Problem printing in dos 6.2

[macdad-]

It may be because of I/O trouble, conflict from the drivers.

Also, do you have any extra serial ports on your computer?
Go ahead and see about updating the video driver.

[kahawn]

Thanks for your reply macdad.

I have checked and in Dos I have One COM1 port [The same for LPT1].

As instructed in the Cybercom.Drv site I did the following:

Checked that I have a 16550a UART installed.

For interest I give other data obtained via the MSD command at the Dos prompt [advised by http://www.malch/comfaq.htm ]:

COM: Port Address 03F8H; Baud Rate : 2400; Parity: None; Data Rate: 8; Stop Bits: 1 UART Chip: 16550AF

LPT1 : 0378H; Online: No; PaperOut: No; I/O Error: Yes ; Time Out: No; Busy: No; ACK: Yes

And then Configuered the System.ini file:

1) from comm.drv = comm.drv to comm.drv = cybercom.drv

2) inserted the line in [386 Enh]

COM1FIFO= 1   [If 16550 is installed on say, COM1 then [386 Enh] COM1FIFO=1... Start or Restart Windows]

As informed in an earlier post: I had downloaded the Cybercom driver and then unzipped it. Then transferred the cybercom.exe to C:\Windows\System.

HOWEVER when I attempted to load windows got the message: Error in loading Cybercom.drv

So am at a loss as to how to INSTALL the Cybercom.exe driver i.e. CONNECT it to the COM1 port. [If that is what is required].

When I installed the LJ125.exe file [update the HPlllP printer driver] I did it via the Print Manager in Windows..


I also notice that under LPT1 information above 'I/O Error' states YES!

So is there any way to deal with these conflicts?

The articles on Cybercomm.drv is referring to modems installed... and I do not have this for Dos.

Although I recognise that installing the Cybercom.drv in COM1 MAY resolve the problem that I am having printing in Win 3.1. through LPT1..

So. Oh Wise One....!   

BTW: Are we here dealing with VIDEO drivers or COMMUNICATIONS drivers? As I reported I have just VGA not 'Standard VGA' option available.

[macdad-]

From what it seems, its just that the Generic printer drivers are being redirected to COM1 for printing, yet the Cybercom driver is blocking it.

And as you said, the driver was designed for Modems.

It does seem interesting why its not blocking the port for your other Word Proccessors but only on Word Star.

If this is the case then you are doing it right by putting in the right lines in System.ini

Just for a check can you post the lines from System.ini
And also just to make sure, you have your printer hooked up to the COM port and nothing on the LPT port?

[kahawn]

Dear macdad

You are asking or stating things that are above my head.

I assigned / selected the COM1 port to the HP lllP printer with Print Manager in Win 3.1 and if you remember [from my previous post] that when I changed the entries in system.ini from comm.drv=comm.drv to comm.drv=cybercom.drv AND entered the line COM1FIFO=1 THAT I COULD NOT LOAD Win 3.1 and got a message 'Error in loading Cybercom.drv'.

So with the COM1 port selected for the printer I attempted to print in Dos a file in WS7 and got the same bleep + 'can't print; can't find pdf files or drivers'.

However when I went into system.ini file with WS7 and gave the print command ... VOILA the file PRINTED!!! I just attempted to print because I did not relish the thought of  having to write down all the entries in that file to show them to you.

I then amended the entries I had inserted in the system.ini file as they served no purpose. And likewise amended the port settings to LPT1.

Also your comment: the printer hooked up to the COM port and not to the LPT port. All I did was change the port in Print Manager to COM1... not sure whether this changed anything in XP or WS [Dos]. Perhaps I should have exited Win 3.1 and the Dos partition and loaded XP and looked in there.. Or attempted to print a document in XP and see what happened.

But as I have informed you before I am not clear how to load Cybercom.drv ... All I have done is to insert a copy of Cybercom.exe in the Windows/System Directory. And so cannot tell whether Cybercom.exe is 'active' within the partition.

However we know that the printer prints in Foxbase AND the .ini files in windows/system in WS7. It does not print files in Win 3.1 whether in WsWin or Notepad...

Copies of the system.ini file are attached.

Ken

btw: How does one deal with I/O trouble, conflict with the drivers? ... as LPT1 showed I/O Error as YES?

[Saving space, attachment deleted by admin]

[macdad-]

I'm at a loss of were the I/O error is comming from you have it all typed right in System.ini, but instead of Cybercom, try the Microsoft update of COMM.drv:

http://www.malch.com/comfaq.html#uart2

Follow the Readme included in the ZIP.
Run the installer.

Once installed, Restart as usual.

After reboot, go to command prompt and just type in the Redirect line:

Code: [Select]

mode LPT1=COM1
Try printing in all four programs(Foxbase, Notepad, etc.)

Return results for all whether they printed or not.

[kahawn]

Thanks for your reply macdad.

I have downloaded the serial.zip file and unzipped it.

I have put the coms.exe file in the C: and made an entry in the first line of the Autoexec.bat file -->   COMS.EXE

As regards the rest I need a bit of hand holding [from you  ]

From the Readme.txt file under Dos:

Run this program BEFORE entering MS Windows; e.g. write a WIN.BAT file that calls COMS.EXE before WIN.

Where do I write this and what is the EXACT wording of the entry? Does not the entry I have made in the Autoexec.bat file cover this?

