The Devices in Windows 7

Attached hardware under Windows 7 Operating System

After beta testing Windows 7 operating system I would like to share some observations regarding printers.

I noticed that Windows 7 recognizes almost every printer I have connected to the computers. That is the good part. If the printer is not relatively new, the manufacturer's software for ink levels or other alerts may  not work under Windows 7.

Printer companies must write new drivers for Windows 7. This doesn't happen as quickly as we need it to. Older printer users suffer under this. Older in this case can be 1 year old. I have found though that sometimes the XP or Vista version of the software will work without difficulty. The printer will install and usually function physically. If you are a user that relies on the "extras", be prepared; they may not be available.

One device which has been bugging me is a MAXTOR ONE TOUCH III Firewire 400/800/USB 2.0. During one version upgrade of Windows 7 the device stopped working all together. The problem here is, it is a storage device designed to hold files. In this situation, I have four of them that no longer connect. It appears that there is a driver that is not compatible with this operating system. The four drives hold 5Tb of data.

It is not the Maxtor product line, just these models. The newer model does connect and has no errors. Perhaps the devices will be OK under the retail version.

Microsoft provides a hardware compatibility page at this link. www.microsoft.com/hardware/windows7/support.mspx. Be sure to check it out to be informed regarding some of the devices you may have.

It is my experience that just as there are many unique people in the world, there are unique compatibilities with all new operating systems. My practice is to go to the Microsoft Technet site, technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/default.aspx , or to a technical site that specializes in your operating system and search for answers.

To do a specific, filtered Google search for your device driver upgrade, you might try this in the search box:

"Windows 7" "updated device driver" ~"Maxtor One Touch III"

Substitute your device for the Maxtor name. Use the quotes and the tilde before the device name. The quotes give the search engine instruction to show results with that phrase.

To do the same search for technical forums for your device try this search:

"Technical Support" ~"Maxtor One Touch III"

Again, substitute the device name for your device.

Windows 7 has a reporting feature for devices and software that causes problems. Microsoft has sent messages back to my PC when they corrected a problem or updated a driver. This feature has improved the product from the first beta release to this current Release Candidate I am using.