Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

Eug Wanker · Jan 16, 2006, 03:54 PM

I thought it might be useful to have a thread where people with Intel Macs can post whether their peripherals (eg. printers, scanners) work with OS X x86 or not.

I certainly would want to wait before jumping in with an Intel switch. All my extra hardware works fine under OS X for PowerPC at the moment. I would not be surprised if none of it worked on Intel Macs, but I can't test the stuff out since I don't own an Intel Mac.

My hardware of concern:

M-Audio MIDIsport MIDI interface
Epson 1640SU Photo scanner
Canon LiDE 35 scanner
Canon i960 inkjet printer
Samsung ML-4600 laser printer

For you guys with Intel Macs, what peripherals have you tried?

Eug Wanker · Jan 16, 2006, 08:28 PM

According to this post, printing to an HP PSC 2500 works fine with the old drivers.

slugslugslug · 08:44 PM

The M-Audio probably won't work right now, since I think all their MIDI interfaces require kernel extensions (kexts), which don't work under Rosetta. On the other hand, I believe the IOKit is supposed to provide an abstraction layer for developing kexts without needing direct hardware access. So it wouldn't surprise me if they could be recompiled for Intel as easily as apps (someone please correct me if I'm way off). We'll see whether peripheral makers get on the ball about doing so.

Inkjet printers will probably just work, since at least the HP, Epson, and Canon ones I've had have required neither kexts nor Preference Panes for full functionality. I would bet the same is true for lasers. I've never used a scanner on OS X, so I don't know if they use custom kexts or go through a built-in one...

P.S. Eug: have you asked a mod to sticky this thread? Seems like it'll be useful for some time to come..

Weezer · Jan 16, 2006, 09:00 PM

Anyone have any idea if a digidesign M-Box will work? I know that pro tools does not, but can I still use my mbox through garageband?

Eug Wanker · Jan 17, 2006, 11:32 AM

Originally Posted by slugslugslug

The M-Audio probably won't work right now, since I think all their MIDI interfaces require kernel extensions (kexts), which don't work under Rosetta. On the other hand, I believe the IOKit is supposed to provide an abstraction layer for developing kexts without needing direct hardware access. So it wouldn't surprise me if they could be recompiled for Intel as easily as apps (someone please correct me if I'm way off). We'll see whether peripheral makers get on the ball about doing so.

Sounds promising.

Inkjet printers will probably just work, since at least the HP, Epson, and Canon ones I've had have required neither kexts nor Preference Panes for full functionality. I would bet the same is true for lasers. I've never used a scanner on OS X, so I don't know if they use custom kexts or go through a built-in one...

OK, so it's looking positive for the printer drivers at least. I'm especially worried about the Samsung laser since it was discontinued years ago, and the driver hasn't been updated since the early Panther days (although it works fine in Tiger). I'm also worried about the Epson scanner since it's also very old. At least the Canon scanner is a relatively current model.

P.S. Eug: have you asked a mod to sticky this thread? Seems like it'll be useful for some time to come..

I have not asked them. I figure if it this thread becomes useful with time then they can decide to do that themselves. I rarely look at stickified old threads anyway.

tooki · Jan 17, 2006, 04:08 PM

[stuck, and the unnecessary word "thread" removed from the thread title --tooki]

slimmy · Jan 17, 2006, 04:46 PM

It would be nice to know if any scanner will work with an Intel iMac. I have an Epson Perfection 2540 Photo, myself.

Slim

Mizzou02RS · Jan 17, 2006, 09:44 PM

I want to buy an Intel iMac and I was wondering if a Canon Pixma MP450 would be compatible?

PeterKG · Jan 18, 2006, 01:49 PM

Originally Posted by Mizzou02RS

I want to buy an Intel iMac and I was wondering if a Canon Pixma MP450 would be compatible?

I have a Canon Pixma MP780 and wonder the same thing.

MORT A POTTY · Jan 18, 2006, 02:00 PM

my accessories of concern:

Logitech MX 1000
Griffin PowerMate
Canon LiDE 80 scanner
Canon i860 printer

I know the first two dont, but I'd think the last two do, any info?

Mizzou02RS · Jan 18, 2006, 09:38 PM

Can anyone answer my question?

slimmy · Jan 19, 2006, 10:19 AM

Originally Posted by Mizzou02RS

Can anyone answer my question?

