When you want to attach a device to a Windows computer, you’ll need to install a hardware driver supplied (most likely) by the third party manufacturer. Windows driver support is rarely accomplished any other way, unfortunately. With Windows, you also have the added wrinkle of 32-bit versus 64-bit driver support.

Products Are Sometimes Semi-Supported

If you’re considering the purchase of new Windows-compatible hardware, check carefully to make sure you have the right kind of driver support for your installation. For awhile, this wasn’t really an issue because most Windows OS installations were 32-bit.

With Windows 7, it’s a bigger deal because 32-bit drivers won’t help a 64-bit installation and vice versa. You need to know what you have, and then determine whether your proposed hardware addition supports your installation. 32-bit support is common among Windows devices. If a manufacturer makes only one type of driver, the 32-bit OS is likely supported.

Less likely to receive support is the 64-bit installation. That’s unfortunate for users who want to move forward with 64-bit devices or have 64-bit installations of Windows 7 (or Windows XP). Microsoft isn’t in much of a position to demand 64-bit support, and overall, the company hasn’t done a very good job of enticing third-party manufacturers to make the effort to produce 64-bit drivers. This creates the situation that many 64-bit users find themselves in; they have devices that are (and aren’t) supported.

Running a 64-bit version of Windows will give you better memory management, better OS security, and a clean break from the older-than-old 16-bit subsystem. Running 64-bit Windows is a necessity if you want to use more than 4 GB of RAM, also not uncommon these days. Certainly, this is true for servers and has been for quite some time, but even certain categories of users want to have more than 4 GB of RAM.

The decision to adopt 64-bit installations isn’t trivial, nor is the work needed to revert to 32-bit. If you have a 64-bit processor (not uncommon these days), there’s no reason to settle for a 32-bit installation, save for the availability of Windows hardware drivers.
In some cases, 32-bit installations aren’t realistic. If you do a lot of photo editing, gaming, animations, renderings, virtualization or computation-intensive work, you’ll want to load up on memory as much as possible, and that means exceeding the 4 GB RAM limit of the 32-bit version of Windows.

For the most part, both users and Microsoft have to do a better job of lobbying third-party manufacturers to support the 64-bit architecture. Currently, Microsoft is in the process of dropping 32-bit support, but slowly. By accelerating the phase-out of 32-bit support, Microsoft could force the issue of 64-bit support on hardware manufacturers that are consistently late to the party.

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Microsoft is expected to unveil an ARM version of Windows including hardware drivers for the new processor architecture. The current version of Windows cannot be ported as-is because existing drivers for Windows will not work with non-Intel processors.

New Windows Version Will Debut At CES

Several media outlets have reported that Microsoft will debut the new architecture for Windows at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January. The ARM processor was developed for mobile devices like tablets and smartphones, and represents a significant shift in Microsoft’s strategy to penetrate the mobile market.

Microsoft has long made available Windows Mobile, but the company is trying to address Apple’s iPad and gain a foothold in the tablet market. Devices that use Intel processors are less desirable in mobile devices because they generally use more power, and therefore reduce battery life.

The Apple iPad uses a customized A4 chip, and will have been on the market for nearly a year by the time Microsoft’s much awaited tablet computer hits the scene. In addition to the ARM version of Windows, Microsoft is expected to unveil its tablet computer at the 2011 CES.

Samsung and Dell will reportedly sell tablet PCs that ship with the Windows operating system. Intel says it will introduce a line of processors designed especially for tablet computers by the end of 2011, which would allow standard versions of Windows to operate smoothly on them.

One area in which Microsoft will have to work to make sure customers remain happy is its ARM drivers. The unavailability of drivers will sorely limit the functionality of the new tablet devices, and buyers are not likely to remain happy for very long in the absence of working drivers.

Tablets are meant to be mobile, but connectivity to other devices, both wireless and wired, is sure to be a significant draw (or turnoff) for consumers who are trying to get the most out of their tablet PCs. In the absence of ARM drivers for Windows, Microsoft can count on another failure in its effort to mount a serious challenge to the players already in the market space, most notably Apple.

