Other device types can take advantage of Plug and Play if they provide mechanisms for identification and configuration. These include IDE controllers, Extended Capabilities Ports (ECP), and communications ports.
Parallel ports, also known as LPT ports, can also take advantage of Plug and Play. The most common parallel port type is the Centronics® interface. Plug and Play parallel ports meet Compatibility and Nibble mode protocols defined in IEEE P1284. Compatibility mode provides a byte-wide channel from the computer to the peripheral. Nibble mode provides a channel from the peripheral to the host through which data is sent as 4-bit nibbles using the port's status lines. These modes provide two-way communication between the host and the peripheral. Nibble mode is also used to read the device ID from the peripheral for device enumeration.
For computers that are totally Plug and Play-compliant, the BIOS also meets Plug and Play specifications. In this case, the file named BIOS.VXD provides the BIOS Plug and Play enumerator.