This is from http://www.xlr8yourmac.com:

" ...This is from an Apple training course in reference to the new iMac Core Duo machine.
-Mike Cascioli
Apple Certified Desktop Technician
Mac Business Solutions,Inc.

"Will printers/scanners/misc. devices work?
Nearly every printer driver, plus many more, that shipped with Tiger is included in Mac OS X for Intel as a universal binary.

If you only have a PPC printer driver, it should run in Rosetta.

For scanners and other devices, these likely will not work properly in Rosetta, customers should check with the vendor for a universal binary version of the driver/plug-in."

Another reader said:

" The installer ships with a whole bunch of printer drivers similar to the installer for PPC-only machines.
An EPSON Scanner Image Capture native driver is also installed by default. Image Capture application can be used to scan using older PPC-only TWAIN data sources either using the Image Capture UI or the TWAIN UI.
-Baskaran "

If any reader has an Intel CPU Mac has notes on working/not working printers and/or scanners let me know.

slugslugslug · Jan 19, 2006, 11:10 AM

Another member said in an iMac thread:

Originally Posted by Fdanna

My canon Pixma 4000 works fine on the Intel mac with the built in driver. I didn't bother trying to install the canon one (if it ain't broke...). My epson scanner works fine too... no additional software required.

Summary:

Canon PIXMA w/OS X Tiger built-in driver = OK
Epson 610U Scanner w/OS X Tiger built-in driver = OK

Eug Wanker · Jan 19, 2006, 12:48 PM

Things are looking up in terms of the printer drivers then. Actually, likely my first Intel Mac will be a laptop (probably within 6 months), and I don't have much attached to my laptop for obvious reasons. The only thing that I'd really need support for on my laptop is printer drivers. And even then, the way it would be used is that it would be sharing a printer over the network. That printer would be attached to my PPC iMac. (PPC iMac for now, Intel iMac maybe in a year.)

Is it correct to assume that if a PPC printer driver works on Intel, then it should also work for shared printers? To clarify:

Printer attached to PowerPC Mac, running PowerPC printer drivers.
Laptop sharing printer over the network. Laptop is Intel, running PowerPC printer drivers.

(My Samsung laser printer does not have drivers built into Tiger.)

---

Also, it'd be nice to hear more about scanners, since it seems like that's going to be the main issue for most people here.

slugslugslug · Jan 19, 2006, 06:08 PM

Well, if you look at this page's listing of what Rosetta won't translate, it seems plausible that it will do printer drivers.

OTOH, I thought somebody said (somewhere 'round these forums) that it won't do any kind of plug-ins, and /Library/Printers certainly contains files ending in ".plugin". I wonder if anybody who's familiar with OS X's printing architecture will show up here and comment..

goofticket · Jan 23, 2006, 10:52 AM

So far, there is nothing too old.
I have a circa 1995 GCC Elite 1212 laserprinter (similar to apple 16.640 & Xerox Docuprint 12)
my G3 with OSX 10.1.5 refused to deal with it, so I had to eboot into 9 to get it to print.
The InteliMac and 10.4.4 alowed it as a generic postscript printer and fully recognized it, allows for full setup of the priners memory and prints without a hitch.
I also setup a ethernet hub with the G3 and Elite 1212 and can print from both machines.
I also networked my G3 to the Intel and it also recognized the SCSI scanner attached to the G3.
It also has no problem with an USB Epson 1250 scanner.

I did download the Adobe Creative Suite trial, in about 7 hours with a DSL, and all those work fine, albeit under Rosetta ( the spinning beach ball is a dead give away) and they seem to run fine.
While my old G3 is a 66Mhz bus speed I do see a speed bump with the Intel and CS version of Adobe.

What I do have that shows my own mac insanity is the pair of Apple Powered Speaked attached to my new iMac...a nice blend of the old and new.

Duck57 · Jan 24, 2006, 04:40 AM

The most glaring problem is lack of proper plug-ins to allow Flash Player or Shockwave to install and run on iMac Intel with Tiger. Cannot install either, which means I cannot access XM Radio via Safari, IE, or Firefox. Macromedia (now owned by Adobe) acknowledges problem and "is working on the problem".

HP 7310 All-in-one works fine.

icruise · Jan 25, 2006, 11:10 AM

That's funny, since Flash and Shockwave seem to be working OK here (I used the migration assistant to transfer all my settings from my old computer). Can you give me an example of a website that doesn't work for you?

