I've seen posts on the forum (not sure which section) about some older SCSI cards not being XP compatible.  SCSI is rarely used with the improved USB and Firewire. 

Is the SCSI controller card being recognized by Windows and the Windows Device Manager?  Even tho you have Windows XP drivers for the device, it may still be a compatibility issue with XP since Windows XP has specific hardware (and software) requirements. 

Finally, even if you get XP to recognize the SCSI controller you are looking at compatibility of the scanner with XP.  Generally there is a switch that is set on the back of the device that determines it's SCSI address. 

The Microsoft Windows XP site used to list compatible hardware.  I haven't checked it lately but you may want to start there and see if what you want to use is listed.  If not, it may be time to give up "old reliable" and buy a new XP compatible scaner.    There is also the "WIA" (Windows Image Acquistion) standard that was developed for Windows XP and even some devices made, after Windows XP was first issued are not WIA compatible.

The SCSI card is recognized, but I get eithe Code 10 [device won't start] or Code 39 errors messages.

>>>Generally there is a switch that is set on the back of the device that determines it's SCSI address...

I'm aware of the switch [actually a dial[ and have left it set @ the defaulr--it's just a shot in the dark as to whether I should perhaps change the address--but I don't know if the other SCSI devices I have may be conflicting.

I was aware of the XP compatability issue before upgrading to XP, but Umax assured me [and sold me new $70 software to be compatible with XP] and has also suggested that I buy a new SCSI from them [which I believe is the same card I already have].

I know scanners have come down in price a great deal and giving up on this one is probably the easiest thing to do, but it's a legal-sized flatbed, which I specifically need to scan large pieces of art that cannot be sheet fed and are larger than the standard 8.5 X 11. Those seem impossible to come by for less than $1K.

dg

Those codes generally mean the card is not being recognized by Windows XP, or that there is a hardware problem on the card.  Since it worked on an older Operating System, I would be more inclined to think it's an XP compatibility issue. 

If you can't get it to work, you may want to consider a "dual boot" system with both Windows XP and an older Operating System such as Windows 98.  When you need to use the scanner, you boot the PC to Windows 98. 

I have considered the dual-boot scenario [which I briefly had earlier this year], and in fact have a 21 Gb Maxtor drive in the machine right now, which I could use for Win98. The 21 Gb has been used strictly for backup files.

If I went that route, would the FAT32 [Win98] image files be recognized by XP?

Lastly, will I be able to clean install Win98 on the Maxtor 21 Gb from the Win98 OS CD [and w/o interfering with the 250 Gb XP drive]?

Thanks for your help.

dg

p.s.: The other option is to shell out another $40 for Umax SCSI that some @ Umax say is designed for XP. Under that scenario, at least I wouldn't be out the $69 I spent on the Umax/Silverfast XP software.

XP will recognize a FAT drive, however, I don't know if you can set up a dual boot with the Win98 being on a different drive.  I would think that would work, but Murphy's Law may take precedence.

I don't have the info for setting up a dual boot, but Windows XP help file or a Microsoft tech article should cover how to set it up manually.  If you install Windows XP on a system that already has another operating system and select the dual boot option when you install XP it will automatically set up what is necessary for the dual boot.

Installing Win98 should work OK on the separate drive.  You will also need to install the Dell chipset drivers and device drivers for the Win98 operation.