As regards your comment: "Run the installer"..... Where or How do I find this?

Then "After reboot, go to the command prompt and just type in the Redirect line "mode LPT1=COM1"

Where or How do I go into the 'Command Prompt'... Is it in Dos or in Win 3.1? And also what/where is the 'Redirect line'?

Sorry if I am being a bit thick.... 

[macdad-]

No problem, for AUTOEXEC.bat

You have it right, AUTOEXEC.bat runs all commands before starting.

And Command Prompt or MS-DOS Prompt is the Command Line interface in Windows 3.1.

The line provided:

Code: [Select]

mode LPT1=COM1Is the redirect line.

[kahawn]

Sorry macdad

I am still unclear:

From the Readme.txt file under Dos:

Quote
Run this program BEFORE entering MS Windows; e.g. write a WIN.BAT file that calls COMS.EXE before WIN. [/quote]

(a) Is the Autoexec.bat file just ANOTHER NAME for the Win.bat file that the Readme.txt file is referring to?

(b) Where is the INSTALLER... to Install or connect the upgraded COMS.exe. Or do I just place the COM.EXE in Windows/system Directory or in the \C:?

Then "After reboot, go to the command prompt and just type in the Redirect line "mode LPT1=COM1"

(c) Do I just type at the \C:  'LPT1=COM1'. Or do I have go into Win 3.1 and change the port from LPT1 to COM1?... or will the Redirect Line do it for me?

Again apologies for the lack of understanding on my part. 

[macdad-]

Go ahead and write the Win.bat file as the Readme says:

Code: [Select]

COMS.EXE
And place it in the Windows System directory along with COMS.exe

And COMS.exe was the installer I was referring to, but from what the readme says it says run it before windows starts.

And for Redirection, the redirect line should do the trick, if not then try changing it from Window's Control Panel.

[kahawn]

macdad

Perhaps it is not my day and I have not been expressing myself clearly [you certainly aren't  ... just cryptically ]

a) How is the win.bat file WRITTEN? Please SPELL IT OUT....

is it written 'mode LPT1 = COM1' ?  Or is it 'mode COMS.EXE'? And do I just insert it in the windows/system directory or a line in  the .ini file?

I feel that we are so near... yet so far... to a resolution of my problem.

[macdad-]

Open up Notepad and type this:

Code: [Select]

COMS.EXESave that as WIN.BAT to the Windows System Directory along with COMS.EXE.

Reboot.

And open up Windows 3.1 Command Prompt(MS-DOS Prompt), This isn't in MS-DOS this is just the command line interface in Windows:


And type this into Command Prompt:

Code: [Select]

mode LPT1=COM1
Now open a new Notepad document and just type in something as a test print.

Print that file.

[kahawn]

Thanks for your very clear guide.

However no joy...

The same [non] results as before.... attempting to print from notebook got the same message in the printer display 'load paper'... in WS7... 'can't print; can't find pdf file or drivers'.. I was able to print a Foxbase file as usual.

I noted that when I looked into the ports [in Print Manager] after going through the exercise that the Printer port was shown as LPT1... I then changed it to COM1 and again got the same [non] result. I suppose that inserting the 'mode LPT1=COM1' at the Command Prompt changes the port for that session...

It does occur to me that the upgraded COMM.DRV that I have downloaded has not been 'installed'  to replace the existing driver... it is just sitting in the Serial Directory that I created in the C:\ when I unzipped the file.

Is there anything that should be done with this area?

STOP PRESS 21:28 GMT

Have just found out that there is only ONE printer installed in the print menu for WS7 viz HPLLLP.

Prior to that there were the built-in drivers for :

ASC256 | ASCII | DRAFT | FAX | WS4

So where have these gone?

I have gone into 'wschange' and reverted to default settings... and the printers/drivers are back in the printing menu.

I thereafter printer one document in WS7 in HPLLLP and that document PRINTED! 

I then went into WsWIN and attempted to print a document... AND THAT DID NOT PRINT. [the usual display in the printer 'Load paper'] 

So just ONE hurdle to overcome... printing in Win 3.1...

[macdad-]

Alright, go to Control Panel in Windows 3.1 and hit Printers

Does your HP IIIP printer show up under the list?

[BC_Programmer]

WHY are we trying to redirect the serial port to the parallel port if the printer connects to the parallel port?

[kahawn]

Alright, go to Control Panel in Windows 3.1 and hit Printers

Does your HP IIIP printer show up under the list?

There is only ONE printer and that is the HP lllP shown on the list 'HP lllP on LPT1'

To report also a bit of erratic behaviour in WS7.. This morning foud that when I attempted to print a document got a bleep.. 'c'ant print'... found that the program had 'selected' the printer as 'Draft'... I changed it to HP LLLP and then it worked fine. Also at another point the program had selected 'HP IIIP' and that also gave a 'bleep'.

Also found that when I attempted to print at the C: with 'dir c:\>prn' that the printer's lights went on as if it were going to print but nothing happened. I then took it off line and printed it out by using the 'continue/form feed' button. The same thing happened at the MS Dos prompt in Win 3.1

Also had some joy in printing a document in WsWin. However it was only a freshly created document. Attempting to print a document created in WS7 and imported into WsWin gave the same 'Load paper' at the printer. [ALL the documents I have in WsWin have been created in WS7... ]