This is quite strange, but I actually accessed my parallel port on windows xp without relying on any external dll!? It works just fine. Is there a contradiction somewhere...?
If it would be informative, I'm using Turbo C.

__________________
Everybody can but not everybody will.

 

u used which one ? inportb / outportb

 

I used inportb() and outportb()... adds to the mystery eh?

__________________
Everybody can but not everybody will.

 

even if ur in admin privilege , it shldn't happen !!!! , what was the process/experiment u conducted?

 

As you are obviously aware, Windows NT (which XP basically is!) won't allow direct access - HOWEVER you can get programs which install on your PC that will allow it, I'm not talking a DLL that your program uses (like WinPicProg uses), but a transparent program installed seperately.

Presumably you have such a program installed?, possibly something that required it did the installation and you don't even know?.

__________________
PIC programmer software, and PIC Tutorials at:
http://www.winpicprog.co.uk

 

yes i have seen a program like u said when i searched for h/w access in NT.
it runs in background and allows other exe to access the h/w as in win98

 

I'll like to assume that. Otherwise I could go all over the internet debunking this windows xp restriction theories!!

__________________
Everybody can but not everybody will.

 

I can assure you, as someone who supports a program that has to access the ports (WinPicProg) that all NT Windows versions don't allow it - WinPicprog had to be re-written to use a DLL for NT (way back before XP).

__________________
PIC programmer software, and PIC Tutorials at:
http://www.winpicprog.co.uk