HP 5610 printer won't work w/Windows XP service pak 3 so is Microsoft forcing us to buy new stuff?

No... this is NOT true.

First, and most critically, it is the manufacturer of the hardware, in your case HP, that is responsible for developing drivers that allow computers to use their equipment. This is equally the case on any operating system... HP had to release drivers for the 5610 for the different releases of Windows, MacOS X, Linux, etc.

Second, the current driver release for the HP 5610 was published on 09-09-2009, while Windows XP SP 3 was released in July of 2008! So the HP drivers were released a full YEAR after Windows XP SP 3... so how could Microsoft screw up drivers that had yet to be written!

Third, why would Microsoft even care to get you to replace older working devices? When you buy an HP printer, Microsoft doesn't get any money from it. HP does! So what benefit would Microsoft have in making you go out and buy new equipment?

So basically everything this tech told you isn't true. If you go to HP's driver page for your printer:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareCategor...

You'll see that not only is Windows XP supported (including SP 3), but Vista and Windows 7 is supported as well! So if you bought this printer back when you were running Windows XP, you could keep it and continue to run it even if you upgraded all the way to Microsoft's current OS, Windows 7. So much for the "forcing you to replace older working devices" garbage.

There is something inherently wrong with your computer... it sounds like maybe the TWAIN drivers or scanner utility drivers have become corrupted and are not working properly. Or maybe you are still trying to use an old driver that predates SP 3... in that case, you can simply uninstall your current driver and reinstall using the most current drivers (the previously mentioned 09-09-2009 drivers) available at the web page I included above.

The fact that it took two days to upgrade to SP 3 indicates you've got something going on with that computer... I can typically perform a full SP 3 upgrade on a computer in under 30 minutes.

My best suggestion to you is to uninstall all of the HP software on your computer and then download the drivers I mentioned before. Install the new drivers and, if you're lucky, everything should work.

Good luck!

***ADDITIONAL INFORMATION***

Glad my answer helped you out!

One thing I would like to know, though, is where this perception that Microsoft is a monopoly comes from? Microsoft's main business is operating systems and the Office suite. And yet, there is plenty of competition out there. Don't want to buy Windows? How about Mac OSX? Or Linux? Or if you want to stay in a Windows-compatible OS, how about the ReactOS:

http://www.reactos.org/en/index.html

ReactOS is a Windows-compatible operating system that was completely recoded from the ground up. It's totally free and looks and operates much like Windows.

So there are plenty of Windows competitors... and if there are viable competitors on the market, then Windows can not be a monopoly. Just because Windows is the most widely used does not make it a monopoly, nor is it illegal. For example, Windows market share (the percentage of the entire OS market) currently stands at 88%. Apple's iPod holds a 74% market share and dominates the portable media player market in much the same way Windows dominates the OS market, and yet no one ever comes around complaining that Apple is a monopoly! Why is that?

Dont fall for all they hype! If you want something other than Windows there are options, tons of them. Don't hate just because Windows happens to be the most popular or well-sold!

All right. Obviously the other answer is from Bill Gates! Microsoft is a scam. Its not shocking. Get real get fast get easy get a Mac

there have been some teething problems with SP3 yet I truthfully have it on 3 desktops and it incredibly is been high quality. the merely right situation to do is bypass to abode windows replace and test for updates. it is going to verify your equipment and if the replace is right it is going to offer you the service p.c.. replace.