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As for using older printers...simply try different drivers, from newer machines, until you find one that works they way you want. You may actually find an increased resolution in output. Of course the mfgr. will shout doom and gloom telling you this will "damage" your printer. Horse pucky. I ran an HP LJ4 using a 4000 series driver when XP first came out.
I strongly suggest you image you drive before testing because adding/removing print drivers plays heck with the registry, even if you are following MSoft gidel;ines for clean removal.
In your research, please advise if you come up with a way to use
older printers that work on XP but will not work with windows 7. I have
two 712 C HP deskjets, one older and one new, that I really like and would
like to continue to use on Windows 7.
I understand that the core or engine of Vista and Windows 7 is different
from that of XP. There is more to this than just a driver change but any help
for all us older printers out here would be appreciated. Thanks.
Gary
Moderator's comment : It is unwise to post your email address in such a public fashion. It can easily be picked up and you could end up receiving all sorts of rubbish that I very much doubt you'd want.
Windows 7 is based on the Vista kernel and Windows Driver Model (WDM). These are completely different from XP, explaining why XP WDM drivers will not work under Vista or Windows 7.
If there is a Vista driver available for the HP printers you have you should download that. It is unlikely to install as is. Normally you need to create a shortcut to the installation file and then modify the properties so that it will be run in compatibility mode for Vista Service Pack 1. It will also need to be 'Run as Administrator.'
If there is no Vista driver then you should try and determine if there is a compatible printer that has a Vista or Windows 7 driver. Even if you manage to find a usable driver it's unlikely that you'll be able to use all of the printer features.
There is one final option which is frankly far from ideal. If you have the Professional or Ultimate version of Windows 7 you can download and install a Windows XP SP3 virtual machine. This supports legacy devices but you have to install your applications in the XP VM to make use of them.
I sorry that I can't offer a better solution, as far as I know there isn't one.
Rik Mayell - Editor, Best Free Windows 7 / Vista 64 bit Software
All these links are to sites that are a bit too slick & commercial for my taste. I'm on a limited budget both financially & downloadwise. Under those restrictions I think it's better to identify what you want/need & use your smarts & available resources to find it rather than grazing a catalogue of attractive 'stuff'?
Not to worry, there will be a variety of stuff showing upon Fridays (US time). :)
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