Scanner Weirdness

[Rhino]

I'm having odd problems with my scanner, which is an HP 6200C. I've had it
for quite a few years now - the newest OS "officially" supported by the
scanner is Windows 2000! - so maybe it is just getting so old that it needs
to be replaced. Then again, I've never used it very heavily and it has been
_slightly_ flakey for several years but not as flakey as it has been these
last few days. I'm running Windows XP Professional SP2 on a nearly new
quad-core computer with an ASUS-M3A motherboard.

I don't have any idea how to troubleshoot scanners and so little knowledge
of how they actually work (and interface with the computer) that I don't
have any idea what, if anything I can do to make this scanner run any
better. Therefore, please forgive me if I give irrelevant information or
omit important information in my description of the problem.

Basically, the scanner "stalls" quite frequently, always at the start of a
scan of a page. My scanner is a flatbed 8.5 x 11 scanner. I seem to be able
to scan a handful of pages without difficulty, then it just "stalls". I
leave it alone for many minutes in the hope that it will "wake up" again and
it occasionally squeaks a few times as if it is about to scan the page but
then goes still again. Eventually, and I mean MANY minutes later (20 or more
minutes sometimes) I will get one of several different cryptic error
messages.

I have fully reinstalled the software with the latest version from the HP
site; this software is dated 2003. This has not helped. I've pretty much
given up on using the HP Precision Pro software since it hardly ever works.
However, the Microsoft Scanner and Camera Wizard gives me somewhat better
results. Sometimes, I can scan twenty or more pages before it starts to
"stall".

The only antidote I've found to the problem is to disconnect the power from
the scanner, leave it disconnected for 15 seconds, then power it up again.
After that I can OFTEN (but NOT always!) scan again. When that doesn't work,
I just give up on scanning that day and try again the next day when it will
typically work again.

One other symptom that I just discovered today which may or may not be
helpful. I tried to click on My Computer to see some files on my D: drive (I
have two hard drives) and got only the "flashlight searching for folders"
animation. I waited several minutes and it utterly failed to find my list of
drives. I had similar results when I tried using Windows Explorer. Then, in
a moment of inspiration, I disconnected the power for the scanner and My
Computer came up right away!

It seems as if the scanner and XP are having some kind of issues but I have
no idea what kind of issues they could be having or what I could do about
them.

Sorry for the very vague information but does this give anyone any ideas for
how I could help myself?

Unfortunately, I can't afford either a repair depot to fix the scanner or a
new scanner since money is extremely tight right now.....

 

[Nick L. Odeon]

What did HP support say?

: I'm having odd problems with my scanner, which is an HP 6200C. I've had it
: for quite a few years now - the newest OS "officially" supported by the
: scanner is Windows 2000! - so maybe it is just getting so old that it
needs
: to be replaced. Then again, I've never used it very heavily and it has
been
: _slightly_ flakey for several years but not as flakey as it has been these
: last few days. I'm running Windows XP Professional SP2 on a nearly new
: quad-core computer with an ASUS-M3A motherboard.
:
: I don't have any idea how to troubleshoot scanners and so little knowledge
: of how they actually work (and interface with the computer) that I don't
: have any idea what, if anything I can do to make this scanner run any
: better. Therefore, please forgive me if I give irrelevant information or
: omit important information in my description of the problem.
:
: Basically, the scanner "stalls" quite frequently, always at the start of a
: scan of a page. My scanner is a flatbed 8.5 x 11 scanner. I seem to be
able
: to scan a handful of pages without difficulty, then it just "stalls". I
: leave it alone for many minutes in the hope that it will "wake up" again
and
: it occasionally squeaks a few times as if it is about to scan the page but
: then goes still again. Eventually, and I mean MANY minutes later (20 or
more
: minutes sometimes) I will get one of several different cryptic error
: messages.
:
: I have fully reinstalled the software with the latest version from the HP
: site; this software is dated 2003. This has not helped. I've pretty much
: given up on using the HP Precision Pro software since it hardly ever
works.
: However, the Microsoft Scanner and Camera Wizard gives me somewhat better
: results. Sometimes, I can scan twenty or more pages before it starts to
: "stall".
:
: The only antidote I've found to the problem is to disconnect the power
from
: the scanner, leave it disconnected for 15 seconds, then power it up again.
: After that I can OFTEN (but NOT always!) scan again. When that doesn't
work,
: I just give up on scanning that day and try again the next day when it
will
: typically work again.
:
: One other symptom that I just discovered today which may or may not be
: helpful. I tried to click on My Computer to see some files on my D: drive
(I
: have two hard drives) and got only the "flashlight searching for folders"
: animation. I waited several minutes and it utterly failed to find my list
of
: drives. I had similar results when I tried using Windows Explorer. Then,
in
: a moment of inspiration, I disconnected the power for the scanner and My
: Computer came up right away!
:
: It seems as if the scanner and XP are having some kind of issues but I
have
: no idea what kind of issues they could be having or what I could do about
: them.
:
: Sorry for the very vague information but does this give anyone any ideas
for
: how I could help myself?
:
: Unfortunately, I can't afford either a repair depot to fix the scanner or
a
: new scanner since money is extremely tight right now.....
:
: --
: Rhino
:
:
:

