Home Forums Scanner TWAIN problem

So, all of a sudden today, it seems that our scanners TWAIN drivers have disappeared. We use Windows 7, two scanners, one Xerox directly attached, one Brother MF networked. We usually scan license and insurance card directly into our billing application which requires a TWAIN driver. Today, those options have grayed out in the billing program. I thought that it was Xerox machine problem, but then realized could not use either, no TWAIN drivers appear in list of available scanners, only WIA. TWAIN is not an option outside of billing program either.

So, tech gurus, what could have happened to knock out both of these?

Happy Friday Donna! :-)

First question, did you have a Windows and/or driver update install?

You can go to your Windows Update, then look at your update history.

Hi Indy! Thanks for replying. This changed between Wednesday and Thursday this week, our last Windows update was mid August, I only do the security updates. What else you got??

Hi,

Indy mentioned checking for driver updates, too, which might be automatic or something that users are invited to click on.

I've had users accidentally leave install-cd's in computers for months, stumble over them later, and run through the automated install again, choosing the wrong options with the best of intentions.

Some automatic driver updates don't play well with others and insist that you want them, not what you had installed.

You can look quickly for the driver date in devices and printers, right-click on the scanner, properties, and look for driver/advanced/and so on.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Carl,

Thanks for the that, I was trying to remember where to find the driver info. I don't think they have updated, but I will check. Although it does not seem to fit the timing, I have also uninstalled last Windows updates. I set up this system about 5 years ago, and it has worked without any hiccups. I was dumbfounded today trying to remember all the technical details, didn't have time to work through it all. I do remember the Xerox scanner was a real pain to set up, I have a file full of info for it including the driver, something called a TWAIN fix, etc. I will continue to wrangle with it tomorrow.

Thanks to you and Indy!

When it comes to peripherals, another low friction path once it isn't working is to disconnect it, uninstall the software, restart the OS, then go through the install process fresh. If it isn't working at this point, you have very little to loose, and this is a straightforward process.

You smart fellas are correct, it appears that the driver is corrupted. The version listed for the Xerox scanner is an older version than what I last installed. I struggled with driver issues for this machine years ago, and it is incredibly cumbersome to fix. The Xerox instructions online have 6 steps, you run multiple small programs to get everything fully uninstalled. I did all this before, it took forever, and still took multiple tries to get it working.

I tried rolling back the system with system restore without resolution.
So, no longer worth more effort, I have ordered a new scanner, good riddance! Thanks for the suggestions.

Thank you for the feedback.

In a similar vein, if a machine over 3 years old is infected and we are contacted, our default suggestion is buy a new machine, or if it is Windows 7 and they have the original installer disk, they buy a SSD and install a new OS. It costs more to fix it, than it does to replace/upgrade it. Time is money.