Member Avatar for sklingb1

I have an old WIN95 machine that used a LPT port to send .txt files to our CNC machines in the shop. My WIN95 machine finally failed and I am using a XP machine as its replacement. I can plug the same communication cable into the LPT port on the XP machine but the communication software needs to be directed to a COM port. Is there a way to call an LPT port a COM port in XP? Can someone please give me some pointers as to how? The WIN95 machine had softwre that did not reference a COM port.

Thanks
Scott

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Member Avatar for rubberman

Try to find another communication application that allows you to use the LPT port if you cannot configure the default comm program to do this. That said, you might be able to create an alias to point LPTx to COMx. Since I haven't had to do this, I'm not sure how it could be accomplished.

Member Avatar for adam_k

Even if you do rename it, the protocol and the settings will be all wrong (Xon/Xoff instead of Bit, Parity, Speed, etc).
I think rubberman is right find another application or try to connect your CNC machines via COM if there is such an option.

PS: You are saying that you are sending .txt files through the LPT. Do you know how that is done? Could it be that you just have to run

type a.txt>LPT1

in a command prompt (replace a.txt with your file)?

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