Some hardware manufacturers have created devices which are compatible with MS-DOS and Windows 95/98 only. They seem to emulate part of the normally available hardware in the devices by software packages sold together with the device. Specification on these devices are not presented to the world so it is almost impossible to write drivers for these devices. Below a list of devices reported as being Linux incompatible will be given.
Simply put, it is best to avoid hardware which states things like "Needs Windows" or "Windows only".
Printers
| Manufacturer | Model Number | Functionality |
|---|---|---|
| Brother | 4550 | None - Paperweight |
| Brother | HL-1435 | None - Paperweight |
| Brother | MP-21C | None - Paperweight |
| Canon | BJC-5000 | None - Paperweight |
| Canon | BJC-5100 | None - Paperweight |
| Canon | BJC-8500 | None - Paperweight |
| Canon | LBP-460 | None - Paperweight |
| Canon | LBP-600 | None - Paperweight |
| Canon | LBP-660 | None - Paperweight |
| Canon | LBP-800 | None - Paperweight |
| Canon | Multipass L6000 | None - Paperweight |
| Canon | S200 | None - Paperweight |
| Compaq | IJ300 | None - Paperweight |
| Epson | AcuLaser C1000 | None - Paperweight |
| Epson | AcuLaser C900 | None - Paperweight |
| Epson | EPL-5500W | None - Paperweight |
| Epson | PM 930C | None - Paperweight |
| Epson | Stylus Photo R300 | None - Paperweight |
| Generic | GDI Printer | None - Paperweight |
| Generic | OAKT Printer | None - Paperweight |
| HP | Color LaserJet 1500 | None - Paperweight |
| HP | Color LaserJet 3500 | None - Paperweight |
| HP | LaserJet 3100 | None - Paperweight |
| HP | LaserJet 3150 | None - Paperweight |
| HP | PhotoSmart | None - Paperweight |
| LaserMaster | LM 1000 | None - Paperweight |
| Lexmark | Winwriter 100 | None - Paperweight |
| Lexmark | Winwriter 200 | None - Paperweight |
| Lexmark | Z13 | None - Paperweight |
| Lexmark | Z23 | None - Paperweight |
| Lexmark | Z33 | None - Paperweight |
| Minolta | PagePro 1100L | None - Paperweight |
| Minolta | PagePro 6L | None - Paperweight |
| NEC | SuperScript 610plus | None - Paperweight |
| NEC | SuperScript 660 | None - Paperweight |
| NEC | SuperScript 660plus | None - Paperweight |
| Okidata | Okijet 2010 | None - Paperweight |
| Panasonic | KX-P6100 | None - Paperweight |
| Panasonic | KX-P6300 GDI | None - Paperweight |
| Panasonic | KX-P8410 | None - Paperweight |
| QMS | magicolor 2 | None - Paperweight |
| Ricoh | Aficio Color 2206 | None - Paperweight |
| Ricoh | Afico FX10 | None - Paperweight |
| Samsung | ML-5050G | None - Paperweight |
| Samsung | SF/MSYS/MJ-4700/4800/4500C | None - Paperweight |
| Sharp | AJ-2100 | None - Paperweight |
| Star | WinType 4000 | None - Paperweight |
| Xerox | DocuPrint P8 | None - Paperweight |
| Xerox | WorkCentre 385 | None - Paperweight |
| Xerox | WorkCentre XD120f | None - Paperweight |
| Xerox | WorkCentre XE80 | None - Paperweight |
| Xerox | WorkCentre XE90fx | None - Paperweight |
Canon LBP-465 printer
Sharp JX-9210 printer
Modems
3Com 3CXM356/3CCM356 and 3CXM656/3CCM656 PCMCIA
AOpen FM56-P and FM56-H
Boca Research 28.8 internal modem (model MV34AI)
Boca Research 33.6 internal modem (model MV34)(Joe Harjung has succeeded in configuring the modem under Win95 and then soft booting into Linux with the modem still working. Filippo is using this modem under Linux directly without any problems and without soft booting from Windows. I definitely need more info on these Boca Research modems.) The Boca Research 33.6 modem (model M336I) is mentioned to work with Linux. The only thing that needed to be done was diabling Plug and Play. Here are the specs of the modem
Three stickers saying "MC2920A-3.3", "E6030D 4035-01" and "1721 8011 A"
Chips etc on the board
Cirrus Logic CL-MD3450D-SC-B
Cirrus Logic MD1724-11VC-D
Datatronic VLM301-1??
Omron G5V-1 (2 of them)
AST (?) M628032-20E1
Cirrus Logic CL-MD4450C-SC-A
Abracon 23-040-20
two empty places for additional chips, one of which might be a Cirrus Logic CL-MD1724D
4 jumpers for COM port selection
10 jumpers for IRQ selection
other unknown jumpers
Compaq 192 PCMCIA modem/serial card
HP Fastmodem D4810B
Multiwave Innovation CommWave V.34 modem
Megahertz XJ/CC2560 PCMCIA
New Media Winsurfer PCMCIA modem/serial card
Rockwell SoftK56
US Robotics WinModem series
Zoltrix 33.6 Win HSP Voice/Speaker Phone modem