Windows 7 and HP ScanJet 3300C

Question

Is there a way to use the HP ScanJet 3300C with Windows 7.

I've tried to modify the .inf driver file and also use VueScan. I used VirtualBox but it seems buggy.

Thanks for your help

Answer 1

You do not say whether you have Windows 7 x86 or Windows 7 x64.

The H-P 3300c scanner drivers do not work on Windows 7 x64. As for x86, I do not know.

The x64 solution is to add on Windows XP Mode from Microsoft. This creates a virtual PC on your system that runs Windows XP. I have my scanner working perfectly this way.

The one difference is that you must attach the scanner to the virtual PC's USB driver. This is an extra step that's analogous to plugging in the USB cable. When you boot the virtual PC, go to the USB menu at the top of the window and select HP ScanJet 3300c Attach.

NOTE: As you know already if you have used this scanner with Windows XP, The H-P driver for the 3300c is somewhat brittle. Changing anything in XP can break the driver, making a driver reinstall necessary. When I start getting undefined error 2117 I know it's time to reinstall the driver.

The steps to reinstall the driver (note these steps are all performed with the XP system on the virtual PC, not the Windows 7 system):

1. uninstall Precision Scan LT from the XP Start menu on the virtual PC
2. delete scanner from XP Device Manager
3. detach power and data cables
4. reboot XP
5. reinstall Precision Scan LT (sj650en.exe) into XP
6. reattach power and data cables and reattach in virtual PC USB menu
7. click to confirm unsigned driver install
8. click to confirm reboot
9. after reboot, reattach in virtual PC USB menu