Need driver for BenQ scanner

[mom26gr8kids]

Our computer died 2 weeks ago, the motherboard went out and we needed to replace it. So we bought a new computer, an Acer with Windows Vista on it. The problem is that the computer can't find a driver for our scanner. It says that our scanner "driver" is incompatible with Windows Vista. We have an Acer scanner, but it is about 8 years old. On our previous computer we had to download a driver for it from BenQ. We used a BenQ 340U scanner driver and the scanner worked fine. Does anyone know where I can find a driver for the scanner to make it work? The scanner may be old, but it works for what I need it for, so I would hate to spend money to replace it when it isn't necessary. However, I homeschool and do use it to copy some things for the kids' school, so it is necessary for the scanner to work. I would appreciate any help.

Thanks
Kendra

 

[raybay]

It is the VISTA driver that will be the problem. Might be time to upgrade the scanner... Not many older ones will work reliably with VISTA... BenQ doesn't make the scanner... as they are mostly into marketing rather than manufacturer... and mostly for Apple MacIntosh products... so you might look at scanners similar in appearance... and the Snap-On or UMax which make scanners for a lot of other brand names.

Then see if there are updates to the scanner drivers to allow them to work correctly with VISTA...

Because of the growth of All in One printers, there are not many scanner companies anymore... We would just look for a good used Canon, or HP. We have had great luck with $20 Canon scanners... and on HP ScanJets... But with HP, you have to be sure there is a VISTA driver... as they have discontinued many rather than come up with a new driver for a dead market.

There are five BenQ scanners on eBay right now running from $10 to $45... and it is easier sometimes to buy the scanner than to find the software. So look for exisiting products on eBay that are not selling... their driver may work with yours more cheaply than any other source.

Also look at Snap-On, ScanJet, UMax and others... as often the drivers will work on more than one model... there is not much to the driver.

If you have Salvation Army or similar stores where you live, look there... where you might get a scanner for $5.00. Lots of people donate their scanner when they buy a new AIO printer. We volunteer for some of these organizations in Southern Arizona and they go cheaply because they do not sell. Just look for the driver online before you buy.

 

[mom26gr8kids]

updated driver

Where can I look to see if BenQ has made an updated driver that will work with VISTA?

 

[LookinAround]

i checked and BenQ has a lousy support site. But a general search came up with Acer/BenQ 320U/340U for windows vista. See if that helps

 

[raybay]

We have a contact at BenQ told us to try this site... http://www.benq.us/support/

then you still have to type in your scanner date code and serial number, as well as your full name, address, and contact info, before they will help you.. they will detect your email address to assure you are not a technician or a driver support site. They would NOT tell me whether there was a VISTA driver available or not... but that you had to go through this procedure to find out.

LookingAround has a good idea... the Acer people are a lot more helpful... and I know that BenQ does NOT make the scanner themselves... It is likely that Acer, or one of the companies Acer recently purchased, can provide a driver that will work.

Still, the Canon, HP, Epson, UMax, Plustek, Pacific Image or Visioneer will serve you better and can be amazingly low in cost. Check for a published VISTA driver before you buy, as there are very few scanners that are upgradeable to VISTA for some reason.

Acer has bought up a lot of peripheral scanner companies so they apparently intend to make a major dent in the market... as they are controlling the parts and innards markets.

 

[raybay]

Already answered. You gotta connect with BenQ at the site previously given you.

 

[mom26gr8kids]

Just an update for everyone...BenQ does not make an updated driver for this scanner. LookinAround had a link and that link provides a program called VueScan which does allow my scanner to work, but everything scanned has a permanent watermark until you pay $39.95 for the program. You can buy a newer scanner on ebay for that price, but I have not yet decided what to do.

 

[raybay]

There are many scanners available, used and new, that are better than the BenQ... Visioneer, HP ScanJet, Canon CanoScan in a variety of models... Acer, Epson Perfection, SnbapScan, Fujitsu, Scanmax, UMax, Konica Minolta DiMage... and others... all are better than the BenQ.

Do some google searches....
But it all depends on whether you NEED a sheet fed scanner or whether you can run it from you r computer...
Epson, Most HP, and nearly all Canons are good... and available often for under $100... The best is the Canon 8800 series at $250 new...

We service and do warrantee work for most of them..

Good luck. Let us know if we can help weed out some turkeys.

 

[nathanplane]

have you check on Benq's official site?

 

[Kcircyrd]

Don't bother. Ben-Q's official site doesn't have one that works. That is basically a marketing site, and has only a few of their most popular scanner driver products. Some of those downloads do not even work.
Ben-Q is one of the more worthless series of products in computerdom... They don't make their own scanners, and don't support the ones they sell under their name.
It has been a long time since I have seen a reliable Ben-Q scanner.

 

[raybay]

Did YOU check the Ben-Q website... the help you need is rarely ever found at BenQ... They don't make them. They don't want to service them. One goes bad. They mail you another and you throw the old one away... But no real service. No real support.

You might want to try them yourself some time.

Way too many base sites of products are worthless, so when you see somebody refer you there, you better ask them if they have visited there themselves.