I am upgrading to a new computer and would like to attach my current HP
6100c to the new system. I am using the original ISA SCSI adapter. The new
system will have only PCI and USB interfaces.
What options (other than a new USB scanner) do I have?
Is it possible to use a PCI SCSI adapter? If so which ones will work?
Sure, you can add a PCI SCSI card. For WinXP, you probably also have to add
ASPI, which is a free download from
www.adaptec.com
(or the HP XP scanner driver possibly might license and provide ASPI - I dont
know... if the driver cannot see the scanner, then you need to add ASPI. The
point is that XP does NOT provide ASPI like Win9x did - so you may have to
add it for XP if HP doesnt).
You will surely also need a new XP driver for the scanner, but
www.hp.com
should have it.
Opinions differ, but the nature of an old scanner is that very much money
spent on upgrading SCSI is probably better spent on a new scanner instead...
much more future for the expense. But an exception is that you can find
numerous used SCSI cards very inexpensive on Ebay, so cost may not be as much
of a factor that way. There are different SCSI cables, so you will surely
want to be certain that the new PCI card fits your old cable, because the
cost a new cable is also probably too high to be a good investment today.
I think your existing old SCSI card and cable probably has a HD50 (high
density 50 pin) connector at the computer end,
picture at
http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/scsi_connecters.html
the 4th connector... HD50.
so a PCI SCSI card like an Adaptec 2940AU also has that same HD50 connector,
and so would fit your existing cable and would work fine, and the XP CD has
the drivers for it. Used Adaptec 2940AU are only a very few dollars on Ebay
(plus shipping).
You DONT want any ultrawide card, like the 2940UW... inappropriate for
scanners. Also the popular 2902/2906 PCI cards have DB25 connectors,
probably inappropriate for your cable (but would otherwise work with a
different cable).
