serial device to vista

[allentry]

Ok so I have an old piece of lab equipment that I need to hook up to the computer.  It has a serial port so i bought a serial to usb adapter.  The problem is that the newest drivers for the device are good for windows 2000. 

I tried using a couple virtual consoles, xp and windows 2000.  I've tried using microsoft virtual pc but it doesn't support usb.  I tried using virtual box but since i can't install the printer in vista (host) I can't use it on the virtual console.

Any suggestions on how to fix this?
The easiest solution might be to go buy an old computer somewhere but all the data and lab tests are on the computer with vista so I can't really do that easily.

hopefully someone can help before i go insane

[patio]

Without drivers written for Vista i'm afraid you are out of luck...
There are some XP drivers that will run a device under Vista but as you stated the newest ones are for Win2K.
Another option would be to run Win2K in a virtual machine setup on Vista....if this is a valid option Post back for more info...
Also post alot more info on the device and the software required for running it so we can advise properly...

[allentry]

Well I actually did try running it through a virtual console.  I first tried using microsoft virtual console but that lacks support for usb.  I then tried running windows 2000 on virtual box, but for virtual box to use usb, the device has to be installed on the host computer and then mounted on virtual box.  Because of the fact that the drivers only go up to windows 2000 and not vista, I don't know if it's even possible to install the printer on vista just so I can mount it onto the console.

The device is a microplate liquid handler so basically it's set up to mix very precise amounts of chemicals without losing the seals and it'll then partly analyze the result of the reaction. 

There are a couple possible fixes that I was thinking of but I'm not sure if either is feasible.  The first one is that I've heard some talk about dual booting.  Now to the best of my understanding, this seems to be something like having two operating systems on a computer and choosing which one to run during start up.  Hopefully someone can tell me if I'm close at all and if this is feasible.

The second solution is tricking vista.  Is there anyway I could install the device on vista with the windows 2000 driver.  I know I wouldn't be able to run it via vista but I wouldn't want to anyway.  Somehow install it in vista (it would basically be useless there since the computer wouldn't be able to communicate with it).  Then, run windows 2000 in a virtual console and mount the machine through the usb port since it would be an installed device and therefore valid to use.

[patio]

A dual boot setup may be the best overall solution then...
Vista i'm guessing would not even proceed with the Win2K driver install so that approach is out of the question.

A suggestion for dual-booting.
Check to see if your BIOS supports switching the drive to boot to...most newer boards do.
This is to simplify things as Windows gets funky without the older OS being installed first. So instead of messing with your Vista install trying to install another flavor of Windows on the same drive we'll take a common sense tack and set it up on a seperate HDD.
Basically to do so you need another formatted clean HDD.
The procedure is relatively simple but needs to be done correctly to work properly.

All i need to know is:
1) Does your BIOS enable you to switch between boot drives ?
2) Are you using IDE or SATA drives or a combination of the two ?
3)  Do you have a Win2K CD ?

In the meantime DLoad and run Everest Home (Free) and start assembling a collection of Win2K drivers...you'll need the MBoard drivers; Sound; Video; of course that printer and any others that Everest lists.

Post back when you've got the drive and all the Win2k drivers and an answer to the 3 questions....