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I have just fought with a Windows XP machine to try to get HP Scanner software to install properly. I have installed the software 3 times - twice from the disk provided and once downloaded from HP. I have rebooted the machine probably over 10 times and plug and unplugged the scanner probably about the same number of times.
The result is that only the Twain driver is working. None of the actual HP Software for the scanner works. For a non Administrative user, some of the software just gives an error dialogue when you try to launch it. For all users, the HP Solution Center [sic] software doesn't launch at at. So much for a "Solution Center".
When using the Twain driver, the scanner colour rendition is worse than my 4 year nephew can achieve using a box of broken Crayolas on a sheet of wrapping paper.
The sad thing is that if I Google "HP Scanner Software" I get more hits for people having the same or similar problems than people suggesting solutions other than "get different scanning software".
So two days after I started (on and off) the scanner still doesn't work.
This on the tails of installing the drivers for an HP 5550 Colour LaserJet via a Samba Print$ share. Unfortunately, every Win XP computer that the new printer was "connected to" then required the re-installation of the Konica Minolta Bizhub drivers.
The real question is, I suppose, why am I surprised? Historically HP Software has been a nightmare and clearly, nothing has happened to improve it. I recall being sent countless 3.5" floppy disks by HP support in 1994 in the mail, while writing my thesis, to try to get my new LaserJet 4L to print even remotely similar to what I had painstakingly prepared on the screen.
The HP Scan Pro software that I occasionally have to use on my own MacBook Pro crashes after every second or third scan and amazingly requires a reboot of the entire machine plus various USB plugging and unplugging and power cycles to get the next few scans - and every time I have to manually adjust the colour settings to get an image that looks like the original. It's such a relief to go back to using the CanoScan software.
What's the deal HP? Why don't you just give up and stop selling your rubbish scanners and software so that my unwitting clients can't accidently buy them? I do enjoy troubleshooting but not fruitless labour.
Edited 6 Aug 2008. Perhaps this is a solution:
Edit 14 Aug 2008. I'm not the only one...
- Posted by Campbell M on August 6, 2008
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