Member Avatar for mecpaul

To anyone who might have the solution:

I am having the same problem. I've tried to use USB to paralel and USB to serial and then serial to paralel, both in XP and 7, in laptops, but unfortunetly i didn't come with any result, i.e. my 25 pin dongle isn't recognized. IS there someone that could give a litle help??
thx
mecpaul

  • 3 Contributors
  • 2 Replies
  • 135 Views
  • 1 Month Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by whipaway

Dani AI

Generated

As reported, the 25‑pin hardware key was not being detected after trying adapter chains. and pointed toward using a real parallel interface; below are practical, actionable checks and alternatives to move this from guesswork to a working setup.

First, identify what the protection hardware actually needs: check the software documentation or vendor support for the exact dongle type and supported port types, and note whether the host OS is 32‑bit or 64‑bit. With the adapter and dongle plugged in, open Device Manager: if the adapter shows up as a USB printer class or as a generic USB device rather than a native LPT resource, it is unlikely to satisfy drivers that expect direct LPT I/O. If a machine with a built‑in DB‑25 LPT is available, try the dongle there to confirm the software will run with a true parallel port.

Practical alternatives, ranked by reliability:

  • Use a laptop CardBus/CardBus-to-LPT or ExpressCard-to-LPT adapter that explicitly lists EPP/ECP and legacy LPT support and has drivers for your Windows version. These present a real parallel port to the OS and are the most compatible swap for an LPT dongle.
  • Use a desktop with an internal PCI/PCIe parallel port card; inexpensive used desktops/boards often already have an LPT header.
  • Ask the software vendor about replacing the dongle with a soft license or a vendor-issued USB key; many vendors offer migrations for legacy protection.
  • Advanced: if you must keep the dongle, run the application on a host with a physical LPT and access it remotely, or use a hypervisor that supports passthrough of a physical parallel card (requires compatible hardware and setup).

When shopping, verify the adapter/product spec calls out "legacy LPT", "EPP/ECP", and support for the target Windows bitness. If a quick fix is needed, a cheap used desktop with a native LPT is the fastest, most predictable solution.

Recommended Answers

All 2 Replies

Member Avatar for rdrast

Yep. Get a USB dongle, or a real parallel port.
Dongle protection software (Sentinal, Wibu, etc) are installed as low level drivers that want direct access to a real port. They don't work through emulated ports such as USB adapters. Usually, the reason is that the dongle and software rely on hardware interrupt lines, which don't exist with an adapter.

Member Avatar for whipaway

Since you are using a laptop, why not use a PCMCIA or Cardbus to parallel port adapter?
This will give you a 'real' parallel port, and not an emulated type.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.