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.

Photo Credit: Michael Surran, via Flickr