Windows 7 forum: Compatibility issues with ALL my peripherial devices.

you'll need to find Windows 7 drivers (if not found: try Vista drivers). You might need special 64-bit drivers for the 64-OS and that is an extra hurdle.

Did you run the Windows 7 upgrade advisor on your old XP machine? It does a reasonable job telling you what periferals and programs are incompatible. It makes sense to do such before you buy a Windows 7 machine, so you know what new periferals and programs to buy.

All I can advise: if Windows 7 doesn't provide the drivers on the disk go to the makers sites and see what drivers they have available for download.

Kees

There is a compatibility center where you can check for drivers/recommendations (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/compatibility/windows-7/en-us/default.aspx). At this point it is probably a long shot but worth checking into.

Windows 7 couldn't possibly come with every driver for every possible peripheral device out there. So try using Windows Update and keep checking for all of the updates available.

As for your older external devices (printers, fax, scanners, etc.) you're going to need to go to the manufacturer's site for the updates.

One other option is to spend the $30.00 it costs to subscribe to a service like Driver Agent. They will scan your computer and all of the devices and 99% of the time they will identify the required driver.

Also you might want to take a look at your Device Manager and see if the devices are being recognized by the system.

If your older devices are too old, you may need to replace them. The good news is that you can buy printers, scanners, and other similar devices today for a fraction of what they used to cost.

Good Luck

I work on computers for a living. A pretty good living too. I think you should get your facts straight before you start accusing people of giving "One bad idea after another".

The truth is that one of the greatest advances that Microsoft, working with hardware vendors, has made in recent years is getting drivers working with their OS. If the Windows Update driver doesn't seem to work for you, then go to the manufacturers website and get theirs. Newer systems (Vista & 7), leave very few drivers that need loading after the initial installation.

As far a "driver finding services" go, I can only say that Driver Agent has consistently provided 99% of the drivers I need for the past 4 years. Thirty bucks may seem a lot to you (sorry), but when you load 20 computers a week, I'd pay 10 times that just to have the service available. It works exactly as advertised.

Computer, Printer, and other Peripheral manufacturers continually come up with ideas to make our computers faster, easier to use, and more compatible. In the process older equipment gets outdated. I'm sorry to say that my 1982 IBM PC XT cannot run Windows 7 because it only has an 8bit bus and the hard drive is only 20MB. But I still have it and it still works, and I can still write programs on it. But my 5 1/4 inch Floppy disks won't work on my new computer. My goodness man, sometimes we just have to give in and move up to the newer technology. My first computer was a Timex/Sinclair 1000 hooked up to a cassette deck and a black and white TV. And I'm proud to have it sitting around the house collecting dust.

By the way, I didn't notice anything helpful in your post at all.

Thank you all for the suggestions!
I will need to look up Win XP mode. . . can I go back and forth between modes? Is it something like a dual boot that takes up a ton of hard drive room or partitions it?

My scanner is USB, but I don't have dual monitors. Do I still want to consider going back and forth between the modes??

Base on your stats...it looks like you have Windows 7 64 bit. You have old hardware that has 32 bit drivers. Now when I brought a laptop back in 2008.....all the Tech writers stated there could be problems with 64 bit OS and old peripheals, so I brought Vista 32 bit laptop. Now the driver problem has become better last year (2009) and now this year 2010.....but again you still have some old equipment. The issue is you were not well informed. I upgraded to W7 on my laptop and PC to W7 32 bits, Driver thee were 3 cases- Biometric reader on laptop (no solution) and on my PC, MS Optical Mouse and my Lexmark printer (last years model). Lexmark has updated the driver for W7 and Microsoft has a new driver for all their mice..

I am going to try and be the voice of reason here. First, and most important, you clearly did zero research before buying. For someone who knows very little about computers you way over bought on your hardware. No one needs 6 gigs of ram or for that matter 64 bit windows. Had you done just the basics in research you would not be in this situation. To now blame 7 is silly. Before you bought anything everyone of your problems were easily found out. Your ignorance or your choice or for what ever reason is the problem. Not trying to beat you up here, just telling what you should know. If the system is very new, best thing to do is return it and start over again. You can probably spend less on the computer and get a cpu that works with xp mode in 7 Pro. That will make using all you existing stuff very easy.

Hello diane783,

Check out the Windows 7 Compatibility site: (There you will find out about hardware and software compatibilty.) http://www.microsoft.com/windows/compatibility/en-us/default.aspx
There is a pulldown from which you can choose "hardware" and "software".

There are also some great articles, instructional videos and such to help with your Windows 7 at our Springboard site: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/default.aspx

Thanks again,
John M.
Microsoft Windows Client Support