Printer driver woes with Windows 7 and Snow Leopard
November 10, 2009 by Steve HannafordPosted in: In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Solutions
Two ballyhooed new versions of the leading operating systems from Microsoft and Apple have led to one inevitable peril of upgrading — broken printer drivers.
As a BusinessWeek article puts it: “drivers, the software glue that connects hardware to the operating system, generally cause the most problems after any upgrade.”
The late, unlamented Windows Vista operating system was notorious for driver problems and the difficulty of attaching devices was one of many factors that persuaded many offices to stick with the now-creaky Windows XP.
One big plus in Windows 7 is the availability of an improved Windows Update program, which does a pretty good job of automating the setup of printer drivers, most importantly when you are upgrading from Vista to Windows 7. However, given the proliferation of printers on the market and especially now off the market but in use, it’s inevitable that some drivers won’t be found automatically. That may involve going off to the vendor’s website and finding an updated driver that will work. But sometimes, there’s not one available and you’ve got a problem.
Many printer vendors have pages on their website that deal with Windows 7 driver compatibility — for example HP, Lexmark, and Xerox.
Some others, particularly copier-centric companies, don’t make things so easy, at least not yet. We expect that all of these issues will be solved in the next few months, but make sure that you can run critical machines before switching over.
When Apple’s Snow Leopard operating system (OS X 6.10) debuted a few months ago, there were problems with a variety of printer and scanner drivers, including from Epson and Hewlett-Packard machines. Most of the problems have been fixed or updated, but there are still models that have problems. Apple provides a list of compatible printers here.
Hewlett-Packard also offers a troubleshooting forum online for Snow Leopard converters.
The situation has, according to all reports, gotten much better. But the same advice applies—make sure your critical devices are compatible before making a major upgrade.
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Tags: drivers, Microsoft, troubleshooting, Windows 7
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November 11th, 2009 at 10:30 am
I love Win7, but I’m finding this EXACT issue with my three Canon printers we have in the house…this should have been figured out before release!
November 18th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Hmmmm, no mention of being able to install Windows XP drivers in Windows 7. Windows 7 now has compatibility mode for many device drivers that allow it to use earlier Windows drivers for a device.
I have successfully installed Windows XP audio and printer drivers into Windows 7.
December 16th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
I am having problems with my HP Laserjet 4014 printer. The printer keeps re-installing every time I start the computer and only works about 1/4 of the time. It is insane and irritating. I just bought the printer about a month before I bought the PC with Windows 7 on it and didn’t have any problems with Vista and print drivers. I have had to use XP compatibility mode for another program I have to run in the office.
April 7th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
I tried a hp printer with my hp pc, that was bought only one month apart, and it didn’t work, and it wouldn’t take the driver cd. I now just bought a lexmark and it won’t do anything, either. I’m extrememly frustrated!