I had this issue (I may have posted about it before) with a client with a HP OfficeJet All-In-One using LPT1. She could print but not scan, and even when she printed, she got the message, "Communication Test Failed", & when I looked at the port settings for LPT1, "Enable bi-directional" was grayed out. My sleuthing had led me to conclude that there is an issue with Printer-to-PC data flow, but addressing the problem further has been difficult because she won't let me take the printer to test it on another system. What I did do is go into BIOS to verify that ECP was enabled (it was), and then, in what I have to admit was a wild grasp at straws, I changed the DMA from channel 3 to channel 1. Lo and behold, scanning now works! What I don't understand is WHY changing the DMA worked -- As I say, I was just trying anything at that point. Can anyone cast some light on this? My other concern is that even though scanning now works, the "Communication Test Failed", error still comes up when anything is printed, and "Enable bi-directional" is still grayed out. So I'm concerned that the problem isn't really solved and that the scanning issues will recur. Any thoughts? Dave
May be you resolved a conflict. Have you tried uninstalling, then re-scanning and subsequently re- installing the LPT port? Good Luck, Alex
Dave, While I admire your concern and curiosity as to why this worked, every once in a while you've got to say to yourself: "All's well that ends" The chances of you ever running into this problem again are miniscule. File this away, on paper, in the event that this ever does rear its head, you'll remember what to do. Who ever uses parallel ports these days, anyway? The problem could have been just as easily solved by going USB. Not to diminish your efforts, I would have done the same thing that you would have done, and then probably have asked the same question, but hey, there's something to be said for following the path of least resistance. smackedass