Eug Wanker · Jan 27, 2006, 04:25 PM

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

My hardware of concern:

M-Audio MIDIsport MIDI interface
...

M-Audio pledges support for Intel-Macs

"M-Audio said that it is currently working on Intel-Mac support for the rest of its USB interfaces"

grendel99 · Jan 28, 2006, 08:41 PM

Unfortunately my trusty iSub that worked great with my iMac DV 400mhz does not seem to be working with my new intel imac 20". It is not recognized anywhere in my sound preferences. Any thoughts?

jwoods · Feb 3, 2006, 09:30 AM

I was just looking for an Epson driver for my printer at Epson's site.. If you use Epson printers, they have a notice in their driver area listing the printer drivers that will be made available for the Intel Macs. Some should be out already.

Just throwing this out there. My printer won't be available until march, but the gimp print should work fine in the mean time.

Anrev · Feb 4, 2006, 03:10 AM

My iSub doesnt work either.
For my Trackball I had to get the driver from Speedmouse. Works great.
The general functions of my WACOM graphire3 work but not the customization.
My Shuttle Express doesnt work. The program cant detect it even though its plugged in.
My HP 4215 all-in-one works just fine as does my HP 3845.
Now strangely enough Live Type and Soundtrack 1 both work. FCE HD does not. But that was expected.

JustinHoMi · Feb 12, 2006, 06:03 PM

My Samsung ML-1710 works w/ this driver from the Samsung-Australia website (I didn't even try the US driver, since it's so hard to find).

I believe it's running under Rosetta, as a PPC process called raster-somethinoranother launches while printing. That's quite encouraging that Rosetta is loading drivers.

Eug Wanker · Feb 12, 2006, 06:22 PM

Originally Posted by JustinHoMi

My Samsung ML-1710 works w/ this driver from the Samsung-Australia website (I didn't even try the US driver, since it's so hard to find).

I believe it's running under Rosetta, as a PPC process called raster-somethinoranother launches while printing. That's quite encouraging that Rosetta is loading drivers.

Sweet. That bodes well for my Samsung ML-4600.

P.S. I agree. Samsung's driver site sucks in terms of navigation.

JustinHoMi · Feb 12, 2006, 06:29 PM

You have a couple of options for the ML-4600. The Samsung driver might work fine. If that doesn't work, you could try selecting the HP Laserjet 6 driver (according to this page). If that doesn't work, then you might be able to get these to work (it says it supports the 4500). The last option might require compiling the drivers yourself.

mrwalker · Feb 14, 2006, 05:37 AM

Originally Posted by MORT A POTTY

Canon LiDE 80 scanner

The CanonScan toolbox application was transferred over to my iMac Core Duo with the Migration Assistant, and works fine with my LiDE 80. The old installation of Photoshop I had won't work though, so I'm not sure about TWAIN scanning and such

- mrwalker

madtowngirl · Feb 20, 2006, 05:15 PM

I also have an Epson Perfection 1640SU and just got an Intel Imac a few weeks ago. I have been trying to get it working but am having no luck. I don't know if this is an Intel problem or not. I can get it to scan but then it crashes before it saves the picture/pdf/tiff.

Eug Wanker · Feb 25, 2006, 10:37 PM

Originally Posted by mrwalker

The old installation of Photoshop I had won't work though, so I'm not sure about TWAIN scanning and such

Did you try reinstalling Photoshop? Which version? Everyone else says Photoshop works fine (albeit not terribly fast).

Originally Posted by madtowngirl

I also have an Epson Perfection 1640SU and just got an Intel Imac a few weeks ago. I have been trying to get it working but am having no luck. I don't know if this is an Intel problem or not. I can get it to scan but then it crashes before it saves the picture/pdf/tiff.

Damn. Did you try reinstalling the Epson driver?

ero2 · Feb 26, 2006, 01:22 PM

hey guys, just bought an Intel Imac and am looking to find out what multibutton BT mouse I should get that is fully compatible with the intel macs?

stoneage · Mar 4, 2006, 10:51 PM

Originally Posted by grendel99

Unfortunately my trusty iSub that worked great with my iMac DV 400mhz does not seem to be working with my new intel imac 20". It is not recognized anywhere in my sound preferences. Any thoughts?

