r13 + usb + xp = headaches 3

[mattshlian]

hi everyone,
new to the forum, ive been using autocad for about 3 years now.
i am employed as a paper engineer and we use cad to design pop up cards, ads etc. recently i aquired a graphtec fc4200-50 flatbed plotter cutter. im in a hard spot now for a few reasons, and hope some of you may have answers.
first, the cad i use (stop laughing) is r13 on a windows xp machine. it is what i was trained in and seems to be only one that functions with our plotters at work. i do have 2000i but only use it to trace images, then i backsave to r13 and go from there.
my computer has only usb connectors (no parallel or serial ports)
im having a difficult time getting autocad to recognize this virtual port (via a usb connector to a parallel connector). i feel like im in back to the future. can anyone suggest an idea of how to figure this out? patches or anything that lets you use usb for older version of cad...
thanks,
matt

 

[TFL]

if you like r13 you should really use r14 it is much better then 13. it is also pretty much the same thing. anything above that is a real pain i use r14 still at work.

as for the printer, have you tried installing it on an old machine with a proper port and then network it. you should be able to find a cheap/free computer to be a printer driver

 

[IFRs]

Can you get any other program to recognize the printer? If it is installed as a system printer and Windows finds it, then Autocad should find it. Does the printer appear in Start/Settings/Printers? Is LPT1 redirected to your printer? You might be able to redirect printer output using the "NET USE ..." command in a DOS window before starting Autocad. Whatever you do, DON'T GIVE UP !!

 

[mattshlian]

thanks for the responses and encouragement! this is a stickier situation than i thought. ive been thorugh the net use ringer and had a few "IT guys" help me to no avail. i think the issue is autocad r13 is too old to get usb recognized (and xp isnt helping things either). the plotter gets information from the laptop, its just errors. ive been reluctant to upgrade to 2004 but i think with 2004 i can get the usb cable to do its thing. i wont give up. i may have to get a second computer and network it to my laptop and parallel out of it to the plotter. whatever it takes!
matt

 

[jlcochran1]

Maybe I'm missing the point, but do you have an available PCI slot to add an inexpensive parallel port card to your PC?

 

[advidana]

old autocad software and new plotter don't mix and vice versa. Something about the drivers, good luck.

 

[IFRs]

Hold the phone !! You say "the plotter gets information from the laptop, its just errors". To me this means it is not a communication issue but a driver issue. It sounds like you have a desktop with AutoCAD connected to a laptop via USB that has a plotter hung off its parallel port. Or is it a laptop running AutoCAD connected to a plotter through a USB hub? What plotter are you using in AutoCAD? Please give more details!!!

 

[mattshlian]

got it to work last night!!! i used a net use command and tricked the computer into thinking it was in a network and sharing a plotter. i hooked it up to a router that was connected to nothing. autocad has so many damn settings it was a matter of tweaking. im finally plotting and cutting. thanks for all the advice, everyone. come see what i'll be making,

http://www.mattshlian.com

peace,
matt

 

[CDH]

Glad you got the problem fixed, but I would definately recommend upgrading to 2004. It is full of great features.

 

[mattshlian]

like what features? sell me on it.
matt