scanner crashes PhotoShop

[frankg]

Any ideas here - I have 2 scanners connected via a scsi card to my pc (xp
pro) - the
first in the chain is a film scanner - polaroid 120 and that works ok. The
second scanner is an old flatbed Microtek Scanmaker III annd that has been
working fine until very recently. It previews the images ok but suddenly
freezes
and crashes PS after starting the scan. And the 'ready light' goes out.
I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling all drivers and scan software and
also the 'repair' option re-installion of PS (cs2).
I access these scanners from the PS>file>import menu. Is the old grey mare
just dying and I should toss it out, or is there a software problem that can
be fixed?

Unfortunately, the Scanwizard app for the Scanmaker flatbed scanner isnt
standalone, so i cant try it from outside of Photoshop.I've also tried to
only have one scanner at a time connected.
I did try unchaining the polaroid film scanner (usually 1st in the scsi
chain) and connecting only the troublesome Microtek flatbed with a short
scsi cable and terminator. No luck, same problem. There is a Scantest
utility that comes with the scanner which tests if the scanner is ok - it
tested ok, strangely enough.
I also suspected memory allocation problems as when the problem first
ocurred, we were able to scan some handwritten pages as line art, but when
we wanted to scan a col print, it failed. How oes one fix memory addressing
problems ?

any ideas ?

 

[bmoag]

They shot Old Yeller, didn't they?
Sometimes the sick and the dying need to be put out of their misery.

 

[degrub]

try a demo copy of Vuescan or Silverfast for stand alone test.

 

[CSM1]

Any ideas here - I have 2 scanners connected via a scsi card to my pc (xp
pro) - the
first in the chain is a film scanner - polaroid 120 and that works ok. The
second scanner is an old flatbed Microtek Scanmaker III annd that has been
working fine until very recently. It previews the images ok but suddenly
freezes
and crashes PS after starting the scan. And the 'ready light' goes out.
I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling all drivers and scan software and
also the 'repair' option re-installion of PS (cs2).
I access these scanners from the PS>file>import menu. Is the old grey mare
just dying and I should toss it out, or is there a software problem that can
be fixed?

Unfortunately, the Scanwizard app for the Scanmaker flatbed scanner isnt
standalone, so i cant try it from outside of Photoshop.I've also tried to
only have one scanner at a time connected.
I did try unchaining the polaroid film scanner (usually 1st in the scsi
chain) and connecting only the troublesome Microtek flatbed with a short
scsi cable and terminator. No luck, same problem. There is a Scantest
utility that comes with the scanner which tests if the scanner is ok - it
tested ok, strangely enough.
I also suspected memory allocation problems as when the problem first
ocurred, we were able to scan some handwritten pages as line art, but when
we wanted to scan a col print, it failed. How oes one fix memory addressing
problems ?

any ideas ?

As bmoag says, you just may have to shoot the old dog.

Be sure the SCSI ID is not changed from the correct ID. (The ID the scanner
TWAIN was installed with).

Before you shoot the dog, Download Irfanview and plug-ins and try it with
the Microtek Scanmaker III.
http://www.irfanview.com

Be sure to File>Select source first!

By trying in Irfanview, you can confirm that the problem is with the scanner
and not in Photoshop.

I am not a fan of Vuescan, but Vuescan does not use TWAIN to communicate
with the scanner. It talks directly to the hardware. Check if your scanner
is listed in his supported scanner list.
http://www.hamrick.com/

The trial is fully functional, except for the watermark.

 

[frankg]

As bmoag says, you just may have to shoot the old dog.

Be sure the SCSI ID is not changed from the correct ID. (The ID the
scanner
TWAIN was installed with).

Before you shoot the dog, Download Irfanview and plug-ins and try it with
the Microtek Scanmaker III.
http://www.irfanview.com

Be sure to File>Select source first!

By trying in Irfanview, you can confirm that the problem is with the
scanner
and not in Photoshop.

I am not a fan of Vuescan, but Vuescan does not use TWAIN to communicate
with the scanner. It talks directly to the hardware. Check if your scanner
is listed in his supported scanner list.
http://www.hamrick.com/

The trial is fully functional, except for the watermark.

