Startup problem with Nikon Coolscan 8000 ED

[rod_sainty2]

I've recently bought a second-hand Coolscan 8000 off eBay and have now spent

three frustrating hour-long sessions trying to get it to scan. The computer is

a recent Compaq nc8430 with 1GB of RAM and the Nikon Scan 3 software loaded

without any hiccups. The loading mechanism pulls the film holder inwards and

shunts it around seemingly OK. After opening Nikon Scan 3, I can select the

film type (Positive) and film size (6x7) and the "Show thumbnails" button. The

Progess bar claims that it is "Acquiring thumbnail" and "Performing Scan", the

barber pole bar activates but the film holder does not move nor does the

scanner make any new noises. After a few minutes of waiting nothing has

happened. If I click on the X on the Scan Progress box a "This program is not

responding" box appears and I can only close by switching the computer off.

Subsequent attempts involve hanging and the process generally doesn't get as

far as the first attempt, then I have to close down completely again. In many

attempts the Nikon Scan freezes at the opening title box on a grey screen, at

which point the scanner pushes the filmholder out an inch or so and the green

light flashes. In the third session I removed and then re-installed the Nikon

Scan 3 and then the first attempt got to the same point described above, then

subsequent attempts hung. I have tried by-passing the thumbnail and going

straight to Preview with similar results. The computer does make the two-tone

sound that signals that it recognises an external device when I switch the

scanner on. I'm puzzled that the CD-ROM is labelled INT Version 3.1.4 yet the

start-up box states v.3.1.2. I am using a new 400Mbps 6-pin male to 4-pin male

IEEE 1394 Firewire cable between the scanner and computer.

 

Any suggestions?

[eric friedemann]

If your computer is explicitly recognizing the existence of the scanner, your issue probably isn't the first issue I had, but read about how I had to install Nikon's Firewire port that came with the 8000 scanner into my computer:

 

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=006n9R

[Ed_Ingold]

Download the latest driver from http://www.nikonusa.com for the LS-8000 and your operating system.

 

As Eric said, the LS-8000 does not work or work well with some Firewire cards. The original that came with the unit is the only one Nikon will support. I have had consistently good results with Adaptec PCI cards. A Belkin card put streaks in the images. Go figure.

[rod_sainty2]

Thank you Eric, Edward and Les. I downloaded the Nikon Scan 4 from the nikonusa website but continued to have similar hangups. Then I phoned Nikon Australia customer support (where I am) and was told that I need to use the local version. There was a yellow ! mark next to the listing in Device Manager and was advised that likely indicates a driver issue. For the record, I was advised to do a registry edit to remove driver bits that won't be removed by the normal procedure (why not???) and install the local Nikon Scan 4.0.1 full version. He advised me to use the detailed downloadeable instructions and place drivers where they need to be rather than rely on the automatic version. An appropriately difficult introduction to a digital world.