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Making the Umax PowerLook 2100XL scanner work on Windows 7

I had an interesting challenge at work a few weeks ago. A customer wanted a new PC running Windows 7 but he needed to keep using his rather old A3 scanner, a Umax PowerLook 2100XL. Umax only provide Windows XP drivers and installing them on Windows 7 stops the system starting up.

Something about the combined installer for the software and drivers was preventing it from working.

The solution was to install the software on a Windows XP machine and then copy the files manually from the XP system to the Windows 7 one. I then pointed Windows 7 to the copied files when it requested drivers for the scanner. The application program was copied in the same way and I simply set up a shortcut on the start menu pointing to the program file.

Aside from the main program directory the drivers were spread out in various system directories. It took a while to find them all.

It took me a long time to sort all that out. There are a  lot of posts on the internet written by people with the same or similar scanners who are unable to make them work on Vista or Windows 7. As far as I know we are the only people who have ever managed to make it work with Windows 7.

This entry was written by mojo, posted on 15/06/2010 at 14:56, filed under hardware, software, windows. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.
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26 Comments

  1. Roderick
    Posted 09/07/2010 at 06:08 | Permalink

    Followed your instructions but i am still getting scanner link test failed, could you tell me how much files you had to rearrange? or walk me through it, if its not too much to ask.
    Regards

  2. Roderick
    Posted 09/07/2010 at 06:47 | Permalink

    Never Mind, i went to the uninstall.txt and found where all the files were, its working PERFECTLY! Thank you so much.

  3. mojo
    Posted 09/07/2010 at 15:36 | Permalink

    Glad to be of service :)

  4. abereut
    Posted 23/07/2010 at 06:01 | Permalink

    Guys, this sound like very intimate conversation: every one knows how but keep it a secret. Ho about share this priceless info with the rest of us?…Roderick? mojo?…

  5. Roderick
    Posted 23/07/2010 at 08:11 | Permalink

    Not too sure what info you need but, if its pertaining to the scanner, there is an uninstall.txt when you install the umax software and it tells you exactly where all the files are located on the winxp system so all i had to do is to copy over them one by one on the win 7 directory. hope this helps. regards

  6. mojo
    Posted 23/07/2010 at 19:16 | Permalink

    Yeah, what Roderick said. I would upload an archive of the files but UMAX might not appreciate my assistance in making their ancient software Windows 7 compatible…

  7. Roderick
    Posted 23/07/2010 at 19:32 | Permalink

    abereut, if you need any assistance feel free to send me a mail and i will send the list of files and even the files for you to do yourself, its tedious but in the end its worth it.

  8. Jerry
    Posted 05/08/2010 at 14:58 | Permalink

    Can you send me the list of files to copy for the UMAX Powerlook 2100xl. I went from xp to windows 7.

  9. Roderick
    Posted 05/08/2010 at 20:48 | Permalink

    send me your email add

  10. affan azhary
    Posted 02/09/2010 at 08:19 | Permalink

    Can you send me the list of files to copy for the UMAX Powerlook 2100xl,please. I went from xp to windows 7.[affanindonesia@yahoo.co.id]

  11. Dave
    Posted 10/09/2010 at 15:43 | Permalink

    I have a Powerlook III. Please forward the 2100xl file list to tenwal@comcast.net. Not an exact match, but would be very instructive.

  12. Manuel Pereira
    Posted 07/10/2010 at 23:53 | Permalink

    I need drivers for umax powerlok 2100 xl to windows 7, please.

  13. moel
    Posted 11/10/2010 at 06:39 | Permalink

    Can you send me the list of files to copy for the UMAX Powerlook 2100xl,please. I went from xp to windows 7( ssiscom-gmp@hotmail.com

  14. moel
    Posted 11/10/2010 at 06:40 | Permalink

    Can you send me the list of files to copy for the UMAX Powerlook 2100xl,please. I went from xp to windows 7(siscom-gmp@hotmail.com)

  15. Roderick
    Posted 11/10/2010 at 16:59 | Permalink

    I have sent the link to the various email addresses, for those who need it, I have uploaded the files via:

    http://rapidshare.com/files/424430338/UMAX.rar

  16. fajar
    Posted 18/10/2010 at 13:42 | Permalink

    i really appreciate for your kindness giving this precious information :D

  17. krista
    Posted 04/11/2010 at 02:47 | Permalink

    i can’t install scsi driver?
    btw where do i must copy the adaptec folder?

  18. bobby
    Posted 20/11/2010 at 12:47 | Permalink

    This is great! Which Windows 7 system did you do this on; x86 or x64? Was the 2100 the SCSI or USB version? If it was the SCSI, what card did you use? Thanks so much for posting this! The 2100XL is a great scanner, albeit slow, that allows me to do two pages at a time.

  19. mojo
    Posted 20/11/2010 at 13:11 | Permalink

    It will only ever work on x86 I think. It was the SCSI version.

  20. rfk
    Posted 24/11/2010 at 21:10 | Permalink

    It can be done even simpler, I just made a Powerlook 3000 working under Win 7 following your method (thanks for posting it, by the way). I noticed that after installing the MagicScan normally all the files listed in the uninstall.txt are pretty much where they are supposed to be (I made the setup.exe run in the compatibility mode for WinXP SP3+admin rights, but I wonder if it is necessary?), only the system will not start afterwards. But after F8+”Last known good configuration” it repairs and works perfectly, only you are spared the need of copying all the files manually. Best regards!

  21. RISHI
    Posted 31/12/2010 at 04:30 | Permalink

    i m still unable to install powerlook 2100 xl usb scanner. pls help

  22. Roderick
    Posted 02/01/2011 at 01:23 | Permalink

    Thanks all for the replies, it works with my Adaptec SCSI Card fine. Any other questions feel free to contact me.

    Regards

  23. bobby
    Posted 05/01/2011 at 16:35 | Permalink

    Confirmed: does not work with x64 Windows 7 installation. Scanner (with Adaptec 29160N card) shows up in the device manager, but all attempts to load drivers have failed. However, it does work with Hamrick Vuescan v.9.* and x64 Windows 7.

  24. Patrcia
    Posted 09/02/2011 at 18:52 | Permalink

    Does this work with the Umax powerlook 2100 xl usb scanner? My email is solaris71@hotmail.com Kindly let me know. Thanks!

  25. Patrcia
    Posted 25/02/2011 at 19:34 | Permalink

    This is the easiest way to update to Windows 7 and it works!

    http://www.umax.com/support/knowledge/search.jsp?docs=SC00339

  26. Karl Waller
    Posted 01/06/2011 at 18:31 | Permalink

    I am curious. Was there difficulty with the drivers for the SCSI card? Was that the issue? I am under the impression that the issue is lack of driver support for the adaptec cards in Windows 7. I am currently considering getting an adapter to allow me to run this scanner through a USB 2.0 port thus bypassing the SCSI card alltogether. I plan on trying Vuescan to run the scanner in Windows 7. Is this feasable?

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