Umax AstraSlim scanner - anyone using one?

Just a quick query: is anyone successfully using a Umax AstraSlim SE scanner
under Windows7? My installation went through the driver setup procedure
with no error messages, but the software simply didn't load. The Umax UK
site has no Win7 drivers, but I hate the thought of having to junk a
perfectly good scanner merely because of my new PC's OS, so wonder if
there's a workaround.

Many thanks,

Bert

On 1/4/2010 4:11 PM, Bert Coules wrote:
> Just a quick query: is anyone successfully using a Umax AstraSlim SE
> scanner under Windows7? My installation went through the driver setup
> procedure with no error messages, but the software simply didn't load.
> The Umax UK site has no Win7 drivers, but I hate the thought of having
> to junk a perfectly good scanner merely because of my new PC's OS, so
> wonder if there's a workaround.
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Bert

If the drivers truly did load why not try rebooting and then scanning from
some TWAIN-enabled software bypassing the scan software. I've been
operating this way for years since most software provided with scanners are
not worth the trouble IMHO. My word processor and graphics program are both
happy with just the TWAIN.

"Bert Coules" <> wrote:

> Just a quick query: is anyone successfully using a Umax AstraSlim SE
> scanner under Windows7? My installation went through the driver setup
> procedure with no error messages, but the software simply didn't load.
> The Umax UK site has no Win7 drivers, but I hate the thought of
> having to junk a perfectly good scanner merely because of my new PC's
> OS, so wonder if there's a workaround.
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Bert


Scanners are so old school. Obsolete!

The resolution is too low.

Get a 12 megapixel digital camera and capture higher resolution in a
fraction of a second, compared to a scanner.

You'd need to fashion an easel to hold the pages and a tripod. Then it's
a page, click, page, click, page, click procedure rather than a page,
scan it for 10 minutes, page, scan it for 10 minutes procedure.

I didn't realize people still used scanners.

Imho,

Andy

Andy,

> The resolution is too low.

For whom? Not for me.

> Get a 12 megapixel digital camera and capture higher resolution in a
> fraction of a second, compared to a scanner.
> You'd need to fashion an easel to hold the pages and a tripod.

And this space-consuming, Heath Robinson setup is supposed to be superior to
a beautifully small, low-profile, well-designed bit of desktop gear?
Thanks for the suggestion, but no thanks.

Bert

"Andy" <> wrote in message news:Xns9CF6B29BE1DB6Cotd@216.196.97.131...
> "Bert Coules" <> wrote:
>
>> Just a quick query: is anyone successfully using a Umax AstraSlim SE
>> scanner under Windows7? My installation went through the driver setup
>> procedure with no error messages, but the software simply didn't load.
>> The Umax UK site has no Win7 drivers, but I hate the thought of
>> having to junk a perfectly good scanner merely because of my new PC's
>> OS, so wonder if there's a workaround.
>>
>> Many thanks,
>>
>> Bert
>
>
> Scanners are so old school. Obsolete!
>
> The resolution is too low.
>
> Get a 12 megapixel digital camera and capture higher resolution in a
> fraction of a second, compared to a scanner.
>
> You'd need to fashion an easel to hold the pages and a tripod. Then it's
> a page, click, page, click, page, click procedure rather than a page,
> scan it for 10 minutes, page, scan it for 10 minutes procedure.
>
> I didn't realize people still used scanners.
>
> Imho,
>
> Andy

Why would you want a 12 mega pixel copy of your expenses claim

John,

> If the drivers truly did load...

Based on how quickly the "installation" was over, I very much doubt if they
did. But I'll try your suggestion, thanks.

Bert

"Bert Coules" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Just a quick query: is anyone successfully using a Umax AstraSlim SE
> scanner under Windows7? My installation went through the driver setup
> procedure with no error messages, but the software simply didn't load.
> The Umax UK site has no Win7 drivers, but I hate the thought of having to
> junk a perfectly good scanner merely because of my new PC's OS, so wonder
> if there's a workaround.
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Bert

What driver do they have ?
You can install in compatibility mode. This may not work if you decided to
install the 64 bit Win 7 as there may not be and 64 bit drivers.

"Bert Coules" <> wrote:

> Andy,
>
>> The resolution is too low.
>
> For whom? Not for me.
>
>> Get a 12 megapixel digital camera and capture higher resolution in a
>> fraction of a second, compared to a scanner.
>> You'd need to fashion an easel to hold the pages and a tripod.
>
> And this space-consuming, Heath Robinson setup is supposed to be
> superior to a beautifully small, low-profile, well-designed bit of
> desktop gear? Thanks for the suggestion, but no thanks.
>
> Bert


Let's each take an identical set of 100 pages. You scan with your scanner
and I'll photograph the same pages with my Nikon 12MP.

Not only will I be a finished in 1/100th the time that it will take you
to finish, mine will be 8 times higher quality than yours at the oddball
600x1,200 scan rez, then extrapolated to 3,600x3,600 dpi rez.

You obviously never comprehended tabletop tripods with a digital camera?
More portable than a 'puter and scanner on the remote scene! You don't
need an easel, I just figured you wouldn't think to masking tape a page
bounding box so the pages consistently drop into the same position, so
you don't have to move the tripod!

You and your other two Einsteins are unprofessionally clueless.

Andy

Andy wrote:

> You and your other two Einsteins are unprofessionally clueless.

And you are quite unwarrantably ill-mannered.

Bert

Trev,

Thank you for the helpful and courteous response.

> You can install in compatibility mode. This may not work if you decided to
> install the 64 bit Win 7 as there may not be and 64 bit drivers.

Unfortunately I didn't decide to install it; the new PC came with Home
Premium already in place. One possible solution, which I'm looking at for
other reasons, is to use something like Virtual Box and run XP for the
several of my standard programs which aren't compatible with Win7. But it's
a bit of a faff.

Bert