Using Nikon Super Cool Scan 8000ED through 800/400 firewire converter

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Level 1

9 points

Using Nikon Super Cool Scan 8000ED through 800/400 firewire converter

I have a Nikon Super CoolScan 8000 ED that I am trying to use with my iMac quad-core i5 running Snow Leopard. The only connection coming out of the scanner is Firewire 400. I purchased a Firewire 400/800 adapter and plugged it into the Firewire 800 port on the iMac. There is no response from the computer, it doesn't even seem to be able to detect that the scanner is connected at all.

I have downloaded the driver from Nikon, and it appears to be installed on the computer.

Any suggestions? -J.

iMac dual quad i5, Mac OS X (10.6.3)

Posted on Nov 14, 2010 6:37 PM

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Answer 1

den.thed

Level 10

95,638 points

Nov 14, 2010 7:07 PM in response to J Beau

Hi J

To see if the Film Scanner is detected on the FireWire Device Tree, go to: Apple > About This Mac > click the More Info button > then select FireWire in the Hardware section.

If so, then for kicks open the Image Capture Application and see if you can select the Nikon Film Scanner?

Dennis

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Answer 2

MartinR

Level 7

25,668 points

Nov 15, 2010 10:18 AM in response to J Beau

People have had a lot of problems with FW400/FW800 plug adapters. Better to use a cable with a 6-pin FW connector on one end and 9-pin FW connector on the other. Here is the cable I use and it works perfectly.

Make sure you can 'see' the scanner in +System Profiler > Hardware > Firewire.+ If the scanner shows up there, then any scanning app should be able to access the scanner.

Also, what driver did you download from Nikon? There is no driver needed for this scanner on OS X. Did you download & install Nikon Scan (4.0 or 4.0.2)? You don't need it - it's not a driver, it's a scanning app and it was never updated for Snow Leopard; only a lucky few seem to have been able to get NikonScan working on Snow Leopard.

Download a copy of Vuescan - it works great with the Nikon scanners.

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Answer 3

J Beau Author

Level 1

9 points

Dec 14, 2010 9:19 AM in response to den.thed

Dennis-- Thanks very much for the info on how to check to see if the Nikon scanner was being detected by the firewire port. In following your instructions, I can see that the scanner shows up. However, when I use the Capture utility it does not show up on the list of scanners.

I'm really hoping I can get this thing to work with the iMac, as if so I can get rid of an entire legacy computer system, and I could sure use the room. Any further suggestions as to how I can get the Capture utility to recognize the scanner? Many thanks for all info. -J.

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Answer 4

J Beau Author

Level 1

9 points

Dec 14, 2010 10:40 AM in response to MartinR

Martin-- I just downloaded a trial application of VueScan-- and by golly, it WORKS! It detected the Super Coolscan right off the bat and did some great scans with it.

I'll be purchasing it next payday. Many thanks. -J

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Answer 5

rkaufmann87

Level 10

149,098 points

Nov 14, 2010 6:42 PM in response to J Beau

Are you sure it's supposed to be compatible with Snow Leopard. I downloaded the manual and it only references 10.1.3 which is pretty old!

Roger

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