To all the people having trouble with this cable: it may not have been designed to be used alone when connecting the printer to the computer. Try using it as an extension, connect the original cable to the printer and the USB cable between the old cable and your computer. USB to IEEE 1284 Parallel Port Adapter Cable
I figured I'd give the cheapest solution a try, and it worked perfectly in connecting to my old HP LaserJet 6L. Plugged it into the printer. Plugged it into the laptop. Immediately recognized printer, downloaded driver & said "Ready To Use." Done. I was printing sample sheets in about 2 minutes, start to finish, and I ain't no friggin' genius.
It's an el-cheapo cable, but it worked on my windows 2000 pc. I read the reviews for the other cables, and all of them seemed to have some problems, so I bought the cheapest one I could find. It worked, so what else can I say.
This cheap cable worked to get my MFC7420 printer connected to the computer, but like it's $40 sister from Staples it does not seem to work for the scanner communication. USB connection on printer seems to be blown out, so I used this cable to connect and am now at least able to print, and costs $35 less than Staples more pricey cable.
Not sure why other reviewers are stating this product works under Windows 7. I have a new Dell system running Windows 7 Home Premium and wanted to connect my HP Laserjet 6L, which only has a parallel port connection, to a USB port on my new Dell. Windows didn't see this cable. I sent an email to the seller and they state they don't have a driver for Windows 7. Don't waste your time/ money with this product if you are running Windows 7. Carefully review the product specs and you will see that Windows 7 isn't listed...
This product works as it should. It does require a little tweaking to get it to work but that is not a flaw of the product itself.
I am running Win 7 on a new system with no parallel port and wanted to use an old but trusty HP LaserJet 4.
A couple of things...
The computer had no problem seeing the 'new' centronics parallel port once I plugged in the USB. Unfortunately it did not recognize the printer attached to the end. I had to set up the printer through 'Devices and Printers'. I could not use the drivers for the HP LaserJet 4, instead I had to use the drivers for the HP LaserJet 2200 Series PCL 5. When you set up the printer you will need to either use the same USB port every time or you will need to manually go into the printer control panel and change the USB port to the port you are using.
Hope this helps someone that wants to use one the oldie but goodie printers they have lying about.
Hooked up cable between new Dell 580S and old reliable HP LaserJet 6P; let Windows-7 find device and download driver; started printing. Nothing could have been easier. HDE delivered inexpensive cable VERY QUICKLY! I'm a very happy camper!
Worked as advertised. Although it wasn't as simple as plug 'n' play. It took a couple of tries, I think all it needed was a computer restart.
I plugged one end of the cable to the printer, turned the printer on, then plugged the USB side into the computer. Windows 7 recognized the cable. I then installed the driver for the 6P (which took a little bit of time as Windows 7 took a while to populate its list of available printers, the 6P wasn't listed there initially). Don't get me wrong, I got to a point where I wasn't having any luck and was about to write the cable off as a $3.90 experiment. A little trial and error (and a reboot) led to success.
Note - I incorrectly selected LPT1 as my printer port (I figured Windows had conjured up a virtual LPT1 when it recognized the cable). I now know that the correct port is USB001 (Virtual printer port for USB).
CONS: The included mini-CD with driver files had an error and was unreadable in certain sections. However, this didn't matter since Windows 7 automatically installed the driver for the cable.
I would highly recommend this to anyone with a similar setup. - Usb Adapter - Parallel - Printer - Usb To Parallel Adapter Cable'
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