[merox]

I have an HP 5470c scanner at both my winter and summer domiciles.Recently I bought a new confuser with Vista 64 installed. I found that the HP software and drivers for my scanner would not work. MS referred me to HP and I downloaded the HP WIA driver that would work for MS Photo Gallery. I was able to transfer scanned docs to Paperport and process them as usual into word or PDF's. Another program and TWAIN driver was scrounged up to allow making copies and send them to my printer. Returning to my summer digs I replaced my old machine with an identical Vista 64 machine. Going on line to MS and HP I now find that neither will provide a workable WIA driver, nor can I get a TWAIN driver to load. The original HP software is rejected by Widows 64 and HP tells me that I should buy newer hardware from them that will come with compatable software. Note that computers, scanners and printer are identical. Any suggestions to resolve this problem? Everybody bitches about MS, but HP seems to outdo them. The price of two new flatbeds is about four times the price of an MS upgrade.

merox

[LincolnSpector]

Hi, Merox. I like the word confuser. Never saw that one before, but it's appropriate.

If I followed your story correctly, you successfully downloaded 64-bit drivers from HP on one computer. Then you tried it on another, they weren't available, and HP suggested you buy a new scanner. Can you get the drivers off the first computer?

Lincoln

[rgreen4]

I think you were lucky to get the first one to work. I also have an HP 5470C scanner, and when I installed a machine with Vista, received the information from HP's website that the scanner would not be supported in Vista. (No TWAIN driven scanner is). I chose to replace the scanner with an HP Photosmart C6180 All-In-One printer that also replaced my HP Photosmart 8250 printer. The new AIO is also a wireless device connecting with my home network.

I still have an old HP business class machine with XP Pro, so I have not scrapped the scanner as it was installed on that machine. I still have a few projects to finish on the old scanner/computer combination at which time both will be scrapped.

[coastie65]

One thing I've learned about HP. First installation good. If you have to uninstall and reinstall the software for any reason, not so good. In my case It quits at 96%, but I can use the printer and scanner with no problems. Just don't get the additonal apps. and i have to go through Windows Printer & Scanner thing to use those two.

[Grr8008]

Why scrap when you can reuse? http://www.xubuntu.org/

[merox]

Unfortunately the other "confuser is 1200 miles away. I checked my downloads file on a portable HD and it seems that a zipped file from HP does not install. I think that this is just a copy of the original soft ware. Prowling around I found another file that I will try. Thanks for the support. I will advise if I am succesful with the newly discovered file.

[merox]

I did get the scanner on the othe machine to work with vista,but only with picture gallery. Will advise if i am successful. Strange that HP does not support what was once one of their premium scanners.

Merox

[merox]

Had the same problems that you have experienced with HP software and XP when changing machines, drives, etc.

[coastie65]

Hope you remembered to Open ( Unzip) the file before trying to install it. Trust me, I have done that in the past. :p

[rgreen4]

Merox - yes it was one of their permier scanners, 8 years ago. The drivers for that scanner were released for XP in 2001. I went through a similar process with a previous scanner that came with a SCSI card and the drivers would not work in XP.
Coastie - I have found it best to remove the previous driver install using the CD that came with the printer. It will remove everything and does a far better job than Windows. As a matter of fact I recently had to re-install a printer and removed the old drivers using the CD and then re-installed without problems. I have one I can't do that with because it is an XP CD. Interestingly enough on that one the only thing that doesn't work is the Wizard. I install the CD, close the startup window, then go to the Vista printer folder, click on add printer, tell it that it is an HP and then point it to the driver folder on the CD and it installs just fine.

[coastie65]

Interesting. I lost the CD that came with the C5180 I have. I still have the Mac one though. :D I believe the problem is with the uninstall and I have gone into the registry and remved the stuff left behind an still stops at 96%. Anyway, If I click print, it prints and it scans, so I am not overly concerned. Just can'y use the other stuff that came in the software. I do have some of it on the camera disc though ( PhotoSmart Essentials).