If Intel can indeed deliver a line of tablet-ready processors by the end of 2011, the pressure may be off Microsoft and hardware manufacturers to rely on ARM-based processors to challenge Apple. The availability of Intel drivers would mean that consumers can more reliably depend upon existing driver implementations, or working drivers that contain relatively minor modifications. Should Intel fail to deliver, and the porting of Windows drivers for ARM processors take too long or experience significant problems, Microsoft could once again find itself without a dog in the fight.

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When it comes to Windows drivers, users need to make a decision about whether they want Windows to search for, download and install new drivers or not. On the surface, it seems like having windows do all the heavy lifting is a fine solution. That’s not always true, especially if you have older hardware running on a newer operating system, or you have a different mechanism of loading drivers.

You Can Disable Windows Driver Updates

You can have Windows download and install driver updates, but you may not want that to happen. If you want to handle driver downloading and installation yourself, or you use a driver management program like Driver Detective, you may want to disable the Windows Update driver download function.

Having Windows download and install updates might sound like a good idea, but often the results are less than spectacular. Windows sometimes misses driver updates, especially if the manufacturer hasn’t made the driver available to Microsoft. Windows has also been known to pull the wrong driver, which can cause a whole new set of problems (or not), depending upon how you use your hardware.

Most people (myself included) are a little wary of having Windows download and install software automatically. If you’ve been around computers long enough, you know that having computers make pre-programmed decisions doesn’t always produce positive results. The thought of having Windows perform this particular action on its own all the time is enough to make you a little queasy.

If that describes you, here’s a way to disable the Windows Update feature as it relates to drivers. Setting Windows Update to ignore driver updates will not affect any other action that Windows Update does. It will just put you in charge of monitoring and maintaining your Windows drivers.

Under System Properties, choose Device Installation Settings. Once the window opens, choose “Never install driver software from Windows Update” and choose “Save Changes.” Windows Update will ignore device driver updates in the future. This is the way you want your computer configured if you plan to use a device driver management software package like Driver Detective. With Driver Detective, the software will locate, manage and install all device driver updates when it finds them. It will also back up existing drivers, the registry and will back up any new drivers, so you can easily revert if you need to. With Driver Detective, you’re in better control of your device driver updates and your computer will behave more reliably and remain up-to-date at all times.

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Last week, Microsoft said that its research shows that nearly half of all Windows 7 installations are the company’s 64-bit version of the OS. That’s up from just 11% for Windows Vista installations and less than 1% of Windows XP installations. What’s the reason for the shift? The cost of compatible hardware, the cost of RAM, and the availability of 64-bit drivers are being credited for enticing users to make the switch.

What Makes The 64-Bit Version Of Windows Different?

Is there a substantial difference between the performance of a 32-bit system and a 64-bit system? The short answer is yes. The big advantage of the 64-bit system is that it can address more RAM. The more RAM you have available, the faster your computer can work (to a point) and the more simultaneous tasks it can manage (to a point). You may also benefit from having a 64-bit system if you use very computation-intense software, like engineering design software, graphic software, or gaming software.

The downside of running a 64-bit system is that you need to have 64-bit drivers for your hardware. If the manufacturer of a piece of hardware makes a 64-bit version of the driver you need, you’re in luck. Carry on!

On the other hand, if the manufacturer of a piece of hardware has made only a 32-bit driver, you’re pretty much out of luck. 32-bit and 64-bit drivers aren’t interchangeable. They’re not even a little bit compatible, either. 32-bit is 32-bit and 64-bit is 64-bit, and “never the twain shall meet,” so to speak. Microsoft does maintain a compatibility list, which has a comprehensive (though probably not exhaustive) list of 64-bit compatible devices. You can find this list at The Windows 7 Compatibility Center.

The site is divided into two tabs: Software and Hardware. The Software tab contains major functions (e.g., gaming, communications, graphics and printing, etc), so you may have to do a bit of guesswork to figure out how Microsoft views the software you’re looking for. Each major group also has a dropdown menu that activates when you “mouse over” the category heading.
The hardware tab, which is where you’d be looking for device drivers, is divided into major device types. You can also search the site using keywords, and limiting your text searches to hardware or software. You can also filter your search results by system type (64-bit or32-bit), and manufacturer. Microsoft even has some information on devices that are not currently 64-bit compatible, but will have a 64-bit driver in the near future. If your device isn’t on the list and Microsoft has no information about the device’s future 64-bit status, check with the manufacturer to see if they have a 64-bit driver, or if a 64-bit driver is in the works.

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