--
CSM1
http://www.carlmcmillan.com
Reply address is false.
--

Hi,
I have Irfanview v.3.97 and didnt know I could scan (access Scanwizard)
through it . I just tried it and also it was ok to do 300dpi 8 bit col ( it
calls it millions of colors). When I tried 16 bit (it calls it billions of
colors) it failed. Then i went back to 8 bit and raised the dpi from 300 to
600 (which is the max optical resolution for this old scanner) and it too
crashed irfanview. So I guess this means it's not Photoshop or Irfanview but
rather the scanner. But why can it scan 300dpi but not 600 - surely not
hardware related ?

Where/how can I confirm this point you made - "Be sure the SCSI ID is not
changed from the correct ID. (The ID the scanner TWAIN was installed with)"
?

 

[frankg]

Be sure the SCSI ID is not changed from the correct ID. (The ID the
scanner
TWAIN was installed with).

Do you mean the numbers you set on the hardware - on the back of the scanner
? No, these have not changed - one scanner is set on 4 and the other is set
on 6. Or is it a software number /ID you refer to (excuse my ignorance)?

 

[tomm42]

Scanners do die, just had an Epson Expression 1600 die, 5 year old
$1600 scanner. The motherboard in the scanner went kaput. over $500 to
repair it. If you are using Win XP it can be troublesome with SCSI, but
with what you are describing I would suspect an end of life scenario.

tom

 

[frankg]

I am willing to accept that it's dead but why does it scan some stuff ok ?
I just tried accessing and scanning Scanwizard (2.60) through IrfanView
rather than Photoshop to see if the problem is Photoshop or the scanner.
Through Irfanview too I can scan up to 8bit at 300dpi but at 600 dpi or at
16 bit (col or b/w) it crashes the program.
This error message just came up for the first time "native transfer does not
support billions colors or thousands grays image type"

 

[tomm42]

I am willing to accept that it's dead but why does it scan some stuff ok ?
I just tried accessing and scanning Scanwizard (2.60) through IrfanView
rather than Photoshop to see if the problem is Photoshop or the scanner.
Through Irfanview too I can scan up to 8bit at 300dpi but at 600 dpi or at
16 bit (col or b/w) it crashes the program.
This error message just came up for the first time "native transfer does not
support billions colors or thousands grays image type"

When my Epson went down the tubes it would work some days and not on
others. I would expect this is what is happening with your scanner. My
experience with SCSI errors is that either scanner won't work at all or
the computer won't boot.
BTW what SCSI card are you using, I have had a couple 2940 card die
because I unplugged a device while still powered. But if your other
scanner is operating the card is probably fine.
The other direction to explore is software, do you have the latest
version, or did this happen when you exchanged versions of your
software?

Tom

 

[Danny]

SCSI ID's normally would be located near the scsi interface of the
scanners.

I had a couple of questions, which I'm not sure if was already
discussed.. but, I'll ask anyway:

1. when it fails, describe the crash: is it a window's blue screen of
death? General Protection Fault application crash only affecting PS?
2. if it's a GPF application crash, how do you recover? rebooting pc?
rebooting scanner? or both?

It's not easy to recommend anything based on posts, mostly because of
the time it takes to ask a single question.... I;m used to live
conversations or webex access directly to a pc... but, here's a few
suggestions:

1. eliminate the daisy-chain device (polaroid scanner) contrary to whay
used to work. reason: reduce the # of variables as well as cumulative
scsi cable length

2. verify the scanner is terminated- if it has a second scsi interface,
then that also means that there's termination as well

3. confirm aspi is at least 4.71.1 by downloading the aspi_v471.exe off

the adaptec website:

-extract the compressed file to the default :
\adaptec\aspi (26files should extract)

-navigate to the C:\adaptec\aspi and run aspichk.exe..

** the files in the lower left corner of the window should list 4
files:
aspi32.sys and wnaspi32.dll should match at 4.71.1 ; the middle 2 files

should also match at v 4.60


if this isn't the case, close aspichk.exe and run the aspiinst.exe (not

the install.bat) if it completes correctly- you'll be prompted for
restart


Reboot-


then try to scan

Hope this helps

Danny


..