Parallel port remote control under NT

I have 95 identical PCs accross the world doing some data collection using their unique serial port. Those PC are equipped with 1 serial port, 1 parallel port and 2 USB ports and are running Windows NT Workstation 4.0. The PCs have no keyboard, no monitor and no mouse. Therefore, I am looking for a remote control utilisty that would allow me to connect my Windows 98 notebook and see what's going on if I have to service the PCs. Since USB is not supported under NT, I had to eliminated USB solutions. I looked at pcAnywhere, LapLink, Carbon Copy and a few others but none of them support parallel port connections under NT. The only software that I found that supports parallel port connections under NT is FastLynx. Unfortunately, this package only offer file transfers and not remote control. Would you know of something that can help me?

1. RE: Parallel port remote control under NT
lbyard May-16-01 02:51 PM
In response to message 0

A USB driver for Windows NT can be downloaded at http://www.ionetworks.com/support/nt4doc.html. I understand that even with this driver, some installation programs may not work because they check the version of Windows before installing and will quite if they detect NT. You could upgrade both computers to Windows 2000 and using the Direct Cable Connection capabilities to network via the parallel port interface. But I think it would be more practical and much faster just to install network adapters. Another alternative would be to install internal MODEMs. That would allow you to connect to the computers from anywhere on the planet via telephone. With any of these solutions you will still need something like pcAnywhere to grab the PC’s screen and keyboard. Or, you could wait for Windows XP (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/guide/connected.asp) which is scheduled for release in October and has a remote desktop capability. Larry

2. RE: Parallel port remote control under NT
pbruno@scanpak.com May-16-01 03:57 PM
In response to message 1

Larry,
I already tried the USB drivers for NT from IoNetworks but could not get a USB utility to work. If somebody successfully achieved that, I would like to know.
Adding a network adapter to all the 95 PCs is almost not possible because of the travelling and costs involved. All the PCs are already deployed.
If I cannot get the USB drivers and a utility to work under NT, I will certainly consider upgrading to Windows 2000. But then, there are so many versions that I would not know which one to pick. Anybody has a suggestion on that?

3. RE: Parallel port remote control under NT
lbyard May-16-01 05:35 PM
In response to message 2

2000 Pro. Larry