If you want to use devices connected to your machine's parallel port (the connector at the computer with 25 holes), e.g. printer, ZIP drive, PLIP link (Parallel Line Internet Protocol is mainly used to create a mini network by connecting the parallel ports of two local machines) etc., then you need to say Y here; please read <file:Documentation/parport.txt> and <file:drivers/parport/BUGS-parport>. For extensive information about drivers for many devices attaching to the parallel port see <http://www.torque.net/linux-pp.html> on the WWW. It is possible to share a single parallel port among several devices and it is safe to compile all the corresponding drivers into the kernel. To compile parallel port support as a module, choose M here: the module will be called parport. If you have more than one parallel port and want to specify which port and IRQ to be used by this driver at module load time, take a look at <file:Documentation/parport.txt>. If unsure, say Y.
You should say Y here if you have a PC-style parallel port. All IBM PC compatible computers and some Alphas have PC-style parallel ports. PA-RISC owners should only say Y here if they have a SuperIO parallel port. To compile this driver as a module, choose M here: the module will be called parport_pc. If unsure, say Y.
This adds support for multi-IO PCI cards that have parallel and serial ports. You should say Y or M here. If you say M, the module will be called parport_serial.
Many parallel port chipsets provide hardware that can speed up printing. Say Y here if you want to take advantage of that. As well as actually having a FIFO, or DMA capability, the kernel will need to know which IRQ the parallel port has. By default, parallel port interrupts will not be used, and so neither will the FIFO. See <file:Documentation/parport.txt> to find out how to specify which IRQ/DMA to use.
Saying Y here enables some probes for Super-IO chipsets in order to find out things like base addresses, IRQ lines and DMA channels. It is safe to say N.
Say Y here if you need PCMCIA support for your PC-style parallel ports. If unsure, say N.
Say Y here if you need support for the parallel port on SGI O2 machines. This code is also available as a module (say M), called parport_ip32. If in doubt, saying N is the safe plan.
Say Y here if you need support for the parallel port hardware on Amiga machines. This code is also available as a module (say M), called parport_amiga. If in doubt, saying N is the safe plan.
Say Y here if you need parallel port support for the MFC3 card. This code is also available as a module (say M), called parport_mfc3. If in doubt, saying N is the safe plan.
Say Y here if you need support for the parallel port hardware on Atari machines. This code is also available as a module (say M), called parport_atari. If in doubt, saying N is the safe plan.
This driver provides support for the bidirectional parallel port found on many Sun machines. Note that many of the newer Ultras actually have pc style hardware instead.
Say Y here if you need support for the parallel port hardware on the AX88796 network controller chip. This code is also available as a module (say M), called parport_ax88796. The driver is not dependent on the AX88796 network driver, and should not interfere with the networking functions of the chip.
If you have a printer that supports status readback or device ID, or want to use a device that uses enhanced parallel port transfer modes such as EPP and ECP, say Y here to enable advanced IEEE 1284 transfer modes. Also say Y if you want device ID information to appear in /proc/sys/dev/parport/*/autoprobe*. It is safe to say N.