 

[boatman312]

I'm having odd problems with my scanner, which is an HP 6200C. I've had it
for quite a few years now - the newest OS "officially" supported by the
scanner is Windows 2000! - so maybe it is just getting so old that it needs
to be replaced. Then again, I've never used it very heavily and it has been
_slightly_ flakey for several years but not as flakey as it has been these
last few days. I'm running Windows XP Professional SP2 on a nearly new
quad-core computer with an ASUS-M3A motherboard.

I don't have any idea how to troubleshoot scanners and so little knowledge
of how they actually work (and interface with the computer) that I don't
have any idea what, if anything I can do to make this scanner run any
better. Therefore, please forgive me if I give irrelevant information or
omit important information in my description of the problem.

Basically, the scanner "stalls" quite frequently, always at the start of a
scan of a page. My scanner is a flatbed 8.5 x 11 scanner. I seem to be able
to scan a handful of pages without difficulty, then it just "stalls". I
leave it alone for many minutes in the hope that it will "wake up" again and
it occasionally squeaks a few times as if it is about to scan the page but
then goes still again. Eventually, and I mean MANY minutes later (20 or more
minutes sometimes) I will get one of several different cryptic error
messages.

I have fully reinstalled the software with the latest version from the HP
site; this software is dated 2003. This has not helped. I've pretty much
given up on using the HP Precision Pro software since it hardly ever works.
However, the Microsoft Scanner and Camera Wizard gives me somewhat better
results. Sometimes, I can scan twenty or more pages before it starts to
"stall".

The only antidote I've found to the problem is to disconnect the power from
the scanner, leave it disconnected for 15 seconds, then power it up again.
After that I can OFTEN (but NOT always!) scan again. When that doesn't work,
I just give up on scanning that day and try again the next day when it will
typically work again.

One other symptom that I just discovered today which may or may not be
helpful. I tried to click on My Computer to see some files on my D: drive (I
have two hard drives) and got only the "flashlight searching for folders"
animation. I waited several minutes and it utterly failed to find my list of
drives. I had similar results when I tried using Windows Explorer. Then, in
a moment of inspiration, I disconnected the power for the scanner and My
Computer came up right away!

It seems as if the scanner and XP are having some kind of issues but I have
no idea what kind of issues they could be having or what I could do about
them.

Sorry for the very vague information but does this give anyone any ideas for
how I could help myself?

Unfortunately, I can't afford either a repair depot to fix the scanner or a
new scanner since money is extremely tight right now.....

Your scanner is probably failing. Time to invest in a new one. Heck, I
bought an HP All-in-one (superceded model) for under $75. Slow, but
works fine. Or I can sell you my old Canon USB Flatbed for $25 plus
shipping. ;>)

 

[Unknown]

Did you check to determine if HP has an updated driver for it?

 

[Paul]

I'm having odd problems with my scanner, which is an HP 6200C. I've had it
for quite a few years now - the newest OS "officially" supported by the
scanner is Windows 2000! - so maybe it is just getting so old that it needs
to be replaced. Then again, I've never used it very heavily and it has been
_slightly_ flakey for several years but not as flakey as it has been these
last few days. I'm running Windows XP Professional SP2 on a nearly new
quad-core computer with an ASUS-M3A motherboard.

I don't have any idea how to troubleshoot scanners and so little knowledge
of how they actually work (and interface with the computer) that I don't
have any idea what, if anything I can do to make this scanner run any
better. Therefore, please forgive me if I give irrelevant information or
omit important information in my description of the problem.

Basically, the scanner "stalls" quite frequently, always at the start of a
scan of a page. My scanner is a flatbed 8.5 x 11 scanner. I seem to be able
to scan a handful of pages without difficulty, then it just "stalls". I
leave it alone for many minutes in the hope that it will "wake up" again and
it occasionally squeaks a few times as if it is about to scan the page but
then goes still again. Eventually, and I mean MANY minutes later (20 or more
minutes sometimes) I will get one of several different cryptic error
messages.

