Does Windows 7 Pro Support XP Drivers?

[Chaim613]

I want to connect a HP 1320 Printer to a Windows 7 Pro machine.

Only the Printer has a faulty USB port.

Hence I need to connect it with a DB-25 Parallel connector, but the Pro machine has a USB connector only.

I found an adapter which is compatible with Windows XP.

Windows 7 Pro has an XP compatibility for software.

Does it have a compatibility for XP drivers?

The Adapter is[FONT=&quot] USB to DB25 Serial Port + CN36 Parallel Port Cable SKU: 21014[/FONT]

Thanx

 

[marsmimar]

I think the best answer is "maybe". Sometimes an XP driver will work in Compatibility Mode.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/316-compatibility-mode.html

These Microsoft articles give a bit more info about trying to use XP drivers with Windows 7.

will xp hardware drivers work in windows 7 professional xp mode? - Microsoft Community

Windows XP Drivers in Compatibility Mode on Windows 7

 

[KKS21199]

you can get it work if you use windows 7 Xp Mode =] The first three searches explain your question

 

[alphanumeric]

I used a centronics to USB cable to connect an old laser printer to my Windows 7 PC. The only drivers I had to install were for the printer. Windows 7 handled everything else on its own. It was just like pluging in a USB printer, no extra drivers or steps were required.

 

[spapakons]

Hello! If Windows don't detect the adaptor automatically, then you can try installing the XP driver in compatibility mode. If that also fails, you can try manually installing the driver from Control Panel, Device Manager. But this shouldn't be too hard. Same trick applies in other old devices as well, assuming you are running 32-bit Windows 7. For Windows 7 64-bit you need 64-bit drivers which most likely the adapter doesn't have. As a last resort, you can add a new parallel port to your system via legacy PCI or PCI-E card.