A parallel port on the host system does not have an Extended Control Register (ECR).

Problem

When you power on a virtual machine after adding a parallel port, an error messages states that the parallel port on the host system does not have an ECR.

Cause

This problem can occur when the hardware supports ECR, but ECR has been disabled in the BIOS.

Solution

  1. Reboot the host system.
  2. Early in the boot process, press and hold down the Delete key to enter the BIOS configuration editor.
  3. Find the parallel port field and enable Extended Capability Port (ECP) mode or a combination of modes that includes ECP.

    Most modern computers support ECP mode.