Scanning problems with Canon Pixma MX300

There is a possibility that some other software on your Mac is interfering with the Canon software. This could be the case if you had another brand of AIO (All in One) or a standalone scanner installed previously on this Mac.

If this was the case, then open System Preferences then Accounts. Select your account and then select Login Items. This is a list of all the items set to open when you log in. Some scanner applications will be shown in this list and if they are not related to the MX300 then this could be the problem. If you see something that you know you no longer have, then you can highlight the application and remove it by pressing minus ( - ) button. If you are not sure, write down what is listed and post it back here.

Sometimes there can be other applications that can be running in the background, but will not be shown in this list. For these types of apps, you need to have your Activity Monitor open when you attempt to scan. This will show the scangear application using a lot of your CPU resources. But hopefully it will also show another application that is running and using CPU resources, which often causes the freeze you mention. If you haven't used it before then this can be a tad daunting to look at. So if you want to take a screen grab, showing the scan gear app at the top, then post it somewhere to view I can have a look at it.

My last suggestion is to try another scanning application, like Image Capture or Preview. This can help to narrow-down the possible causes of the problem. If neither of these work, then it would suggest that ScanGear has a problem and needs removing/reinstalling. Let me know how the above suggestions go and if they are no help then I will give steps to remove the scanner software.

PaHu

Okay, well I think we need to remove the scanner driver and associated software.

So the first thing to remove is MP Navigator application. I think this is located in the Applications/Canon Utilities folder (I am not sure if this is still correct. I don't use this application with my MP970. I only use the scanner driver).

Next task is to remove the scanner driver. This is located in ./Library/Image Capture/TWAIN Data Sources and will be shown as MX300.ds (where . refers to your hard drive)

Next, we need to remove the ScanGear package from ./Library/Receipts.

The last thing to check is ./Users/Shared. If there is a folder related to the MX then please remove. Note that there may also be a folder called Canon. This will have a sub-folder called BJPrinters. Don't trash this folder.

With all the above trashed, please empty the trash and then restart your Mac.

Once the Mac is back on, we only want to install the scanner driver. Ensure you have version 13.9.0. If you have something earlier, then please download this version from any Canon web site.

With only the scanner driver installed, you should be able to open Image Capture or Preview and scan. Let me know how it goes....

PaHu

Woops. I was writing my reply when you posted your success. I would not have suggested the cable. I assumed that you were able to print fine. Well done!

PaHu