Getting an old-school scanner like the Mustek BearPaw 1200CU Plus

If the installer fails on Windows 7 or 10, right-click the setup file, go to Properties , and set the Compatibility Mode to "Windows Vista (Service Pack 2)" before running it as an administrator.

running on modern systems can feel like a bit of a tech archaeological dig, but it’s definitely doable!

Sometimes Windows can find a basic driver on its own. Plug in your scanner, go to Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners , and click Add a printer or scanner .