November 23, 2009

Getting your current printer to work in Windows 7 may turn out to be a piece of cake or all but impossible. For some key information you should have in hand before you start, take a look at the companion article Is Your Printer Ready for Windows 7? If you're ready to install, however, here's how.

As a rule of thumb, the newer your printer is, the more likely it is to work with Windows 7, and the more likely it is for all the features to work, rather than just the basics. In particular, all of the printer manufacturers I spoke to said that they will provide full support for Windows 7 for all of the printers they currently sell. Microsoft says the same is true for all of the printer manufacturers it deals with.

Just as important, because Windows 7 is much more like Windows Vista under the hood than Vista was like Windows XP, any printer with a Vista driver is likely to work with Windows 7 using the Vista driver. Printers that predate Vista and still don't have Vista drivers available are potentially more of a problem, but even some of these can be coaxed to work under Windows 7, if only for basic printing.

The best approach to installing your printer in Windows 7 depends on what drivers and downloads are available for it, and from where. Here are some strategies to follow, starting from the best case of full support available as a download and working down to printers that may or may not work under Windows 7.

1. Look for Windows 7 Printer Drivers

2. Use Vista Drivers

3. Run in Vista Compatibility Mode

4. Manually Add Printer Drivers

5. Install Network Printers Locally

6. Try Using a Universal Printer Driver

7. When All Else Fails…Use Brute Force

Source:-http://www.pcmag.com