Use PORTTALK22 and you get complete Parallel Port Input´Output control from Win XP.
Attached.
I also use the powerful, but super-legacy full-screen DOS "IDE", with the DOS Prompt compilable programming language QBX(QBASIC 4) to create quite complex programs that make use of the PC parallel port to communicate I/O easily with MCUs or any other hardware devices.
PORTTALK22 also enables Microsoft Visual C and Visual Basic access to the Parallel Port.
With PORTTALK22 and QBX QBASIC no fancy QBX code or amu other Windows configuration is necessary, you simply use simple commands like:
OUT &H378, byte 'where byte is a 8-bit value
byte=Inp(&H378) 'Hardware Port Address of LPT1: 8-bits of I/0 immediately available.
(Assumes parallel port LPT1 is the port available on your PC).
You can forget about all the other control lines like *ACK, *Busy, *Strobe etc. or if you want, else use them to your advantage by modifying or examining their bits in their respective input and control registers &H379, &H37A.