OK guys, go easy on me here. A good friend has just admitted that his (s1155) PC that I put together for him a while back is still rocking Windows XP, as his beloved printer that is cheap to run, (*make & model to follow*), has no driver support post XP. I have got him a Win 7 licence and SSD/HDD combo to give it more room and speed it up. What are the options for potentially running this printer on a Win 7 install? I recall an 'XP mode' in Win 7, but have never used it, and don't know if it would help with the printer.
By no driver support, do you mean that's it's been confirmed it won't work, or just that the manufacturer doesn't have a driver marked "For Windows 7" on their site? I.e. have you tried just popping it on a Win7 system to see what happens?
'XP mode' in Win 7 is nothing more than a Windows Virtual PC (ala VMware, VirtualBox) running a pre-installed copy of XP, however you need Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate and you'd also need to be able to install at least the printer driver in Windows 7, in other words you'd only gain access to any extra features that the printers own software offers by using XP mode. Your best option will probably be as Mister_Tad suggests, try to find a Windows 7 driver or try to install the XP driver/software in Windows 7.
Thanks for chipping in guys. I haven't been involved at all (yet); my friend just said that it wouldn't work on Win 7. That, however is no reason not to try! I see an unpaid day's work coming my way
Have you checked Linux support for it ? You might want to put the exact model & manufacturer info here instead of this generic question.
There's a not inconceivable chance the driver is already included with windows 7 or later, hence there being no downloadable driver for it.
XP mode, IIRC? was only available on Win 7 Pro. And as the guys said it was a VM. I used to code front ends for an emulator many years ago and when 7 came out it broke the sound. The emulator author used to code directly to the sound card for old machines and it didn't work like that with 7 so they were either all mute or sounded awful. He then threw a strop in 2005 and refused to release another emulator so I tried XP mode in desperation but it was laggy. He finally released an update about a year ago lol. Now that's what I call a long strop
It's not really a case of them doing this because they want you do buy a new printer - you can't reasonably expect a manufacturer to continue to throw developers at every device they've ever made in history to support the latest OSes, especially for a low-value item like a printer. Your example cited is summed up as "it still fundamentally works, but they haven't ported the bells and whistles for the ~15+ year old printer to a more modern OS". It's not as if you're paying a support subscription or anything.
As per the OP, I did ask him what we were dealing with before I agreed to help, but he hasn't come back to me with what printer it is. I am wondering if I will regret helping a friend (it will be expected to be for free...) with dealing with an tricky request
I gave up F&F tech support years ago and closed my doors forever. People seem to think that it's OK for a techy to sit around for hours and get paid nothing because he is just sitting there, so never offered me a "drink" or anything at all. Now if I hear some one mention technical problems I just sorta nod my head as if to say "haven't got a clue". My contract with my mother, sadly, is life long though lol. FFS she phoned me in a panic "The TV isn't working" (the end of the world for a woman aged over 64) and I rushed over there in a taxi (£18) only to find she'd pressed the f*****g source button.
I still don't know what the printer is, but we're going to do a clean install of Win 7 or 10, depending on the software requirements. What about an Atom powered Net top running XP to look after the printer? It could be wired into the hub Any suggestions for a cheap and simple solution ?
I've suggested that, but he's wedded to his cheap to feed laser AIO.... TBF, I've just made him buy an SSD a nd 2TB drive to migrate to and the family budget is stretched.
Have you thought about making a windows XP live cd. Bit of a faff but at least he could boot into that just use his printer when needed.
hah I must be a prophet !! The day I wrote that I get a message from my cousin on Facebook. Can I leave him my number he needs to call me. Not seen him in about 3 years knew he was after something ! accidentally gave him my mother's phone number and bingo ! when I get here there's a message on the answer machine "My step son has borked his laptop". Not touching that with a 60ft pole.
