Tips and Traps August 1999
by Lowell Rapaport
Scanner Troubleshooting
Although the TWAIN and ISIS standards are intended to make scanners and software programs work beautifully together right out of the box, in reality there can be disconnects. The fact that a scanner and software package are bundled together is no guarantee that they will work well together. Some scanners (such as the Kodak 3500) require a special TWAIN driver that must be downloaded from the manufacturer’s Web site. Others (including many Fujitsu scanners) require either a DOS-based TWAIN driver (also available from the manufacturer’s Web site) or a DOS-based SCSI driver.
If your scanner and software won’t talk to each other, here are some things to try:
- Make sure your operating system recognizes the scanner. As your computer boots up, you should get the message, “SCSI IDX: Scanner Name.” The scanner should be listed under “Device Manager/Scanner” in the System control panel. If the scanner doesn’t appear in either place, then either the scanner or the interface card is not properly connected. Check the cables, SCSI ID settings, etc.
- Make sure the right scanner is selected in the software you want to use. Usually under “File” in the menu, there is a “Select Scanner” option. When you click on that, the scanner you want to use should be highlighted.
- Try using the scanner with the scanning utility it came with. If that doesn’t work, it’s probably still a cable or connection problem.
- Check the scanner manufacturer’s Web site for the most recent update of the TWAIN drivers. There are different flavors of TWAIN. If you have a Windows driver you may need a DOS version, or vice versa.
- Make sure there are no potentially conflicting scanner drivers installed on your computer. An earlier version of a scanner driver might conflict with the latest one. A configuration file in a scanner driver might be telling the computer there’s only one driver on the PC. If there’s another, your software won’t work.
- Try installing a new SCSI utility to make sure that’s working. Adaptec makes these available at www.adaptec.com.
- Call the scanner and software manufacturer’s technical support. Be warned that some software support lines charge $65 or more per “incident.”
- Try using the software with a different scanner.
- Take the system out back and shoot it.
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