Discovering what works in a new O/S like Windows 8

Canon makes great cameras, and I've got a couple, but they aren't nearly as much on the ball with the software updates for their cameras and scanners.

I've just spent/wasted about two hours trying to update Canon's Zoombrowser EX and Canoscan Toolbox, and find a Twain Driver for my Canon Canoscan 3000ex - and if you're the proud owner of such a beast, I can save you some time - forget it - there isn't any 64-bit drivers for Windows 8 that will activate your Canoscan 3000ex. 

The closest you can come is their Windows 7 32-bit driver, which fortunately still works in my Windows 7. So if I'm working in Windows 8, and I need to scan something, I have to reboot the PC into Windows 7, scan my something there, and then reboot back into Windows 8, and retrieve my work via the File Explorer tree on the left side column of File Explorer. (Note: formerly called Windows Explorer, not to be confused with 'Internet Explorer', hence the name change.)
One of the nicer things about a dual-boot setup is that you can access files on one of the operating systems from the other one simply by going into that File Explorer folder, and searching the folder tree for whatever you want. Then, you can bring up a window from each folder, place them side-by-side on the desktop and simply drag & drop from one into the other. It's a kind of poor man's 'Home Group' and it works very nicely. In fact, that's probably where they got the idea for 'Home Group'. 

And Today's Question Everything is: "If a 64-bit O/S happily runs 32-bit programs, and also has a Compatibility Mode Wizard, then why can't my 64-bit Windows 8 accept a 32-bit driver for my flatbed scanner?" 

And the answer is: Because a driver is essentially a program that has to be able to read and write back and forth between its own device and the main operating system, and even though a 64-bit operating system can and does run 32-bit programs, the 32-bit driver can't write or execute anything into the 64-bit system. So if I can't find a 64-bit driver for my scanner, I'll simply have to use it in the 32-bit Windows 7 that is also on this drive in another partition. It's a bit of a nuisance, but better than nothing. I can always move the scanned images
into the Windows 8 files later. And it's my own fault, for not checking this out before I bought Windows 8. I should have got the 32-bit x86 version, even though this PC is built for 64-bit. I just wasn't thinking..... (Think or Thwim!)