HP Scanners under Windows XP

There are a few different issues that can arise when installing an HP Scanner on our Windows XP image. These issues and their solutions are listed below.

• According to the HP Website, there is no XP scanner driver for this model - This usually means that the scanner is natively supported by the Windows XP Scanner and Camera Wizard. There a couple of ways to test this. These steps assume the scanner is already connected and powered on.
  
  
  1. If the scanner has a "Scan" buttons on the front, press the "Scan" button. The Wizard will probably start if the scanner is supported.
  2. If the Wizard doesn't start, you can launch it manually to see if it recognizes the scanner. The path to the Wizard is:
     
         c:\windows\system32\wiaacmgr.exe
     
     
  3. If either of the above work, you should make a shortcut to the Wizard in the Applications folder on the desktop, and rename it to "Scanner and Camera Wizard" or something meaningful.
  4. If the Wizard doesn't work and HP doesn't provide a driver, there is no solution at this time.



• The HP Software for Windows XP that comes with the scanner won't work under a student login, and the Scanner and Camera Wizard doesn't recognize the scanner - A lot of the XP-aware software from HP demands that the current user have a "My Pictures" folder to function at all. The student accounts don't have a "My Pictures" folder, so the HP software returns an error message. The workaround is to use the built-in Windows XP Scanner and Camera Wizard instead, but to make it work the HP software must also be installed on the PC.

  The Wizard relies on the TWAIN drivers and other universal support files that the HP installer puts on the system. Without these files, the Wizard will not recognize the scanner. However, as long as the HP software is resident and functional, the buttons on the front of the scanner will activate it and produce an error message.

  The workaround for this part of the issue is to install the HP software, test the Scanner and Camera Wizard to be sure it recognizes the scanner, and then disable the HP software without uninstalling it.

  The particular filenames aren't a known commodity, but what has worked in the past is to delete all of the .exe files in the HP directory. Once that's done, re-test the buttons to be sure they don't activate any of the HP software. If they do, use the Task Manager to find the name of the executable, and then delete it. Repeat as necessary.

  Once the HP software has been disabled, you should create a shortcut to the Scanner and Camera Wizard in the Applications folder on the Desktop and rename it to "Scanner and Camera Wizard" or something meaningful. The path to the Wizard is:
  
      c:\windows\system32\wiaacmgr.exe
  
  

• More entries as they become available.