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in reply to Re^3: Raw Data to Printer on Win XP
in thread Raw Data to Printer on Win XP

>mode

Status for device CON:
----------------------
    Lines:          300
    Columns:        80
    Keyboard rate:  31
    Keyboard delay: 1
    Code page:      437
That's it. So I guess the answer to your question is 'No'. Is there a way to configure the USB port to appear that way?

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Re^5: Raw Data to Printer on Win XP
by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Sep 29, 2004 at 23:15 UTC

    I think the answer is "Yes", but I don't have a usb printer (or any printer mine--died recently), with which to try this out, and I can't persuade the appropriate dialogs to pop up without one.

    The secret is to go into the printer configuration from Settings->Printers and Faxes. "Add a printer" if you haven't already done so. In that dialog (going on memory now) somewhere, there is an option to specify what device (LPTnn:) or COMnn:) you wish this printer to be known as.

    Assuming that you can find and successfully configure this, then printing a file should be as easy as copying it to the configured device.

    Sorry this is so vague. Good luck.

    Examine what is said, not who speaks.
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[reply]
      Gee, golly, how I hate admin-ing a system through a GUI. Not only is it a pain doing it. It's a pain documenting what you have done.

      Anyway, I did: 

           Start / Settings / Printers_and_Faxes / Deskjet500 on USB
      That brings up a window for the printer. Then: 
           Printer / Properties / Ports
      Here I selected the (previously unselected) LPT1: port. After a brief pause, the Printer column (previously empty) showed: "Deskjet500 on USB". Which seemed *very* promising.

      But "mode LPT1: /status" (with and without the colon after LPT1) in a _fresh_ CMD window still complains: "Illegal device name - LPT1".

      Perhaps if I reboot. Yes! That's it. A simple reboot and this'll all be behind me and I'll be able to get on with my life.   stand by...

      Update:
      No such luck. I still get: 

      >mode LPT1: /status
Illegal device name - LPT1

>print testhere.pl
Unable to initialize device PRN
      How do I cause LPT1 to exist on this system?

      POST FACTO NOTE: Don't re-assign a USB printer to the LPT1 port as described here. I later noticed that this selection unselected the proper assignment of this printer to the USB port. All this did was to assign a printer that I had named "Deskjet500 on USB" to the (non-existant) LPT1 port. The fact that I had named it "...on USB" had no significance for the system. And this clearly did not redirect LPT1 to the USB port even thought it looked that way on the screen. I had to go back and select the USB port to get my printer back.

[reply]

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