Vista - Lexmark printer in Vista

OK - so I hold onto things a while! I have a Lexmark Optra R laser printer that I bought in 1996! But it works great and will outlast anything you can buy today. When I got my new computer with Vista I found I couldn't install it. The driver seems to be available, but the computer just doesn't recognize the printer. Before I throw it away, thought I'd ask you folks if anyone has an idea.
Thanks,

I still use my HP LaserJet 4 that I paid about 1,200.00 back in 1992 , the only problem I got was trying to find the USB port where I had plugged it to (mine came with a lpt1 plug but I used a lpt1 to usb converter).

Do you have your disc/diskette that came with the printer? if so, was that the one you tried to use? is it a parallel printer or USB?

I guess what I am trying to say is... give us the run down of what you have done so far to see if we can, in turn, make it work for you.

Patience is the name of the game!

It's a parallel printer, but I got the cable to convert it to USB.
I have the original driver disks, but it is an old floppy disk - my new computer doesn't have a floppy drive. I was given 2 driver choices thru Vista for this model (Optra R) - both were titled Optra R Plus. I tried both of them, several times, but nothing. Can't even print a test page from the computer.

This page on Lexmark says that you should use the Vista o/s driver - scroll down to Optra R and read it yourself.

Windows Vista 32-bit: Business Printers -- Lexmark United States

Thanks, but I tried that. They have a driver for Lexmark Optra R Plus, but mine is just plain Optra R. And the plus driver did not work.

Uninstall all the drivers for the Optra that you have tried (completely, also the registry entries). Then attach it to your computer and reboot. Vista should install a driver for you.

OK - but what are the registry entries?
I REALLY appreciate your help with this!

Use CCcleaner (registry cleaner program) to clean the remants of the driver uninstallation in the registry.