# Parallel port test

(Applicable to BurnInTest Pro version only)

Tests the parallel communications port connected to the PC. The parallel port to be tested can be selected from the Test Preferences window.

A parallel port loop back plug is required to run this test. These can be purchased from the PassMark web site (www.passmark.com) or you can make them yourself.

Each test cycle corresponds to 500,000 bytes of data transmission. The number of ‘ops’ corresponds to the number of bytes sent and received. The duty cycle affects the time spent waiting between cycles.

The parallel port selected must not already be in use by Windows (for example by the printer or other external device), for the test to be carried out. The default on-board Parallel port settings are that Port1 is named LPT1 and corresponds to the physical IO memory address 0378. Depending on the version of Windows you are using you may be able to change a number of Parallel Port settings, including the port name (e.g. You may have renamed LPT1 to LPT2) and the IO address (e.g. You may have changes port1 to use 0x3BC instead of 0x378). BurnInTest will automatically detect the changes for the on-board parallel port. For W2000 and later versions of Windows, PCI and ISA parallel ports will also be automatically detected and available for testing. For W98 and ME, PCI and ISA parallel ports will need to be manually configured by writing the required IO address (e.g. 0xB400) into a file named “ioports.dat” and placing this in the executable directory. Contact help@passmark.com if you need help to do this.

Note: That the Windows operating system may block exclusive access to the Parallel port. This is reported with the error “Unable to lock Parallel Port”. When this occurs there is a retry pattern over a number of minutes to try and lock the port. Regardless of the result, the parallel port test will then commence. If you wish to ignore the “Unable to lock Parallel Port” message the BITErrorClassifications.txt file can be edited to change this error message classification (Number 138) to NONE.

In Windows 2000 and XP you need to be the administrator to run this test.

If the port is not detected by BurnInTest check the BIOS settings for the port. Note that the old ‘bi-directional’ BIOS mode is not supported. ECP or EPP mode is required.

Parallel Port

This is the port name for the parallel port being tested. The port can be selected from the Test Preferences window.

Bytes Sent

This is the number of bytes that have been sent to the parallel port.

Bytes Received

This is the number of bytes that have received from the parallel port.

Errors

This is the number of errors detected.

Throughput

This is the measured throughput for the port.