESXi 4.1 and earlier hosts, select the type of media for the parallel port
to access.
4 Click Browse to navigate to the file location.
5 Type a name for the file in the Save As text box and click OK.
The file path appears in the Connection text box.
6 Select whether to connect the device whenever you power on the virtual machine.
You can change this setting when the virtual machine is either powered on or powered off.
7 Click OK.
Add a Parallel Port to a Virtual Machine
To connect peripheral devices to virtual machines, such as printers or scanners, you can use a parallel port.
You send the output of such devices to a file on the host computer.
NOTE If you are adding a parallel port to a virtual machine that runs on an ESXi 4.1 or earlier host, you can
also select to send output to a physical parallel port on the host. This option is not available with ESXi 5.0
and later host versions.
Prerequisites
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Verify that the virtual machine is turned off. You cannot add or remove parallel ports if the virtual
machine is turned on.
n
Verify that you have the Virtual machine.Configuration.Add or remove device privilege on the virtual
machine.
Procedure
1 Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.
2 On the Virtual Hardware tab, select Parallel Port from the New device drop-down menu, and click
Add.
The parallel port appears at the bottom of the virtual device list.
vSphere Virtual Machine Administration
114 VMware, Inc.