I have fully reinstalled the software with the latest version from the HP
site; this software is dated 2003. This has not helped. I've pretty much
given up on using the HP Precision Pro software since it hardly ever works.
However, the Microsoft Scanner and Camera Wizard gives me somewhat better
results. Sometimes, I can scan twenty or more pages before it starts to
"stall".

The only antidote I've found to the problem is to disconnect the power from
the scanner, leave it disconnected for 15 seconds, then power it up again.
After that I can OFTEN (but NOT always!) scan again. When that doesn't work,
I just give up on scanning that day and try again the next day when it will
typically work again.

One other symptom that I just discovered today which may or may not be
helpful. I tried to click on My Computer to see some files on my D: drive (I
have two hard drives) and got only the "flashlight searching for folders"
animation. I waited several minutes and it utterly failed to find my list of
drives. I had similar results when I tried using Windows Explorer. Then, in
a moment of inspiration, I disconnected the power for the scanner and My
Computer came up right away!

It seems as if the scanner and XP are having some kind of issues but I have
no idea what kind of issues they could be having or what I could do about
them.

Sorry for the very vague information but does this give anyone any ideas for
how I could help myself?

Unfortunately, I can't afford either a repair depot to fix the scanner or a
new scanner since money is extremely tight right now.....

No promises, but you could try testing it with an alternate OS. That
would tell you whether the problem is hardware or software. Linux
has hand-carved support for a bunch of hardware, and it usually takes
some amount of research, to get it going. But if the scanner worked
perfectly there, then you might suspect a driver problem in Windows.

You wouldn't even try that, unless you can google up proof that the
particular scanner has working Linux support.

Linux has LiveCDs, which is a CD that boots the computer, but doesn't
need to be installed on the hard drive. There are limits as to what
you can achieve in that environment, but that is the least intrusive
way of testing. I use LiveCDs for Windows maintenance tasks of various
sorts, as by doing so, all the Windows files are open and accessible.

Paul

 

[Guest]

I'm having odd problems with my scanner, which is an HP 6200C. I've had it
for quite a few years now - the newest OS "officially" supported by the
scanner is Windows 2000! - so maybe it is just getting so old that it
needs to be replaced. Then again, I've never used it very heavily and it
has been _slightly_ flakey for several years but not as flakey as it has
been these last few days. I'm running Windows XP Professional SP2 on a
nearly new quad-core computer with an ASUS-M3A motherboard.

I don't have any idea how to troubleshoot scanners and so little knowledge
of how they actually work (and interface with the computer) that I don't
have any idea what, if anything I can do to make this scanner run any
better. Therefore, please forgive me if I give irrelevant information or
omit important information in my description of the problem.

Basically, the scanner "stalls" quite frequently, always at the start of a
scan of a page. My scanner is a flatbed 8.5 x 11 scanner. I seem to be
able to scan a handful of pages without difficulty, then it just "stalls".
I leave it alone for many minutes in the hope that it will "wake up" again
and it occasionally squeaks a few times as if it is about to scan the page
but then goes still again. Eventually, and I mean MANY minutes later (20
or more minutes sometimes) I will get one of several different cryptic
error messages.

I have fully reinstalled the software with the latest version from the HP
site; this software is dated 2003. This has not helped. I've pretty much
given up on using the HP Precision Pro software since it hardly ever
works. However, the Microsoft Scanner and Camera Wizard gives me somewhat
better results. Sometimes, I can scan twenty or more pages before it
starts to "stall".

The only antidote I've found to the problem is to disconnect the power
from the scanner, leave it disconnected for 15 seconds, then power it up
again. After that I can OFTEN (but NOT always!) scan again. When that
doesn't work, I just give up on scanning that day and try again the next
day when it will typically work again.

One other symptom that I just discovered today which may or may not be
helpful. I tried to click on My Computer to see some files on my D: drive
(I have two hard drives) and got only the "flashlight searching for
folders" animation. I waited several minutes and it utterly failed to find
my list of drives. I had similar results when I tried using Windows
Explorer. Then, in a moment of inspiration, I disconnected the power for
the scanner and My Computer came up right away!

It seems as if the scanner and XP are having some kind of issues but I
have no idea what kind of issues they could be having or what I could do
about them.

Sorry for the very vague information but does this give anyone any ideas
for how I could help myself?

Unfortunately, I can't afford either a repair depot to fix the scanner or
a new scanner since money is extremely tight right now.....

Might just be the cable connection: have you a spare you can try, or another
socket, or USB? If it was the scanner overheating I wouldn't have expected
that 'flashlight' problem. If you make a note of those error messages and
google for them with the scanner name you may find what they mean, and even
a proper service manual. (Sorry to say I had a quick Google but could only
find the spec rather than the SM and codes.)

