Lenovo Thinkpad 600x LPT doesn't work

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16 Nov 2012 19:17 - 12 Dec 2012 01:02 #26670 by axel88
Hello,

I'm trying to run EMC2 (Hardy Heron 8.04) on a Thinkpad 600x. In the wiki I read that it should work ( wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?Latency-Test ). But the parallelport doesn't react on the system. Some pins are high, some low and nothig changes if I set the pins in the hal-config ( unlinkp and setp ). Also I tried other port adresses (03bc, 0278, 0378). Now I've got no idea what to do. Any suggestions?
Last edit: 12 Dec 2012 01:02 by axel88.

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16 Nov 2012 21:27 #26675 by andypugh

Some pins are high, some low and nothig changes if I set the pins in the hal-config ( unlinkp and setp ). Also I tried other port adresses (03bc, 0278, 0378). Now I've got no idea what to do. Any suggestions?


The first thing to do is possibly to just try accessing the parport by index, rather than address. (Try 0, then 1)
If that doesn't help, then try to find what the actual address is. I find the output of
cat /proc/ioports
to be a little clearer than the more commonly suggested
lspci
But both should give the same answer.
Also check that the p-port isn't disabled in the BIOS.

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16 Nov 2012 22:14 #26677 by axel88
I'm not sure, but I can't find an entry for the parport:
Warning: Spoiler!


In the bios is no option to disable or enable the parport. At least in the "Easy Setup". I suppose there must be an "Expert Setup" but I didn't find any hint how to enter it. So it should be unlikely that someone disabled the parport.

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17 Nov 2012 07:29 #26691 by andypugh

I'm not sure, but I can't find an entry for the parport:

Try the lspci way, just to be sure?

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18 Nov 2012 21:42 #26749 by axel88
I tried both. Both are in the spoiler box.

Now I've installed WinXP to get full access to the "Bios Settings" through the ThinkPad Configuration Utility. The parport was activated. The adress is 03bc - 03bf and the mode is "bidirectional". For the mode I can choose between "bidirectional" , ECP, EPP, and unidirektional. Which one is the right modi?

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18 Nov 2012 22:08 #26752 by andypugh

For the mode I can choose between "bidirectional" , ECP, EPP, and unidirektional. Which one is the right modi?


I don't think that there are any disadvantages with EPP, and it saves you doing the same thing all over again if you end up upgrading to a Pico PPMC or Mesa 7i43.
(it also gives the Gecko G540 charge-pump a better chance of working)

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18 Nov 2012 22:55 #26755 by axel88
But changing the mod probably wouldn't help Linux to recognize the parport? :( How can I solve this problem?

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18 Nov 2012 23:51 - 19 Nov 2012 19:46 #26758 by ArcEye
Hi

Just a thought.

You can enable some badly behaved PCI cards for Linuxcnc, by loading the standard parallel port drivers and then unloading them.
By default these drivers are blacklisted and do not get loaded.

Run lsmod from a terminal and check that lp, ppdev and parport are loaded
If not load lp, that should load parport as dependency then ppdev (modprobe lp && modprobe ppdev )
If they weren't loaded check output of cat /proc/ioports , because that could be the problem.

Then run modprobe parport_pc

Check output of cat /proc/ioports again and see if any change

You can remove the drivers with rmmod, but will need to do it in dependency sequence; lp, ppdev, parport_pc, parport
Then load lp, which will load parport, and then load ppdev.
parport_pc will stop the linuxcnc parport driver working properly

If that does not work, you may have to go for another computer. The 600x is old and is a laptop with all the inherent problems that brings.

I have found lots of people who have had problems using the ports on the 600x with linux but no obvious solutions.

regards
Last edit: 19 Nov 2012 19:46 by ArcEye.

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19 Nov 2012 20:25 #26797 by axel88
parport, lp and ppdev are loaded but parport_pc doesn't load although modprobe reports no errors. Even with the --verbose option I got no information what went wrong.

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19 Nov 2012 20:45 #26798 by ArcEye
Hi
modprobe does not give any message when it is successful

It is sometimes easy to miss a loaded module from the lsmod output, because it scrolls off the screen.

If loaded the parport entry will show ppdev, lp and parport_pc as dependent.

One easy way to check if a module loads is to try to unload it with rmmod, that WILL produce an error if it is not found.

regards

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