The word back from Harman Kardon is that the iSub has been out of production and that Apple was developing drivers for it in the past. It looks like they aren't supporting it on the Intel machines. I sent Apple an email (like I'll get anywhere that way). It's odd, because H/K still sells the iSub and sticks as a package. I would think that there were updated drivers for them.
Here is the response from H/K:
Good morning and thank you for your inquiry. It sounds like there may
be a compatibility issue. Unfortunately, Apple does not support it
under the newer platforms, as the iSub has been out of production for
over 5 years. All the drivers for the iSub were developed by Apple and
integrated into the operating system.
Best Regards,
Vu Le
Internet Support Specialist
On a side note, open System Profiler and click USB. The iSub is recognized there, but not in the Sound preference pane.

tthornyone · 04:24 PM

I didn't need any new Epson drivers (C86 or CX6600) for my intel imac.

I noted elsewhere, I was thinking about a Logitech MX1000 mouse, but I guess they don't work yet. Logitech site says they will have a driver "soon" Any good mice ofr Intel out there?

atarirat · Mar 7, 2006, 12:28 AM

Well, it looks like my isub is useless now and I'm in the market for some new speakers.

Which kind of sucks considering that the new remote allows me to browse and listen to music from my couch but the internal speaker is so crappy it's hardly worth listening to.

So has anyone found a decent alternative? is the new hifi boombox something I could use?

Thanks.

stoneage · Mar 7, 2006, 09:38 AM

is the new hifi boombox something I could use?

Kinda pricey (350) and the sound didn't impress the reviewers that much. There are plenty of speaker systems out there for iPods and computers. Just check the Apple store and then price them out on online.

atarirat · Mar 7, 2006, 12:21 PM

Well, without my isub or my apple pro speakers I'm back to where I was 7 years ago with some lame. poorly designed 3rd party speakers.

I love my computer and my computing experience in general but I find it unfortunate of apple to not follow through on this front.

I guess the HK mushroom speakers will have to do but I was really hoping for something that had the same level of class and sex appeal as the computer itself.

Am I the only one who is irked by this?

torifile · Mar 12, 2006, 12:54 AM

I don't know if this has been posted yet, but Epson has released UB versions of their scanner and printer software for at least the stylus cx4200 and I'm sure others. I've installed the scanner drivers and it works fine both with image capture and with photoshop cs 2 in rosetta.

fhoubi · Mar 12, 2006, 11:55 AM

Canon i865 printer and Lide30 scanner:

On an iMac Core Duo the migration manager automatically updated the printer driver from 2.3.2 to 4.1.5 (built in driver). However, the same printer (driver) set up to print over the Airport Express stayed on 2.3.2. No big deal, as never used because Airport printing was very cumbersome (stalls often).

The Lide30 scanner which I only used through Photoshop Elements 2.0 still works (as PSE2) with the same old Twain(?)/ScanGear 7.0X plugin. Perfect! Btw software: the Neat Image plugin works too, and uses both cores simultaniously. Cool.

You will find Canon latest drivers here. Most if not all printer/scanners are supported. Kuddos Canon.

toddtmw · Mar 14, 2006, 09:26 AM

Well, Microsoft released Intellipoint and Intellitype drivers that are Universal Binaries yesterday.

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/14205

Meanwhile, Logitech is still apparently, unaware that Apple has released new computers based on a new processor, that makes their existing drivers useless.

I hate how slow they are in releasing drivers. They really are a terrible company.

-Todd

larrinski · Mar 15, 2006, 01:35 AM

I am suffering too. No isub & I have to use a real mouse for a while. I have a Logitech Trackman Marble Wheel. Logitech says they don't have a time line on a release date. I can live with a mighty mouse for now, but the sound is just too tinny for me. I crave the isub thump...No replies yet from Apple or Harman Kardon.

inkhead · Mar 17, 2006, 07:28 PM

I just bought a Canon CanoScan LiDE500F today, How can I get it working on my macbook pro? You mentioned a photoshop plugin. I tried installing the software off the cd but no luck

inkhead · Mar 17, 2006, 07:35 PM

Wouldn't you know it? After I log out, and plug/unplug the canoscan 500f, and launch photoshop, it had scan right under import. And it actually worked!, This is after I installed the scangear driver.

Eug Wanker · Mar 19, 2006, 11:26 AM

Originally Posted by toddtmw

Well, Microsoft released Intellipoint and Intellitype drivers that are Universal Binaries yesterday.