S

 

[Rhino]

I haven't called them on the assumption that if I asked for support on a 10+
year old scanner they'd laugh in my face....

If in fact they do support people with very old HP equipment for free, I'd
love to hear about it!

 

[Rhino]

Yes, I checked and downloaded the latest software, as I said in the original
post.

 

[Nick L. Odeon]

10 years old? There's your problem.

:I haven't called them on the assumption that if I asked for support on a
10+
: year old scanner they'd laugh in my face....
:
: If in fact they do support people with very old HP equipment for free, I'd
: love to hear about it!
:
: --
: Rhino
:
:
: : > What did HP support say?
: >
: > : > : I'm having odd problems with my scanner, which is an HP 6200C. I've
had
: > it
: > : for quite a few years now - the newest OS "officially" supported by
the
: > : scanner is Windows 2000! - so maybe it is just getting so old that it
: > needs
: > : to be replaced. Then again, I've never used it very heavily and it has
: > been
: > : _slightly_ flakey for several years but not as flakey as it has been
: > these
: > : last few days. I'm running Windows XP Professional SP2 on a nearly new
: > : quad-core computer with an ASUS-M3A motherboard.
: > :
: > : I don't have any idea how to troubleshoot scanners and so little
: > knowledge
: > : of how they actually work (and interface with the computer) that I
don't
: > : have any idea what, if anything I can do to make this scanner run any
: > : better. Therefore, please forgive me if I give irrelevant information
or
: > : omit important information in my description of the problem.
: > :
: > : Basically, the scanner "stalls" quite frequently, always at the start
of
: > a
: > : scan of a page. My scanner is a flatbed 8.5 x 11 scanner. I seem to be
: > able
: > : to scan a handful of pages without difficulty, then it just "stalls".
I
: > : leave it alone for many minutes in the hope that it will "wake up"
again
: > and
: > : it occasionally squeaks a few times as if it is about to scan the page
: > but
: > : then goes still again. Eventually, and I mean MANY minutes later (20
or
: > more
: > : minutes sometimes) I will get one of several different cryptic error
: > : messages.
: > :
: > : I have fully reinstalled the software with the latest version from the
: > HP
: > : site; this software is dated 2003. This has not helped. I've pretty
much
: > : given up on using the HP Precision Pro software since it hardly ever
: > works.
: > : However, the Microsoft Scanner and Camera Wizard gives me somewhat
: > better
: > : results. Sometimes, I can scan twenty or more pages before it starts
to
: > : "stall".
: > :
: > : The only antidote I've found to the problem is to disconnect the power
: > from
: > : the scanner, leave it disconnected for 15 seconds, then power it up
: > again.
: > : After that I can OFTEN (but NOT always!) scan again. When that doesn't
: > work,
: > : I just give up on scanning that day and try again the next day when it
: > will
: > : typically work again.
: > :
: > : One other symptom that I just discovered today which may or may not be
: > : helpful. I tried to click on My Computer to see some files on my D:
: > drive
: > (I
: > : have two hard drives) and got only the "flashlight searching for
: > folders"
: > : animation. I waited several minutes and it utterly failed to find my
: > list
: > of
: > : drives. I had similar results when I tried using Windows Explorer.
Then,
: > in
: > : a moment of inspiration, I disconnected the power for the scanner and
My
: > : Computer came up right away!
: > :
: > : It seems as if the scanner and XP are having some kind of issues but I
: > have
: > : no idea what kind of issues they could be having or what I could do
: > about
: > : them.
: > :
: > : Sorry for the very vague information but does this give anyone any
ideas
: > for
: > : how I could help myself?
: > :
: > : Unfortunately, I can't afford either a repair depot to fix the scanner
: > or
: > a
: > : new scanner since money is extremely tight right now.....
: > :
: > : --
: > : Rhino
: > :
: > :
: > :
: >
: >
:
:

 

[Guest]

Might just be the cable connection: have you a spare you can try, or
another socket, or USB? If it was the scanner overheating I wouldn't have
expected that 'flashlight' problem. If you make a note of those error
messages and google for them with the scanner name you may find what they
mean, and even a proper service manual. (Sorry to say I had a quick
Google but could only find the spec rather than the SM and codes.)

S

This might help:
http://www.ehow.com/about_5283003_hp-scanner-troubleshooting.html

 

[Chuck]

Since the scaner is several years old, it may need some internal cleaning
and relubrication.
Your description of the problem sounds like the lubricant had dried up or
gotten sticky with age.