Main Area and Open Discussion > General Software Discussion
Why is Software for Hardware Always Sucky?
lanux128:
the advent of 64-bit OS has become a good excuse for manufacturers to drop support for their older models, by NOT writing a 64-bit driver. thus enticing users to buy new hardware to complement their new 64-bit OS. at our workplace, we have 4 Canon scanners rendered unusable due to us upgrading to Win7 64-bit. i can see how this tactic will expand into other types of hardware.
Eóin:
I'm not sure the 64bit aspect comes into it lanux, upgraded drivers have to be written for a switch from say Vista 32bit to Win 7 32bit too.
f0dder:
I'm not sure the 64bit aspect comes into it lanux, upgraded drivers have to be written for a switch from say Vista 32bit to Win 7 32bit too.-Eóin (February 27, 2011, 04:08 PM)
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Do they? I thought Vista and Win7 were pretty much interchangeable, except that Win7 likes WDDM1.1 video drivers :)
Eóin:
I hadn't thought so, but could easily be wrong.
Also related is a requirement MS impose that if you want your drivers certified, you must provide an x64 version
All products and drivers (kernel-mode or user-mode) submitted for Microsoft signature or logo certification for a given Windows operating system must support the x64 version of that operating system, with certain exceptions described below. All x64 device drivers must adhere to the Microsoft x64 software-calling convention, as defined in the Windows Driver Kit.
This requirement applies for Windows Vista and later operating systems. It applies to all logo-qualified and unclassified drivers. X86 driver submissions are optional in all cases. When submitting an x86 driver or device, vendors must also make an x64 driver submission. Update submissions for x86 drivers need not include x64 drivers unless the updates also apply to the x64 drivers. This requirement does not apply to IA64 devices and drivers; there is no requirement for IA64 devices and drivers to support the x64 architecture.-http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/gg463054
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lanux128:
I'm not sure the 64bit aspect comes into it lanux, upgraded drivers have to be written for a switch from say Vista 32bit to Win 7 32bit too.-Eóin (February 27, 2011, 04:08 PM)
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this could be the case for newer models but not for older ones. as can be seen in this 'win7 compatibility center' page for canon scanners, some are clearly marked 'not compatible'. i've tried using 32-bit drivers but win7 refuse to run while the 64-bit drivers of the nearest model crashes. all in all we decided that this was too much hassle to pursue any further.
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