Win 7 64-bit and legacy apps

[mubs]

Y'all know I'm planning to build a new system. Want to run win7 64-bit on it. Have some legacy apps I need advice with.


a) A Win 3.1 era app that I still use. The newest OS it'll run on is Win 98. I use it on a W98 guest running in VMWare Workstation ver. 4 on an XP host. The only peripheral it needs is the printer; it sees the printer as a networked printer available on the host. My old printer was an HP LJ6, which had drivers for W98. I doubt my new printer has drivers for W98. I'll probably have to print to a PDF (asuming PDF drivers exist for W98) in the VM and print it from the host.

What's the best way to continue using the program in Win7-64?


b) My scanner. Epson updated the drivers to work in W7-32, but not for 64-bit. Can I just install the 32-bit driver in Win7-64 Pro or higher and expect Win7-64 to run it in "Windows XP Mode" ? Or am I asking for too much since this is not an app but a driver? Should I run XP or Win7-32 in a VM and use the scanner from there? Or should I dual boot W7-64 and XP -- this will also solve problem a)


c) I presume Photoshop CS3 works in W7-64; a quick search indicates that it will.


Thanks.

 

[Handruin]

Y'all know I'm planning to build a new system. Want to run win7 64-bit on it. Have some legacy apps I need advice with.


a) A Win 3.1 era app that I still use. The newest OS it'll run on is Win 98. I use it on a W98 guest running in VMWare Workstation ver. 4 on an XP host. The only peripheral it needs is the printer; it sees the printer as a networked printer available on the host. My old printer was an HP LJ6, which had drivers for W98. I doubt my new printer has drivers for W98. I'll probably have to print to a PDF (asuming PDF drivers exist for W98) in the VM and print it from the host.

What's the best way to continue using the program in Win7-64?


b) My scanner. Epson updated the drivers to work in W7-32, but not for 64-bit. Can I just install the 32-bit driver in Win7-64 Pro or higher and expect Win7-64 to run it in "Windows XP Mode" ? Or am I asking for too much since this is not an app but a driver? Should I run XP or Win7-32 in a VM and use the scanner from there? Or should I dual boot W7-64 and XP -- this will also solve problem a)


c) I presume Photoshop CS3 works in W7-64; a quick search indicates that it will.


Thanks.

I'm running VMWare workstation 7.x on a Windows 7 64-bit system and it still offers Windows 98 as a VM option. I believe you could continue to migrate your Win98 VM over to your new Win7 64-bit workstation running a Win98 VM.


You will need a 64-bit driver to run in Win 7 64-bit according to Microsoft.

If I'm running a 64-bit version of Windows, do I need 64-bit drivers for my devices?

Yes, all hardware devices need 64-bit drivers to work on a 64-bit version of Windows. Drivers designed for 32-bit versions of Windows won't work on computers running 64-bit versions of Windows.

If you are unsure whether there is a 64-bit driver available for your device, see Update a driver for hardware that isn't working properly or go to the device manufacturer's website.

I can't confirm if CS3 works, but given it's a 32-bit application, it should run fine assuming no other compatibility issues.

 

[Will Rickards]

Check your scanner compatibility here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/compatibility/windows-7/en-us/default.aspx
It might just work.

What does this really old program due that you need so badly?

 

[Mercutio]

I have an old wide-format Mustek SCSI scanner that only has drivers for Windows 95. It doesn't even install in Win98.

It works fine in SANE under Linux to this day.

 

[BingBangBop]

I have an HP Scanjet 5370C (USB interface) that no has no drivers for Vista or Win7 and I thought I was going to have to throw it away after I switched to Win7 everywhere. However, I found that the Win XP drivers work fine under Win7's XP mode. So I simply use XP-mode whenever I need its use. If your scanner uses the LPT port or a SCSI interface you may need to research if those are exposed in XP-mode for I know not

I even converted my original XP partion (after some manipulation to get the partition size below 64GB) into a VHD and I can run that inside Win7. The biggest flaw of XP-Mode is that it will use only a single core of my quad core processor.

 

[mubs]

Thanks all for the replies.

a) Handy, I've paid for VMWare workstation three times already (ver 2, upgarde to 3, upgrade to 4), and don't want to pay a fourth time if I can help! Will Virtual PC convert my VMWare guest OS image and run it, anybody know? Or will the free VMWare Player be able to run my Workstation 4 W98 guest OS?

b) Sorry I forgot to mention that my scanner is USB2. If it sucked, I'd just get a new one, but it's really good. I've checked both Epson and Microsoft, and they're both very clear that there is no support in W7-64. Apparently there is a 3rd party that makes sw for scanners for any OS, but that'll cost another $80 that I'd rather not spend. BBB's solution is heartening to hear; I was hoping somebody would confirm that!

I'd appreciate some additional help on item a), please?

Thanks.

 

[mubs]

I forgot to add that ideally, I just want to move the w98 guest OS to the new environment. Reinstalling w98 and the app, and reconfiguring everything will be such a royal pain that it will be the choice of last resort.

 

[Handruin]

You could also try reinstalling you licensed version of vmware workstation 4 on Win7 and see if it works fine. You may not need to upgrade that, I just don't know if that older version will work on a newer Windows OS. I also don't see why you couldn't install the latest player and just run with it as-is.

 

[BingBangBop]

If you have any issues with your USB drivers for your scanner using XP mode try turning off the Integration features. I found that necessary for my scanner. I forgot to mention that earlier.