PPC: Printer at the Parallel Port

Support knowledgebase (jsmeix_print-ppc-parallel)
Applies to

SuSE Linux PowerPC: Versions since 6.4

Request:

You want to install your printer which is connected to the parallel port for SuSE Linux PowerPC.

Procedure:

Regarding the parallel port at PowerPC:

Please test, if your printer is accessible using the following command (as user root):

echo -en "Hello\f" >/dev/lp0
Provided the printer is connected to the first parallel port /dev/lp0 you should get one sheet with the word Hello printed on it.
As long as the printer doesn´t react, it makes normally no sense to make further configurations.
It is a prerequisite that the printer is able to print ASCII-text (in this case the word Hello followed by the ASCII-character \f which initiates a form feed). Printers that are not able to print ASCII-text, are mostly so called GDI-printers, but there are printers which cannot print ASCII-text but are usable under Linux nevertheless.

If the printer is able to print ASCII-text but doesn't print the word Hello probably the IO-port of the parallel interface is not set correctly.

Normally you find the following lines in the file /etc/modules.conf

  alias parport_lowlevel    parport_pc
  options parport_pc io=0x378 irq=none,none
Set either io=0x3bc or io=0x278 for the IO-adress of the parallel interface (see the article Printer Problems: Special Causes).
Do a reboot and test whether echo -en "Hello\f" >/dev/lp0 works.

If the parallel interface works now, go on using the article Installing a printer for PowerPC


See also:
o Installing a printer for PowerPC
o Installing a Printer

Keywords: PPC, PRINTER, PRINTING, PARALLELPORT

Categories: Power PC

SDB-jsmeix_print-ppc-parallel, Copyright SuSE Linux AG, Nürnberg, Germany - Version: 22. Aug 2000
SuSE Linux AG - Last generated: 22. Aug 2000 by jsmeix (sdb_gen 1.40.0)