If there is a magical incantation to get Win7 to play nice with third party software that is trying to communicate with a USB device, I do not know it. I've got two Win7 boxes and one that is still on Vista; between this RUU, three LeapPad devices, my camera, and a Canon multifunction print/scan/copier, neither of the Win7 boxes allows the desktop software to program the USB device, but the Vista box works first time, every time. It's something about devices with their own environment -- not talking about just thumbdrives, webcams, and other "dumb" peripherals. Of course, it's also hit and miss -- my old BB worked just fine with BB Desktop, as does another multifunction printer and my other camera.