Regardless of what version of Microsoft Windows you’re using, you’ll need drivers to make your hardware work properly. The issue of working drivers is especially sensitive because a working driver is sometimes the difference between having to upgrade hardware and being able to retain what you’ve got. Despite Microsoft’s best efforts to make sure that Windows 7 drivers are available for third-party hardware, there’s no guarantee that hardware manufacturers will make drivers available for older hardware.

Driver Detective Can Make A Difference

For some manufacturers, making drivers available or abandoning a particular hardware platform is a matter of practicality. Developing a Windows 7 driver for hardware may not represent much effort, especially if a Windows Vista driver was made available. On the other hand, if a manufacturer chose not to make a Windows Vista driver available, the amount of work needed to support its older hardware at this point may be too great to justify writing drivers for legacy products. In some ways, the advent of Windows 7 will allow hardware manufacturers to make a “clean break” when it comes to their older (but still serviceable) hardware.

For most users, however, the biggest challenge is finding drivers – even ones that are readily available. For users that have difficulty managing drivers or who don’t use (or don’t trust) the automatic update function in Windows, using a driver manager software like Driver Detective means that you’ll never have to worry about finding the correct driver for the hardware you’re using or downloading a driver that’s incompatible with your OS. You’ll never have to troubleshoot driver problems either. When a new driver is available or your existing driver has gone bad, Driver Detective will identify the problem and correct it immediately. It’s almost like having your own personal PC technician working on your computer around the clock.

Driver Detective has been certified to work on all versions of Windows. No matter what OS you’re running, Driver Detective can help you manage your drivers and keep your system updated. It even takes care of the installation. You simply load and configure Driver Detective and the software does the rest. Driver Detective is an award-winning program that’s been downloaded more than 1,000,000 times by users all over the world. Regardless of what version of Windows you’re running, let Driver Detective manage your system drivers.

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Perhaps you’re planning to upgrade to Windows 7, or you’re just considering an upgrade to Vista. Possibly, you’ve decided that an upgrade wasn’t in the cards for you, so you bought a new computer with Windows 7 pre-loaded. All set, right? Maybe, but then again, maybe not.

Windows Hardware Requires Drivers

Windows-compatible hardware will work correctly only when the software driver for it is installed. The software driver tells the computer how to interface with the hardware and (sometimes) vice versa. Although Microsoft writes the operating system, it isn’t responsible for writing hardware drivers. To be sure, Microsoft Windows comes with a passel of hardware drivers available, but inevitably, software drivers – even for the most common hardware or for hardware produced by the biggest names in the industry – may not be included.

This issue is especially troublesome for both Microsoft and end users like you. It’s trouble for Microsoft because their operating system often shoulders the blame when things don’t work smoothly… (after all, this problem cropped up only AFTER you upgraded the OS, right?)… and it’s also trouble for you because a piece of hardware you depend upon doesn’t work properly – if at all.

Don’t assume that only specialty hardware is affected; the most common driver problems involve video displays and printers – hardly “exotic” hardware. Here’s the rub, though. The hardware manufacturer is responsible for creating the driver. When Microsoft released Vista, many manufacturers decided that they wouldn’t support Vista for much of the hardware they made in the past, and only created Vista drivers for “new” hardware.

Without a working driver, there’s little incentive to upgrade to the newest operating system, is there? As a result, Vista (through no fault of its own) gained a somewhat undeserved reputation as being a “bad” upgrade. Now, there ARE several things about Vista that IT professionals have the right to complain about; Vista’s hardly perfect. But it is the platform that Microsoft chose to build Windows 7 on.

For the end user, if your hardware didn’t have a Vista driver, it’s unlikely to work on Windows 7, either. That leaves you in an awkward position; upgrade your hardware when you upgrade your OS, or don’t upgrade anything at all – with one possible exception. If you’re running XP, you have scads of RAM installed and your processor understands the concept of “virtualization,” you can run a virtual copy of XP, complete with old drivers. To be sure, it’s not the ideal solution – especially if you’re talking about hardware like printers or displays, but it will buy you some time to research your options and make a decision.

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Last week, I upgraded one of my home computers to Windows 7. The upgrade went quite smoothly. The computer was running Windows Vista Home Premium, so I didn’t have to do any major work. (I’m not sure who at Microsoft chooses the desktop backgrounds, but some of them are somewhat disturbing. There’s nothing bad about them; they’re just highly unusual.)

For users who are running an older version of the operating system, such as XP, a clean installation is required. Clean installations require you to do a complete backup of your data before you perform any upgrades. Once the upgrade is complete, you can transfer your files back to the upgraded computer.

Drivers Aplenty

Not every hardware manufacturer released drivers for Windows 7 ahead of the product launch, and a few manufacturers have released lists of products that will (or will not) be supported under Windows 7. HP hasn’t yet released any printer drivers and says that its older printer products will have “limited” support. Generally, HP printers that don’t already have a Vista driver aren’t likely to get a driver that’s Windows 7-compatible, leaving even popular older models out in the rain.

For some users, that will mean upgrading the printer. There are several low-cost printers on the market today, including some nice multi-function and mono laser printers. Driver availability aside, often the cost of refurbishing older printers (with a new photo drum and toner cartridge) will exceed the cost of buying a new printer.

Manufacturers are much more likely to provide driver support for newer printers, too. There’s at least an even chance that you’ll find something that works just as well as what you’ve got for less money than you think, so if your old printer isn’t supported, do the research on replacing it with a newer model. Before you buy, however, verify with the manufacturer that a Windows 7-compatible driver will be available for the printer you select.

For the most part, the feedback on the migration to Windows 7 has been pretty good. No migration is without problems, but the volume of complaints from users is noticeably lower than it was when Vista first appeared on the market. In general, consumers are happy with the product and are finding that the most common drivers they need are readily available. That’s a big leap forward for most Windows users. If you’re still planning to stick with XP, you’ll be able to order new computers with a downgrade license for the next few months. After that, you’re likely to be on your own.

Photo Credit: Barron Fujimoto, via Flickr