I plugged my old windows scanner into my MacBook running on Ubuntu and although the light on the scanner is on the Macbook says that it cannot connect to it.
There´s nothing wrong with the scanner as it works great on my Peppermint netbook. What could be the problem guys?
Hi,
Could you kindly share some important details, like the make and model of the scanner.
...But, the light - that may just be power, which is not any confirmation of connectivity.
Packard Bell Diamond 1200.
With the scanner plugged in try: scanimage -Land report the output.
Based on this it's supported but looks to require some manual work
https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=771976 (https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=771976)
Edit: adding URL for SANE
http://www.sane-project.org/cgi-bin/...model=&bus=usb (http://www.sane-project.org/cgi-bin/...model=&bus=usb)
You might try this - https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=150579
Copy and paste the instructions, in turn, into terminal.
(found by googling your scanner model)
Rich
Hi Melissa
I had the same scanner Melissa with the same issue,
Your scanner needs a firmware file, placed in /usr/share/sane/gt68xx/, I have this file if you private message me your email address I'll send it to you and then help you place it in the right path, if you're not comfortable giving me your email address we'll find another way to pass the file on to you
Graeme
Quote from: emegra on June 18, 2021, 09:13:28 AM
Hi Melissa
I had the same scanner Melissa with the same issue,
Your scanner needs a firmware file, placed in /usr/share/sane/gt68xx/, I have this file if you private message me your email address I'll send it to you and then help you place it in the right path, if you're not comfortable giving me your email address we'll find another way to pass the file on to you
Graeme
Thank you very much Graeme. I now remember that you had sent me firmware for my Peppermint netbook a couple of years ago. It works great on the netbook so I expect it'll do the trick for the Ubuntu MacBook too.
When you're ready Matilda, place the file I sent you in your ~/Downloads folder then post here when it's done and we'll take it from there
Graeme
It's been sat there for a few days waiting for its instructions Mr. Emegra!
Hi Matilda
Can you confirm you have the file I sent you in ~/Downloads ?
Quote from: emegra on July 06, 2021, 07:14:25 PM
Hi Matilda
Can you confirm you have the file I sent you in ~/Downloads ?
Yes I did in the above message, written on June 26th!
Quote
It's been sat there for a few days waiting for its instructions Mr. Emegra!
Ok Matilda
copy & paste the following command into the terminal then post back the terminal output
sudo mkdir /usr/share/sane
Graeme
[email protected]:~$ sudo mkdir /usr/share/sane
[sudo] password for avon:
mkdir: cannot create directory '/usr/share/sane': File exists
[email protected]:~$
Quote from: Keith on June 17, 2021, 01:55:35 PM
With the scanner plugged in try: scanimage -Land report the output.
[email protected]:~$ scanimage -L
device `gt68xx:libusb:001:016' is a Mustek BearPaw 1200 CU flatbed scanner
[email protected]:~$
Quote from: Rich J on June 18, 2021, 06:20:48 AM
You might try this - https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=150579
Copy and paste the instructions, in turn, into terminal.
(found by googling your scanner model)
Rich
Started that, but got a scary response, so did not go any further.
[email protected]:~$ sudo apt-get install xsane
[sudo] password for avon:
Sorry, try again.
[sudo] password for avon:
E: Could not get lock /var/lib/dpkg/lock-frontend. It is held by process 25667 (unattended-upgr)
N: Be aware that removing the lock file is not a solution and may break your system.
E: Unable to acquire the dpkg frontend lock (/var/lib/dpkg/lock-frontend), is another process using it?
[email protected]:~$
That's OK - the system was updating itself in the background so couldn't let you do anything with the system.
If you try again, it should be alright.
Keith
No, it still doesn't work! It still says it is unable to connect to the scanner, so yet again I have to use my tiny Peppermint netbook, which takes ages to boot up, to scan documents..grrr--
I'm not very impressed with Ubuntu as an OS to be honest. Peppermint is much better! I'll have to take this MacBook to the computer shop in the near future and ask them to get rid of Ubuntu and put the latest Peppermint distro on it.
Hi Matila
There's a few steps we have to go through I needed to know /usr/share/sane was on your system before we could proceed
please copy and paste into the terminal the following command
sudo mkdir /usr/share/sane/gt68xx
then let me know when you've done that
Graeme
Nothing much seemed to happen there Emegra!
[email protected]:~$ sudo mkdir /usr/share/sane/gt68xx
[sudo] password for avon:
[email protected]:~$
The command just created a directory. You can check usingls /usr/share/sane/gt68xxEmegra will add file(s) later.
Quote
Nothing much seemed to happen there Emegra!
That's ok, all we need to do now is place the file I sent you into that folder you just created and the set the permissions, so paste the following into the terminal
cp ~/Downloads/PS1Dfw.usb /usr/share/sane/gt68xx/Then post output of
ls -l /usr/share/sane/gt68xxGraeme
Quote from: Keith on August 01, 2021, 06:33:48 PM
The command just created a directory. You can check usingls /usr/share/sane/gt68xxEmegra will add file(s) later.
