how to use old driver which is 32-bit in windows 7

hi all,
please help me in using the old driver which is 32-bit in windows 7.
thanks,
muthu

Hi Muthu,

I don't fully understand the question. Are you trying to use an old 32-bit XP/Vista driver in 32-bit Windows 7?

If you can explain what you are trying to do a little more and we'll do our best to help . It may also help if you let us know the hardware you need a driver for, as there may be a newer version available.

Hi muthu and welcome to Windows 7 Forums

We could do with a bit more info

1. System spec
2. whats the driver for
3. what Operating System are you using (32 or 64-bit

Hi ,
i have 64-bit windows 7 operating system in my laptop and my client have some VPN connecting software ,which i need to install and VPN key (ITs something like pendrive which i have to insert) through which i will connect to their server.These s/w works fine in xp and vista 32-bit.

what i need to do these software to work in windows 7 (64-bit).

thanks in advance,
muthu.

Try running the main executable in compatibility mode for Windows Vista or XP. If that doesn't work, look for a new version of the client as it may be updated for Windows 7.

As I understand his question: Muthuselvan's work gave him a security card key (similar in appearance to a flash drive) he has to insert into his computer to access their virtual private network but, it comes with 32-bit drivers and he now has a 64-bit OS.

I would suggest you ask your company (or if you know the manufacturer of the VPN key card you could check their website) for actual 64-bit drivers.

...

But I guess I would like to also ask the rest of you, is there a way to load 32-bit drivers in a 64-bit OS if no 64-bit drivers are available? (Which would also help muthuselvan if he can't find 64-bit drivers for his problem)

This is i exactly want , thank u ( they have not writen drivers for 64-bit OS)

muthuselvan, from what I have been able to find searching I do not believe 32-bit drivers can be used on a 64 bit windows platform. It seems Microsoft wanted to ensure drivers were written in the proper way so when they switched to 64bit they enforced it with driver signing (ie all 64-bit drivers must be Microsoft-approved, for a fee of course :-). MAC leopard decided to allow 32bit drivers on their 64bit OSs to allow for a smoother transistion but that doesn't help us.

To use 32bit drivers in Windows you need a 32bit OS. From what I have read it would be possible to create a dual boot machine with a 32 & 64bit OS but I believe you will need two HDs. I do not know if they can be one Hd with 2 partitions or if they have to be physically seperate drives, as I have not tried this nor looked into it. The other option is to switch completely to 32bit. There is not a huge amount of 64bit-only software anyway so you will need to do what is neccessary for your job.

Best of luck.

Hum.. I think you can dual boot 32 and 64bit OSs on one same drive. Though, that will take some space on your HDD.

@muthu - Just about everyone is having issues with the VPN software on x64 Windows installs. I wish you luck on this one!

You can partition your hard drive and install both versions of Windows 7 on the separate partitions.

@TrainableMan - Not ALL x64 drivers for Windows 7 are WHQL certified. (Windows Hardware Quality Labs) I use several which are not "signed" with no problems.