I have a question, do USB 2.0 ports use different cables?

And I'm looking for a scanner. The one I have now is an ancient one, about 10 years old, and uses an ISA SCSI card. But my new motherboard doesn't have an ISA slot. So I need a new scanner.

Would a scanner take much use of USB2.0? or should I stick to 1.0 or something. Either way, is there one that you would recommend?

Unless you're unhappy with your scanner, why not just buy a cheap SCSI adapter? It'd probably be cheaper. You could probably find an old used one that will more than fit the bill.

Sometimes it's hard to get Win2k drivers for those old scanners. And scanners are cheap these days. So looking for a new scanner isn't such a bad idea for him.

USB to SCSI adapters typically cost around $50. Also, they usually don't have a DB25 SCSI connector, so you would need an adapter on top that.

I personally have an HP ScanJet IIcx that is a workhorse SCSI scanner. This thing is a tank. For such a scanner I can justify spending the money. But, if your current scanner isn't worth the investment, pick up a USB scanner at CompUSA for $20-$40. I think there was one on sale three weeks ago for $20 after rebates.

USB 1.x and 2.0 cables have the same pinout. You can use 2.0 cable with 1.x devices, so I assume there is little (if any) difference between them.

That's exactly right, Tony. The software for my HP now has these options:

preview
select area
scan

Feature rich!
Basically, I want better quality. About a year ago I bought my dad's office an HP 6300c. Fantastic. dpi up to 1200 and networkable (not that I need that).

So I want a nicer quality scanner. I guess I'll see what the stores have out...

Does USB2.0 have special ports? or can any USB port be plugged into the USB2.0 part of the motherboard? I mean, I have two USB1 devices that are currently plugged into the USB2 connectors on my mobo. Is that okay?

usb 2.0 ports are backward compatible.

I personally have an HP ScanJet IIcx that is a workhorse SCSI scanner. This thing is a tank. For such a scanner I can justify spending the money.

Ummm, yeah. What he said.

I also have a ScanJet IIcx, cost me nearly $1000 about 10 years ago. When I compare it to the cheap throwaway USB scanners of today, I just shake my head in bewilderment. I wouldn't trade my 10 year old IIcx for five of those new ones.

I like being able to scan a full color 8x10" photograph in 8--10 seconds. Apart from it being difficult to get it set up and configured each time I build a new computer, I have had not the slightest problem with it in all that time.

tanstaafl.

I'm curious, what operating system are you running, and what kind of software do you end up using after all these years?

Yeah, those IIcx's are everywhere, aren't they? Can't swing a dead cat without hitting one. They just don't die. Like their laser printers.

I'm curious, what operating system are you running, and what kind of software do you end up using after all these years?

I'm running 98SE, and the software is the original "DeskScan" software that came bundled with the scanner. (It only saves files in .BMP and TIFF formats -- no .JPGs.)

The problems I have had have been more with getting compatible SCSI cards and drivers with each new computer. Currently I think I am running some sort of previous-generation Adaptec card, but don't know what model or drivers or anything like that. I just remember that it is a non-intuitive, difficult install every time I have to go through it, but the scanner is so good that I put up with it.

tanstaafl.

Yeah, you see, I don't have software to make use of my scanner at all. I can't select dpi and I can't select any sort of color options or anything.

I would keep the scanner if it weren't for the fact that HP has basically made it unusable. They specifically said that they were stopping support for the scanner, and this was only last year or so, after Win2K was out for a long time. They just didn't want to go to the trouble.

But I still want another HP scanner. They're just the best in my opinion. The 6300c that my dad's office has is really nice, I just wish it scanned high dpi levels faster than it does. Are there any scanners out there right now that are particularly known for their speed?

Anybody know how to "share" a scanner onto the network so other machines can access it?

Calvin

Depends on the scanner. What type?

It may be a software thing, depending on which one you have. The 6300c comes with "remote scanning" software. Basically the scanner is hooked up to one computer on the network, and you install the same software on the other computers on the network but they use the remote scanning software to connect with the other computer, based on whatever name you chose on the connected PC. So in our case, the computer with the scanner has to be connected to the scanner, turned on, and also running the "Share Scanner" HP utility.

I don't know how to do it otherwise. This is the main reason we got this scanner. That and it has USB, parallel, and SCSI connectors. But we use the USB. Now we can scan from any computer.

The downside of sharing a scanner is, of course, the necessary manual operation of a scanner. If you have to scan more than one sheet, you need to make a seperate round trip to the scanner location for each sheet.

My dad and I are now looking a scanners with sheet feeds

I have an Epson Perfection 2450. Windows XP hints that scanners, cameras and other devices can be shared. Doesn't explain how to do it though.

Calvin

I've got my scanner attached to a Unix machine that runs sane, and I then use the sane clients on my other Unix machines or SaneTwain on my Windows machines. Works pretty well as long as you're nice to it. If you beat the hell out of it (like trying to get it to do two things at once), it can really fuck up, though. I managed to hose my entire SCSI chain once. Not fun.

Anybody know how to "share" a scanner onto the network so other machines can access it?

Question. Why would you want to? Don't you have to walk up to the scanner in order to position your photos/documents properly on the scanner bed?

Now, sharing the RESULTING SCANS is important, of course. In that case, just share a folder using the windows networking features. That's what we do at our company, we have a "scanner server" that the HP scanner is connected to. It has a "Scans" directory that is shared. So you walk up to the scanner, do your scans and corrections locally right there on that machine and stick the resulting scans in the "Scans" folder. Then take your original photos back to your desk and open up your shortcut to the "Scans" share to grab the files.

Seems to me that remotely controlling the scanner would involve two trips back and forth to the scanner, compared to the one trip in my example above. (Trip one: Place photo on scanner bed, then back to your local PC to do the scan. Trip two: Retrieve the photo.)

Like Tony, I'm not sure why you would share a scanner. But, I think the driver has to conform to the WIA (Windows Image Acquisition) spec. Only ME and XP support this. I may be talking out of my a$$, but I think WIA compliant devices show up in explorer like printers do in 98 and 2000. From there you may be able to right click and set sharing rights.

I already mentioned the repeat trips to the scanner in my post.

The reason I could see would be that a scanner is most likely attached to a computer that is in use. Yes, you still have to go to the scanner, but you can do the actual scanning without bothering the person at the workstation.

It's definitely an WIA scanner. Properties do not have any option for sharing.

Calvin

You're assuming that the multiple computers involved are not in close proximity. If you have two or three computers nearby, on a wireless network and you're in close proximity to the scanner, sharing is very useful! You can argue that the firewire plug can be pulled, but the laptops involved don't have firewire. Plus it's a pain in the ass. It would be a thousand percent better to just have each computer on the network recognize the scanner.

Calvin

There are only a few scanners supporting USB 2 at the moment, the reviews claim the connection speed is nice but don't affect the speed of high rez scans.
USB 2 is backward compatible with USB 1.1 but the slower devices have to be on the end of the chain. Yes, they use the same connectors.

If you want to share a scanner between a few computers, why not get a USB scanner and install the scan drivers on all machines which use it. Some of the scanners are powered by the USB port only and are really portable, so yes, you would be physically sharing the scanner.

BTW any USB device has to support USB2 to support it. There aren't many devices using USB2 a the moment, but that'll improve.

Well guess what, I have a USB 2.0 scanner. It is also a Firewire scanner and I have it firewired right now because I only have USB 1.1 plugs. I spoke to tech support at Epson and they said they do not recommend the firewire *and* the usb ports be connected at the same time. I'm inclined to actually try it.

Calvin