I've got a Canon CP-200 photo printer which works perfectly except for the fact that it only works on a Windows XP machine!

Our home netbook (ASUS) is running Vista and because there isn't a Vista / Win 7 driver for the printer, is it worth setting up the ASUS for dual boot?? Haven't got a clue how to do it but wondered whether it was worth the hassle? Could XP be installed on a USB drive?

At present, to print I have to transfer the pictures to a USB drive and use a very old Sony Vaio which is running XP.

Is there an option to run thedriver in xp-compatible mode?

Should be backwards compatible but dual boot is feasible if you have the licences

TBH it's probably not worth the hassle and a new printer is probably the best move in the longer term.

XP can't be easily installed on a USB stick but you might be able to get a bootable linux distro on USB to run the printer.

Another alternative is to run XP as a virtual machine within the Windows 7 computer.

http://windows.micro...de-in-windows-7

^ Only works on Win7 Pro/Ultimate

https://www.virtualbox.org/

^free virtualisation.

Edited 25 June, 201313 yr by Aspman

As above -a new printer is probably the best option. However it is perfectly possible to run Linux off a USB stick -see www.pendrivelinux.com and here without making any changes to your current install. I've done this in the past - I currently have a dual boot on my netbook set with Win 7 and Ubuntu 12.04 LTS

@G-Slave: not sure to be honest but perhaps this is similar to the solution which Aspman is suggesting?

TBH it's probably not worth the hassle and a new printer is probably the best move in the longer term.

XP can't be easily installed on a USB stick but you might be able to get a bootable linux distro on USB to run the printer.

Another alternative is to run XP as a virtual machine within the Windows 7 computer.

http://windows.micro...de-in-windows-7

^ Only works on Win7 Pro/Ultimate

https://www.virtualbox.org/

^free virtualisation.

As above -a new printer is probably the best option. However it is perfectly possible to run Linux off a USB stick -see www.pendrivelinux.com and here without making any changes to your current install. I've done this in the past - I currently have a dual boot on my netbook set with Win 7 and Ubuntu 12.04 LTS

I have thought that a new printer is probably the better and easier solution although it seems a shame given that there is nothing wrong with it, aside from the lack of a latest driver. The ASUS is only running Win 7 Starter, so won't be able to run the virtual XP without an upgrade, which would pay for a new printer.

DO you think it would be possible to run the printer with a different driver? The current printer model is a Canon CP-200, but could it work with say a CP-900 or 810 driver?

^{not entirely sure, but if you look at the properties of the driver, see if you can run in XP-comp.}

^{Other than that, it sounds like your version of Win7 will not allow a virtual XP to run.}

^{If you are determined to go ahead with this printer and if you have the time, I would recommend virtualbox, assuming your printer is usb and assuming your USB drivers are proper ones, you should be able to link the virtual environment to the physical hardware. Bear in mind that netbooks don't necessarily have sufficient memory and space to easily implement all of this though.}

Have you tried installing it on a Vista/Win7 machine??

My HP doesnt have a Win7 driver; and it refuses to use the Vista driver for Win7, but it WILL install on a Win7 machine using "Windows Default Drivers", this allows basic printing, but wont enable the duplex unit, Wifi or BlueTooth printing.

Would a Virtual OS help? such as Oracle virtual box. I dont know it it would allow you to install the printer. But on one of my PCs I am running a Native Win 7 and have XP pro as a guest OS. Maybe someone more technical can shed light on whether it is possible to install printer drivers into a guest OS using oracle virtual box or VMWare. Your netbook would have to have a fairly beefy spec though if it was possible.

whether it is possible to install printer drivers into a guest OS using oracle virtual box or VMWare.

Absolutely. That's how I usually use USB devices which have only proprietary Window$ drivers.

Edited 27 June, 201313 yr by briskycat