Nikon Scan and Windows 10

<p>Microsoft has proposed to me a free upgrade to Windows 10.<br>

The question is whether NikonScan 4 will still work to operate a Coolscan 5000 ED. Now I run it on Windows 7 and apart from a crash now and then it works without problems.<br>

Any idea whether NikonScan 4 will be compatible with Windows 10?<br>

I do not plan to change scanning software for now, even if I would like to get SilverFast sometime in the future.<br>

Thanks for your ideas.</p>

<p>Well, officially Nikon already didn't support Nikon Scan on Windows 7... likelihood that they will support it on Windows 10 is realistically zero. Nikon ended their scanner business, and that includes software updates.Now, in most likelihood, when you upgrade, the software will continue to work as it does today. Windows 10 compatibility is pretty equal to Windows 7 in this sense. But the risk of additional bugs and problems are there, and they won't be fixed.</p>

<p>While I do not have a Nikon scanner, I use VueScan on Windows 10 (64-bits) and it runs absolutely fine. It is an option to keep in mind, as it tends to be a lot cheaper than Silverfast, and it isn't tied to a specific scanner. Not the most inviting User Interface ever, but it works well.</p>

<p>Thank you Wouter.<br>

I am aware that the Nikon Support for NikonScan is terminated. The last version available is 4.0.3, which works on Windows 7.<br>

Anyway, I might give it a try, even if I am not too keen to reverting to 7.<br>

It's just about making up my mind on how much hassle I am prepared to deal with, and whether I want to hold up my scanning until I have decided which new system to get.<br>

I have tried Vuescan, but my reaction on the interface is like yours ...</p>

<p>To get NikonScan to work on my Windows 7, I installed Vuescan first, then I installed NikonScan. NikonScan picked up and used the Vuescan drivers. I would suggest you try:</p>

<p>1) First, install the <strong>32-bit</strong> version of Vuescan (NikonScan is a 32-bit program). The trial version should be sufficient.</p>

<p>2) Install NikonScan 4.0.3. As part of the install process, NikonScan will ask if you want to install the drivers. Do <strong>NOT</strong> install the NikonScan drivers. Turn on you scanner and launch NikonScan.</p>

<p>This worked well under Windows 7. </p>

<p>If NikonScan does not work under Windows 10, try running it in XP compatibility mode. </p>

<p>You can also install the Silverfast 8.5 demo to get Nikon Scan to work.</p>

<p>Al</p>

<p>The "XP Compatibility mode" has not progressed past Windows 7. With Win8 and beyond there is HyperV, which is the same version that runs in the server. No support for extending raw devices to the guest os. You may be able to try VirtualBox, but it's hit-or-mis on device redirection these days.</p>

<p>Peter, there is another compatibility mode that does exist in Windows 8 and beyond; right-click a program, tab 'Compatibility' and set the OS to emulate. This option is often overlooked, but actually quite effective. The one you refer to is indeed no longer easily done, but it was overkill in most cases anyway.</p>

<p>VMware Player is free for non-commercial purposes and should allow you to run a USB scanner in Windows XP if you really need to. Either the Vuescan or Silverfast driver suggestion should work. It worked with the Minolta scanning software under Windows 8, but I haven't tried it with Windows 10 since I've switched entirely to using Vuescan now.<br>

As a side note, in testing at work and at home, I'm finding very little that worked under either Windows 7 and Windows 8 that won't work under Windows 10, including hardware drivers. And if you do an in-place upgrade, the "reverting to previous version" is surprisingly painless. I tried it on a Win 7 to 10 upgrade. And if the in-place upgrade fails for some reason, the installer will automatically flip you back to your original Windows version after a couple of automatic restart/retry attempts.</p>

<p>I have the Konica Minolta Dimage IV and unlike the Nikon scanner it would not work with Windows 7 and I tried Vue Scan but didn't like it. I simply installed another the hard drive and installed Windows XP on it. When I need to use the scanner I simply change the BIOS setup to boot from the XP hard drive. </p>

<p>You can create a dual boot machine and have both Windows 7 and Windows 10 on the same machine. Its a little more complicated to set up but you wouldn't have to worry about the scanner not working. Any other programs that you want to keep would have to be reinstalled in Windows 10. I had XP and Vista set up on my laptop for years and both worked fine. Here is a link to a guide on how its done. If you have a Mac there was Bootcamp to run Windows on a Mac, but now I understand there is a way to run Windows and the Mac OS simultaneously.<br>

http://www.howtogeek.com/197647/how-to-dual-boot-windows-10-with-windows-7-or-8/</p>

A combination of what BeBu and John suggest: clone the running Windows 7 system onto a second disk. Then upgrade from windows 7 to Windows 10 on just one of the identical systems, not the other. Mount both in the PC and select which disk to boot. Nothing to reinstall, and the possibility to run either system at will.

<p>Scanner software tends to be very low-level, needing only a very basic connection to the scanner and then communicating with and controlling the scanner pretty directly over that channel. As a result scanner drivers tend to be nearly empty pieces of software that just tell Windows "Hey that device over there with this hardware ID is actually called a Noodleware Filmscan 2+". What Vuescan does is incorporate a single dummy driver file that knows the hardware IDs and names of any and every USB scanner Vuescan can talk to. And Vuescan gets updates. That's why actually surprisingly often the dummy driver installed by Vuescan (or even it's demo version) can be used to get a film scanner working with the original software long after the manufacturer has stopped making driver files for new versions of Windows.</p>

<p>Thank you all, that's very helpful. Having installed the Vuescan demo might be the reason why NikonScan 4xxx works well under my Windows 7. My machine is a laptop, so there are limited options.<br>

Thanks for your ideas, I'll make up my mind.</p>

<p>You may want to see the link I posted in this thread Which was submitted by another member. I've had zero problems using NikonScan with Win 7 (64bit) To be 100% sure it will work you will need to install Win 10 on your machine. However, if it doesn't and the other workarounds don't either you have 30 days to 'roll back' your machine to Win 7.<br>

http://www.photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00cFLd<br>

Good luck.</p>

 

<p>I took the plunge and NikonScan 4 works under Windows 10.<br>

I still have to try the scanner ...</p>

<p>I use nikonscan on Win 7 and did what Brooks said.</p>