Legacy parallel ports — Which base I/O address is traditionally assigned to LPT2?

Introduction / Context:
Legacy PCs use fixed base I/O addresses for parallel and serial ports. Knowing these defaults helps diagnose printer issues and resource conflicts on ISA-era systems and some embedded platforms.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Standard IBM-PC compatible hardware mappings.
• No custom remapping via BIOS or jumpers.
• We are identifying the address for LPT2.

Concept / Approach:

LPT1 commonly maps to 378h, LPT2 to 278h, and older systems sometimes use 3BCh for additional ports. Serial COM ports use 3F8h (COM1) and 2F8h (COM2), which should not be confused with LPT addresses.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:

Checking OS hardware resources or technical references confirms these conventional addresses.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

378h is LPT1, 3F8h is a serial port base, 2E8h is a COM port base, and “None” is unnecessary because 278h is correct.

Common Pitfalls:

Confusing serial and parallel I/O maps and overlooking that plug-and-play OSes can still report these legacy addresses for onboard ports.

Final Answer:

278h.