Written by tjchan on Monday, October 26, 2009

Windows 7’s Virtual XP Mode – Not Scanner Happy


windows 7

I am a big fan of virtualization.  Desktop virtualization should close the gap and allow legacy applications and devices to work.  However, I was a bit surprised when I ran into some issues with scanners.  In the line of technical support, it is my duty to empower the user by showing and teaching them how to use software and hardware.   If a user comes to me saying that they have Windows XP, I’ll use Windows XP.  If they have Vista, I’ll use Vista.  We all know how things can be difficult enough with so many various versions floating around.  On my work computer, I use Windows 7 Professional and because I have access to Virtual XP mode, that’s what I use when explaining things to XP users.

g4050

We went to test an HP ScanJet G4050 (which works great in  Windows 7) on the Virtual  XP and after installation of all the drivers and attaching the USB directly to the virtual machine, the unit would not scan.  This to me was a major disappointment.  After dragging the unit to an actual Windows XP workstation and installing the software and drivers from the disc, it worked fine.  What this showed me was that virtual environments do have differences between physical boxes and thus cannot be used exclusively for troubleshooting / demonstration methods. 

neatreceipts

The same result occurred when I used my NeatReceipts scanner which did not have 64-bit drivers (unless I upgrade to NeatWorks 4).  Because of the lack of 64-bit drivers, I though I would use the 32-bit Virtual XP mode.  During scanning it just stalls after scanning about 20% of the document.  So much for that idea. 

border

So far, 2 out of 2 scanners that I have tried with Virtual XP mode have failed.  Is this the trend or am I missing something?  Do you have a scanner success or failure story with Virtual XP Mode?  Let us know!

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4 Comments

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Derek
Oct 26, 2009

TJ,

Have you tried using VirtualBox to run your VM’s in? Or are you using VPC XP mode because it has it’s own license for XP?


Timothy
Oct 27, 2009

I have not tried VirtualBox. I am however using VPC XP mode because of the included license for XP. (I don’t have any spare licenses of XP…at least not at this time.)


Cory
Oct 30, 2009

Ran into this problem as well. Running 7 pro. I have an HP Scanjet 8290 it actually works better in 7 than it did in xp but I had an older version of acrobat that wouldn’t load into 7. So I put it in xp mode and doesn’t see this scanner. Virtual machine see’s it fine but not the xp mode. Hopefully there will be a fix.


CJ
Nov 12, 2009

Yesterday I installed a Microtek Scanmaker 4800 that worked fine on an XP system into WIN 7 XP mode. I had a new Dell Vostro 220 with Win 7 Professional. I installed the scanner driver in XP mode using new downloaded XP drivers and software from Microtek. The scanner did work in XP mode but would not release into Win 7. In Win 7 Control Panel it recognized the scanner but said that the driver was missing. I’m new to Win 7-am I missing something? Any input/ideas would be appreciated.

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