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/14205

Meanwhile, Logitech is still apparently, unaware that Apple has released new computers based on a new processor, that makes their existing drivers useless.

Nice. Everyone likes to complain about MS, but I find the Mac driver support for their hardware products is pretty good.

I don't use the Microsoft wireless keyboard and mouse anymore though for my Macs. I find the keyboard too big and I don't like the feel of the keyboard as much as I do for the Apple one (which takes up much less space).

Originally Posted by fhoubi

Canon i865 printer and Lide30 scanner:

On an iMac Core Duo the migration manager automatically updated the printer driver from 2.3.2 to 4.1.5 (built in driver). However, the same printer (driver) set up to print over the Airport Express stayed on 2.3.2. No big deal, as never used because Airport printing was very cumbersome (stalls often).

The Lide30 scanner which I only used through Photoshop Elements 2.0 still works (as PSE2) with the same old Twain(?)/ScanGear 7.0X plugin. Perfect! Btw software: the Neat Image plugin works too, and uses both cores simultaniously. Cool.

You will find Canon latest drivers here. Most if not all printer/scanners are supported. Kuddos Canon.

Sweet. The Canon i960 printer drivers for Intel Macs are now available (Feb. 2006). Also, the LiDE 35 scanner driver is now a Universal Binary.

Originally Posted by torifile

I don't know if this has been posted yet, but Epson has released UB versions of their scanner and printer software for at least the stylus cx4200 and I'm sure others. I've installed the scanner drivers and it works fine both with image capture and with photoshop cs 2 in rosetta.

No updated driver for the Epson Perfection 1640SU Photo. One person in this thread can't get his Epson 1640SU, but other people report that other Epson scanners seem to work with the old drivers.

iREZ · Mar 19, 2006, 02:35 PM

my canon mp760 works fine with my imac core duo with the supplied discs.

mr_noodle · Mar 24, 2006, 07:30 AM

I plugged in my Logitech USB Headset and my iSub sprang into life - the iSub Volume appeared in the Sound Control Panel too.

I can't get it to work in conjunction with the inbuilt speakers at all though.

Looks like pluging in another USB speaker system triggers the system to recognise the iSub - could the system be fooled into doing this in software I wonder?

stoneage · Mar 24, 2006, 08:10 AM

Originally Posted by johnjhale

I plugged in my Logitech USB Headset and my iSub sprang into life - the iSub Volume appeared in the Sound Control Panel too.

I can't get it to work in conjunction with the inbuilt speakers at all though.

Looks like pluging in another USB speaker system triggers the system to recognise the iSub - could the system be fooled into doing this in software I wonder?

Didn't work with my JVC headphones.

mr_noodle · Mar 27, 2006, 04:39 AM

Originally Posted by stoneage

Didn't work with my JVC headphones.

Are they USB headphones?

stoneage · Mar 27, 2006, 08:48 AM

Originally Posted by johnjhale

Are they USB headphones?

No. They are audio plug. I guess I'll have to buy a new sub woofer. It won't be an Apple though.

boojew · Apr 3, 2006, 02:26 PM

CANON PIXMA DRIVER QUESTION: I've a Canon Pixma IP 4000 printer. Is it possible to install the Power PC 2.62 driver or is just the Apple driver working?

Are all menus included? Duplex printing, cleaning menu, the menu to see how much ink is in the tanks? (Mea culpa, i don't know the exact english words for the menus)

Thanks

GORDYmac · Apr 7, 2006, 08:56 PM

Can anyone else confirm that johnjhale's workaround works?

slugslugslug · Apr 17, 2006, 11:11 AM

Hey Eug, check out what I just saw on MacNN's front page. M-Audio just released Universal drivers for "its complete line" of gear.

Eug Wanker · Apr 17, 2006, 01:56 PM

Originally Posted by slugslugslug

Hey Eug, check out what I just saw on MacNN's front page. M-Audio just released Universal drivers for "its complete line" of gear.

Sweet. Actually, I was coming here to post this.

Mind you I've been too busy/lazy to force myself to continue practicing/learning to play my keyboard, so I haven't touched that unit for a couple of months now.

Anyways, it does look like I may be upgrading to an Intel iMac sooner rather than later... It's tough to justify shelling out again though, considering my 2.0 GHz G5 iMac still works great.