How to install driver properly for scanner

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Level 1

23 points

How to install driver properly for scanner

I have a Microtek Scanmaker 5900 and went to their website and downloaded the drivers for the latest Mac OS they had which was Tiger. I can't get the scanner to work. Everytime I launch the application, the application gets closed and asks if I want to ignore or relaunch.

I suspect that I have done something wrong and hope that it isn't because the drivers are for Tiger.

I am new to the Mac system and have to admit that I don't know how to uninstall something. I was thinking of uninstalling the drivers and software and retrying it in a different way or something.

Any suggestions? My computer has plenty of ram and space on the hard drive as well.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.2), Brand spanking new

Posted on Feb 28, 2008 2:09 AM

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Answer 1

dwb

Level 7

33,256 points

Feb 28, 2008 3:26 AM in response to Crabitha

The answer is probably what you fear. You downloaded an installer which will put the files where they need to go. A restart is probably required and then the scanner should work. But, lots of scanner owners found they needed new drivers and not all companies are supporting all their old scanners. Contact the company's tech support for an answer. Also, go to macupdate.com and look at vuescan to see if your scanner is supported. vuescan is a 3rd party scanner program.

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Answer 2

Crabitha Author

Level 1

23 points

Feb 28, 2008 4:51 AM in response to dwb

Unfortunately the 5900 scanner I have doesn't seem to be supported by vuescan.

I plugged the scanner in and then downloaded the software. I restarted the computer after installing the software/drivers. I am wondering if I should have left the scanner unplugged until I installed the software and then restarted the computer.

So my question now, in order to test my theory (fingers crossed) is this: how does one uninstall the drivers and software ? I am new to Mac software (a windows convert) and don't know how to uninstall programs on my mac.

Thanks for any advice.

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Answer 3

dwb

Level 7

33,256 points

Feb 28, 2008 5:04 AM in response to Crabitha

The software should have an uninstaller. If there's not an uninstaller in the program's folder (in Applications or Utilities) run the installer and look under the File menu to see if there's an uninstall option there.

But this won't solve your problem. Typically you must have a device plugged in first.

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