I'm posting this on several different forums in hope that somebody can help me. I recently purchased a G4/400 and am loving it except for one thing: my Umax Vista S8 scanner doesn't work with it. The system freezes when I try to scan something. Sometimes it freezes immediately when I choose the scanner driver from "Acquire" within Photoshop and sometimes it lets me get as far as a preview image before freezing when I try to make the actual scan.

I have tried e-mailing Umax's technical support and received an incredibly unhelpful answer that made me so angry I sent a complaint letter to their customer service department. Basically, Umax told me that they no longer support Vista series scanners under OS 9. Period, end of reply. No suggestions of what I could try or even a sales pitch for another scanner.

I have an Orange Micro SCSI card installed in my computer, and my scanner is connected to it along with a Zip drive, an Orb drive and a CD-RW drive, all of which work fine. Each device has a unique SCSI number and all of them (including the scanner) show up when I run SCSI Probe.

I tried downloading VistaScan 2.4.3 from Umax's website, and it actually worked fine for about 10 days before suddenly ceasing to work in the middle of a scan session. I didn't do anything different between the last time the scanner worked and the time it stopped working. I have tried reinstalling the software, but the system still freezes when I try to scan. It's like it's forgotten that it worked before.

I know that scanner prices are low now, but I'd prefer to use my old scanner, which I really like and have an investment in, rather than buy a new one. I'm hoping somebody might be able to help. Thanks!

Try downloading VistaScan 3.5.1 (or later) from UMAX's website. I used to use 2.4.3 with my Astra 1220, and 3.5.1 is far superior, having more controls and improved stability. Other than that, all I can suggest is to purchase a new scanner. Sorry...

Good luck,

infiniti

Thanks for the suggestion! Umax said that 2.4.3 was the right driver for my scanner and operating system, but I'm really not trusting anything that Umax says anymore. I guess I'll have to endure another 2-1/2 hour download on my slow modem.

Actually, now I think it might be a SCSI problem. Last night after I tried upgrading Orange Micro's firmware with no results, I decided to see what would happen if the scanner were the only device in the SCSI chain. Worked like a charm. Now I guess I need to spend time plugging and unplugging different cables in different configurations, and restarting a lot. Nice way to spend a weekend...

Kathy,

First, welcome to MacNN.

Be sure to watch your scsi termination. If you aren't sure if the scanner has autotermination, put a term block on it if it is last on the chain.

Check your manual and be sure to follow where the scanner should be. Although it shouldn't matter, some scanners belong first or last. Also check the switch on the back of the other devices, some (i.e. the zip) are cheap switches that are easily moved, even by accident.

I have a G4/500, with an Initio Bluenote SCSI controller.I had a Umax Vista S-12 (ancient) scanner, but it was alone on the chain. I had some troubles initially, but worked well with VistaScan 3.5.1 although it was "not supported."

Hope this helps.