Original title: HP Scanner Madness
Having just upgraded my
operating system to Windows 8.1 from XP, I've been constantly
battling to get the thing straightened out and usable...
Particularly with regards to devices I've had previously installed on XP: Namely an
Epson Printer, and an HP Scanjet 4470c scanner (with attendant
Precisionscan 3.1 software).
And while Epson were
very helpful, and got my old Stylus working fine on 8.1 (minus print
progress meter, but I can live without that) by means of an inbox
driver, the scanner has been an Epic pain in the backside.
Firstly, of course,
Hewlett Packard no longer make scanners, or support the old ones, so
they are of no help, and my Scanjet is listed as one that is not
supported by Windows 8.1... but I have had it working fine for a
period of time, so I know it can work on this system, but in
attempting to replicate that success I have had no joy, and I think a
background process in windows may have changed since in an update or
something, that is interfering with it.
While I am doing my
best not to view this kind of thing cynically, as an attempt by
microsoft to render entire swathes of people's accumulated devices as
purposefully obsolete in order to offer some kind of economic
technological stimulus to these industries by these means, I am
struggling.
Can't afford to replace
it, and refuse to do so as I know it is a perfectly functioning piece
of kit.
I've uninstalled the
software and device and reinstalled them both a dozen times now but
all to no avail.
When I got it working,
I switched off my internet connection, uninstalled it all, checked
the box in the Device manager, to stop windows automatically
identifying and installing drivers for devices it detects, so it was
not mismatched with the scanning software driver, then loaded the
installation disc and performed a repair.
When it stopped working
was when I uninstalled ACDSee (old Xp version,which is obsolete, and
was very unstable on Windows 8)... I tried to perform the same
process to get it started again, but it would not work, and a window
popped up during the repair that said that Windows Image Acquisition
(WIA) needed to be closed before proceeding. I think this might be
one possible reason for my trouble, as I suspect it is jumping in to
take control of the scanner as soon as my software tries to initiate
a scan, so then Precisionscan just hangs, waiting for the scanner to
return from a completed scan, which never comes.
The Precisionscan 3.1
Program works fine in all respects... initialises the scanner, all
menus and buttons work OK, and it begins to start a scan, sometimes
even getting half way down a scan, but then stops. The scanner itself
works on Windows Fax and Scan nicely, so I know it's not the
hardware, and I've set the drivers on both program and scanner
correctly. But Fax and scan does not enable the facility that the HP
program has of switching from a flatbed scan to an attached
transparency (negative) scanner, which is why I need the HP program.
I did wonder if trying
to use the Fax and Scan Program, I might have activated something of
this sort which is now getting in the way, and internet searches I've
conducted about possible problems mention TWAIN, too. But as I say,
if I'm able to get the whole package working once on Windows 8.1,
then what has happened, and is happening to stop it now?
If anyone can help here
it would be greatly appreciated, as could then get on with using my
computer again, and not spend all my time fighting with it! Ta.
