Background:
I would like to be able to print with an old spare computer using the parallel port (it has USB ports, but none of them work - I got it cheap).

Here is the problem: The simple act of plugging a 25 pin cable into the port disables the port in Linux Mint, Ubuntu, or Fedora. The cable does not even have to be connected to the printer to cause this effect. The evidence that this is not a hardware problem is basic, but in my opinion valid. One of the HDD's has a dual boot with Windows 7, and the parallel port remains active in Windows 7 under this condition.

my-pc@my-pc(with cable in port):~$ dmesg | grep parport
[ 4.013473] parport_pc 00:04: reported by Plug and Play ACPI
my-pc@my-pc(with cable in port):~$

should read:

my-pc@my-pc(without cable in port):~$ dmesg | grep parport
[ 4.065798] parport_pc 00:04: reported by Plug and Play ACPI
[ 4.065885] parport0: PC-style at 0x378 (0x778), irq 7, using FIFO [PCSPP,TRISTATE,COMPAT,EPP,ECP]
[ 4.160057] lp0: using parport0 (interrupt-driven).
my-pc@my-pc(without cable in port):~$

There is some history from some time ago (>5 years) about this problem, and some had success adding statements to an /etc/modules configuration file. I have tried all those ideas without success.

Any thoughts/ideas what to do next?