For all the marketing strategies Microsoft is making to promote the latest version of its operating system, Windows Vista, there are just some people who would not budge. These people would rather continue using the old versions of the system, and there are even some out there who are still using Windows 98.



Windows 98 is still good to use, despite the technology upgrades we have seen since it was first launched ten years ago. It earned its popularity for being a stable operating system, preferred even over its successor, the Windows Millennium Edition. Nonetheless, for some of the new printers these days to be able to run on the Windows 98 system, the appropriate printer drivers are needed.

If you are still running your computer on Windows 98 but are using new printer models released by HP, Canon or Lexmark Printer, how do you find these appropriate printer drivers?

? Go to the official website of the printer. The first source that you should go to in order to find the printer drivers that you would need in order to use your printer on a Windows 98 system is the official website of the company that manufactured the printer.

? Find the driver on the Microsoft website. Microsoft officially cut its support for the Windows 98 operating system in 2006, but it may still be possible to find appropriate device drivers there if you comb their website thoroughly. You can try to find the printer driver that you need there even if the Windows 98 support is officially over.

? Try popular downloads websites. If the printer driver that you need is not available at the official website of the printer manufacturer or from Microsoft, your next best bets are popular, named and reputable websites. Examples of these websites are download.com, a website under the banner of the CNet network, and pcworld.com.

These websites have downloads pages for utilities and drivers for various gadgets, including printer drivers. You can browse through the lists on these pages, or you can use their built-in search boxes.

? Search Google. If the three previous steps fail to yield the printer driver that you need for you to be able to run your new printer on your Windows 98 system, your last resort could be to search Google. There are many websites out there that have device drivers for various gadgets, including printer drivers and including obsolete drivers.

A word of caution on downloading from these obscure websites, however: before you download anything from these websites, make sure that your anti-virus software is updated. If possible, check out online forums for the veracity of the source website first. There are some source websites that are careless and unreliable in that they allow the downloading of malware and adware along with the printer driver that you need for your Windows 98 system.