Ok. I have to admit I have no idea what a directory is unless I Google it. Do you think my brother put an old version of Ubuntu on this MacBook? It seems to be taking a lot of effort to load software unlike Peppermint. I had the same problem with Ubuntu with the little netbook my other brother gave me and then Mark Greaves (bless him) told me to post it to him, and he put Peppermint on it. He always used to say that laptops/netbooks work best with Peppermint.
It still doesn't like it!
[email protected]:~$ cp ~/Downloads/PS1Dfw.usb /usr/share/sane/gt68xx/
cp: cannot create regular file '/usr/share/sane/gt68xx/PS1Dfw.usb': Permission denied
[email protected]:~$
Ok that's my fault Matilda I'm sorry
try this
sudo cp ~/Downloads/PS1Dfw.usb /usr/share/sane/gt68xx/
Then
ls -l /usr/share/sane/gt68xx
Then post the output
Graeme
Oh well, never mind guys. I will call the computer shop in town tomorrow and see how much they will charge me to wipe this Ubuntu off and put the latest Peppermint distro on this MacBook. This Ubuntu seems to have too many problems. My bro probably used an old version! I told him last time he put Ubuntu on a computer for me ( which was the netbook my other brother gave me, which Mark later on put Peppermint on) that he should only put Peppermint onto laptops and netbooks. Ubuntu doesn't seem suited to them.
No idea if this is what you were hoping for, but here it is!
[email protected]:~$ sudo cp ~/Downloads/PS1Dfw.usb /usr/share/sane/gt68xx/
[sudo] password for avon:
[email protected]:~$ ls -l /usr/share/sane/gt68xx
total 8
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 7256 Aug 1 18:47 PS1Dfw.usb
[email protected]:~$
You do know that the software is called document scanner on Ubuntu and not simple scanner as in Peppermint? It is not the same one.
Ok we're nearly there Matilda
now copy & paste the following command into the terminal
sudo chmod 744 /usr/share/sane/gt68xx/PS1Dfw.usb
then once again
sudo ls -l /usr/share/sane/gt68xx
then post the output
Graeme
Hope it turned up what you are looking for!
[email protected]:~$ sudo chmod 744 /usr/share/sane/gt68xx/PS1Dfw.usb
[sudo] password for avon:
[email protected]:~$ sudo ls -l /usr/share/sane/gt68xx
total 8
-rwxr--r-- 1 root root 7256 Aug 1 18:47 PS1Dfw.usb
[email protected]:~$
I have no idea what any of this means, especially ´avon´
Ok that looks good to me
Try your scanner now
Graeme
Quote from: emegra on August 01, 2021, 07:01:30 PM
Ok that looks good to me
Try your scanner now
Graeme
Okay- I will go and get it from the hessian bag I keep it in, in my bedroom. Yeah--I need some sort of desk for all my computer stuff lol.
Nope, still says it is unable to connect. Don´t worry about it. I will get this Ubuntu wiped off and have Peppermint put on it instead. It never took so much effort to try and get things to work on Peppermint. I will shut this Macbook down until I can get the money together to get Peppermint put on it. (I think they will charge me about £50).
Matilda wiping Ubuntu and installing Peppermint won't fix the problem, Peppermint is Ubuntu, don't be disheartened there's a few other firmware files we can try, The one I tried was the one I thought most likely to work but maybe I was wrong, so if you're prepared to stick with me I'm prepared to keep trying
What do you want to do ?
Graeme
Quote from: emegra on August 01, 2021, 07:24:11 PM
Matilda wiping Ubuntu and installing Peppermint won't fix the problem, Peppermint is Ubuntu, don't be disheartened there's a few other firmware files we can try, The one I tried was the one I thought most likely to work but maybe I was wrong, so if you're prepared to stick with me I'm prepared to keep trying
What do you want to do ?
Graeme
I've used this scanner so many times over a period of about 7 years on Peppermint and no problems with it. I didn't have so many firmware installation issues with Peppermint. It's not just the scanner but also the DVD package. That won't work either, but it works on the Peppermint netbook.
Peppermint works differently to Ubuntu. It is simpler and easier to use the software manager etc. I hardly have had any problems getting packages uploaded in the past using Peppermint. Mark always said it was the best distro for netbooks and laptops!
I've put the MacBook away for now. I'm having a think if I even want to keep it because it has some keys that stick, and a screen so reflective it is like a mirror! I can't really use it to watch anything (which is a shame cos of the big screen) unless it is a dim day or evening, and it needs to be plugged in all the time as the battery doesn't have much charge. Now, the netbook also needs to be plugged in, but it isn't big and heavy like the MacBook and it also gets very hot, so I got it a cooling mat which works, but doesn't stay as cool as the Chromebook does.
I might give it to my mate Dave to do his typing on (he writes zines). I already have the netbook and my Chromebook which between them, do all I want them to do.
I'll let you know in a couple of days what I've decided to do. Thanks for your help so far.
Well I´m using the Macbook again! My Chromebook is second hand and some sites have updated Chrome and they are not supporting it. Very annoying. I have another post about that.
I´m getting given another scanner off a local bloke this coming week, so it might work better on the Macbook. I will post about that when I have it. In the meantime the Peppermint netbook works the scanner I already have very well.