Drivers for (Windows) Me?

Upgrading to a new operating system can be exciting up until you try to fire up a graphics-heavy game or send a file to your vintage-but-workhorse printer. That's when you (might) realize you need a new driver.

But it's often the case with Windows updates that drivers don't yet exist when the upgrade ships or that new drivers don't work quite smoothly. Microsoft Windows 2000, released in February, promised to be an operating system with better stability and security than prior Windows releases (see "Hollywood Helps Launch Windows 2000"). But missing drivers has left many Windows 2000 customers with software and hardware incompatibility problems (see "Power PCs Still Lack Windows 2000").

Part of the problem with Windows 2000 is that people loaded it on desktops hoping to use it as a more stable Windows 98, says Jeffrey Tarter, editor and publisher of Softletter. But Windows 98 is really the choice for home use, while Windows 2000 appears even on servers.

"If you're trying to run Windows 2000 as a game machine or using it for multimedia applications, you're going to have compatibility problems," Tarter says. And missing device drivers remains an issue for Windows 2000.

According to Dan Kusnetsky, vice president of system software at IDC, "There are still issues with missing Windows 2000 drivers for older and obscure printers, drives, and scanners."

Fewer Driver Woes for Me

Fortunately, early predictions foretell a less frustrating migration for Windows Millennium edition. Microsoft froze the Windows Me code in June, so vendors have had several months to update their drivers (see "Windows Me Is Here").

Neither Tarter nor Kusnetsky expect as many driver problems with Windows Millennium Edition as occurred with Windows 2000.

"Windows Me is just another version of Windows 9x," Tarter says. "I don't think there's anything particularly new, just chrome and tailfins."

Where you could run into compatibility problems is with older devices that use 16-bit drivers, Kusnetsky suggests.

"Windows Me is basically Windows 98 with the 16-bit subsystems partially removed," Kusnetsky says. "Devices with 32-bit Windows 95 or 98 drivers will probably work fine, but 16-bit drivers might be a problem."