Epson 4870 on Vista with CS3 will not scan

Question

I have an Epson 4870 scanner which I'm using with my Vista Home Premium (32 bit)software. When I first installed it, it worked fine. However, some update came along and made that a thing of the past. I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling. (The drivers are said to be Vista compatible, and they were for a while) I've searched the forum and Googled, but the only new advice I've seen is to turn off the Vista UAC or whatever, which opens the computer to security risks. Even with UAC off, it still doesn't work. I've considered getting a V700 or V750, but the reviews I've read don't show a significant difference in quality over the 4870, and I don't have enough 8x10 transparencies to warrant purchasing for that alone. I've also uninstalled and reinstalled CS3, trashed preferences, jumped over the moon while spinning counterclockwise, etc. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

May I suggest checking to verify the drivers you have been trying to install. I just went to http://esupport.epson-europe.com/ProductHome.aspx?lng=en-GB&data=kVFQIoh3k1lpFyj2g2kFaMGu aI64nFnyUrvjJMOEt4IU003D&tc=6
and downloaded the Epson Scan 3.0u file listed for Vista and for the Epson 4870 scanner. After expanding the .exe file to a folder, I found that this software supports multiple scanners, your included. In checking Es34.inf I found the following:
"[Version]
Signature="$Windows NT$"
LayoutFile=Layout.inf, Layout1.inf, Layout2.inf
Class=Image
ClassGUID={6bdd1fc6-810f-11d0-bec7-08002be2092f}
Provider=%Mfg%
CatalogFile.nt=es34.cat
DriverVer=12/21/2006,3.0.4.0
[ControlFlags]
ExcludeFromSelect=*
[DestinationDirs]
DefaultDestDir=11 ; LDID_SYS
DS.Files=10,TWAIN_32\ESCNDV
TBL.Files=10,TWAIN_32\ESCNDV\ESSYS ; LDID_WIN\TWAIN_32\ESCNDV\ESSYS
DRV.Files=10,TWAIN_32\ESCNDV\ES0034
FFMT.Files=10,TWAIN_32\ESCNDV\ES0034\FFMT
EPSON.Color.Files=23 ; LDID_SYS\COLOR
ES34.Color.Files=23 ; LDID_SYS\COLOR
USB.Scan.CopySys32Files=10,system32\drivers ; LDID_WIN\system32\drivers
[Strings]
Mfg = "EPSON"
ES34.DeviceDesc = "EPSON Perfection 4870"
DSName = "EPSON Perfection 4870"
StartButton = "Start Button"
RegSection = "SOFTWARE\EPSON\EPSON Scan\ES0034"
RegSection.x64 = "SOFTWARE\WoW6432Node\EPSON\EPSON Scan\ES0034"
ScanApp = "EPSON Smart Panel"
DiskName = "EPSON Scanners Driver Disk"
ICCName = "PER487_R.ICM,PER487_T.ICM"
It does appear this is the correct Vista driver and software to support your scanner. May I suggest it is possible to have corrupt files not being rewritten on reinstallation. After uninstalling and possibly running a registry cleaner, you might try installing the software and drivers from Safe Mode. Hopefully this will keep other drivers and antivirus software drivers from loading, giving you a better opportunity at a successful install.