Parallel Port on LapTop

[Nariman]

I am developing a small application that control two bits on the parallel port. I followed the examples in the knowledge base. It was developed trying the two different method, VISA and direct OutPort. Both of these examples work fine when the application is used on a desktop computer. Neither one works when used on a laptop. I replaced the Outport VIs with the new ones and that's what made it work with the Desktop, but made no difference in the laptop. Any input is appreciated.

[Evan]

This is kind of a shot in the dark, but is they both the same OS and same versions of LabVIEW etc? In addition do you have another Laptop you can try it on? Can you print or do anything on this Laptop's parallel port? Are you getting any errors or does it just not seem to respond?

Something else that may help narrow down the behavior is PortMon from SysInternals This utility can help figure out what is being sent in and out of different ports including the parallel port.

[Nariman]

Thanks for the input Evan. Yes, they are running the same OS (windows 2000) and version of LabVIEW (6.1). The parallel port seems to work fine since you can print from it. When I use VISA I get a timeout error. When I use "Port Out.vi" no errors seem to be found but the bits are not set. Both of these methods work fine when it comes to desktop computers. I tried this on two different laptops and they both failed. I also tried it on different settings of parallel port and they failed again. Any help or input is really appreciated.

[Evan]

Did you take a look at PortMon? I am wondering if it will show if LabVIEW is even sending commands to it. It is just hard to tell where the issue lies.

If nothing seems to work you may want to contact NI so that if it is reproducable they can report the issue to R&D.

[ChillyWilly]

Did anyone figure this out?

I am having the same problem. My program (developed in labview 7.1) works fine in a desktop but does not work with the laptop.

I am building the application as an executable and it does not work in the laptop.
The compiled program works ok on desktop.

The parallel port settings are the same in both computers. However, the desktop is running winXP Pro and the laptop is using winXP Home.

Any leads will be appreciated.

Thanks!!!

[TongY]

You need a few things installed on the laptop(target) to run the application. NI-VISA, and NI-VISA Runtime Engine. Also make sure you are not dynamically calling any functions in your application, if you do you need to include those dynamic VIs when building the executable. If the laptop does not have LabVIEW Runtime Engine, you can include it in the application.

If you have done all of the above, what error did you receive? Can you verify that the parallel port is working properly? NI-VISA is an easy way to verify if there is communication at the parallel port.

The linked KnowledgeBase should also give you some information:

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/websearch/E11297C4EECAB110862565A900648083?OpenDocument