Member Avatar for Siberian

How can you get Hardware that only has drivers in 32-bit to run in a x64 bit Windows environment ? I'd prefer not to dual boot as well as I'm not keen on running a virtual Windows x32. Anyone have any suggestions ?

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A quick technical note and practical options that build on what , , and have already said.

At a low level the problem is architectural: user-mode 32‑bit programs run under WoW64, but kernel‑mode drivers must be compiled for the same processor mode as the OS. That means a 32‑bit driver binary will not load on a 64‑bit Windows kernel. Because of that, there are only a few realistic routes forward when a vendor has not provided a native x64 driver.

  • Best outcome: locate an official x64 driver (vendor site, product page, or Windows Update). As suggested, compatibility lists help, and as noted, letting Windows search can sometimes find a generic or updated driver that works for the model.
  • If no x64 driver exists: use a dedicated 32‑bit environment. Two common choices are (a) a small 32‑bit VM (VirtualBox/VMware) with USB passthrough for USB scanners, or (b) an older machine on the LAN acting as a scanning host and sharing images over the network. USB passthrough works for most USB peripherals; internal PCI/AGP cards are much harder to pass through and usually require advanced host hardware and hypervisor features.
  • Advanced/risky: some people modify an x64 driver INF to accept a different hardware ID or try a driver for a closely related model. That can work but carries instability and BSOD risk; always test on a noncritical system and have a full backup or image.

Troubleshooting checklist: identify the exact scanner model (as asked); check whether the device exposes a standard interface (WIA/TWAIN) that a generic x64 driver can handle; try Windows Update or manufacturer support pages; consider a VM or a networked scanning host if no x64 driver exists; avoid attempting to load 32‑bit kernel drivers on x64 Windows (it will not work).

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Member Avatar for sennetor

Hi Siberian,
I've been running Vista 64Bit for about a year now and I've hit the problem several times.
The bottom line is that 32Bit drivers will not run natively within the 64bit environment.
Every piece of hardware you install in windows is given an address range each defined by the device and driver.

A 32Bit environment has 4Gb of address space & each driver that loads will take a chunk of that space. Anything that is left over is then assigned to the system memory...incidently thats also why 4Gb of memory in a 32Bit OS always seems a few MBs short since the device drivers have gotten the first few addresses.

A 32bit driver cannot be assigned to a 64bit address and needs re-written to 'understand' the new address scheme. Kind of like telling your local postie that your neighbour hood has decided to switch to a binary address scheme- that would cause a few laughs.(I'm a sad geek)

If your real hardcore you might be able to rewrite the driver yourself or find a 64Bit driver for a similar device & modify the INF file to force it to install.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/32-bit-and-64-bit-Windows-frequently-asked-questions

Member Avatar for Siberian

Thanx for the insight. I don't know how to rewrite a driver :( I know for a fact that there is not a x64 driver for this hardware.

Member Avatar for hughv

What hardware? There may be source somewhere.

Member Avatar for Siberian

What hardware? There may be source somewhere.

It's a scanner, would you like to know the model if you could find ?

i know you said "for a fact " but have you checked here .

I did a search there, the results. Empty :(

Member Avatar for Shade01

Connect the scanner and then let it search for the driver on the net.
I had the same problem with my TV card, but when I let it search for the driver it found one that worked ( my search for the driver was also negative).

Member Avatar for Siberian

I'll try that option as well. Thank you :)

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