[SOLVED] xsane problems with F20 and Epson 3490 photo

terry-duell · 08-13-2014, 06:47 PM

Hello All,
I have been using this scanner with xsane (via gimp) for quite a long time, generally with few problems. The most notable being occasionally the xsane preview window would open blank or corrupted but a good workaround was to delete ~/.sane dir, start again and all was OK.
It has been quite a while since I had need to use the scanner so not sure when my current problems commenced. I am currently running an up to date F20 x86_64 system, which includes Xsane 0.999.
Starting the scanning process, via gimp -> create Xsane Device dialog is quite erratic...sometimes works, sometimes not. When it fails I get a message "no devices found", or words to that effect. When it works, the Xsane windows open and I get a preview scan OK, but when I then choose "scan" I get an error message "Error failed to start scanner: Error during device I/O".
In case it helps those in the know to understand what might be going on here, I report the following sequence of events and their outcome.
(1) scanner on
(2) boot F20, scanner initialises (ie scan head motor sounds like it resets its position)
(3) run Simplescan (v3.1.3), scans page OK.
(4) run gscan2pdf (v6.2.3), "no devices found".
(5) run gimp -> create Xsane device dialog, "no devices available".
(6) delete ~/.sane, repeat (5), same result.
(7) restart F20, scanner initialises.
(8)gimp -> create Xsane device dialog, long wait then Xsane windows open, acquires preview, then "scan" gives " Error failed to start scanner:Error during device I/O".

I have checked my /etc/sane.d/snapscan.conf, which points to the driver /usr/share/sane/snapscan/esfw52.bin, and it is as-was when the whole business was working with little or no trouble.
Following advice I saw elsewhere re similar problem, have created a "scanner" group, added myself to that group and then given group permission to /dev/bus/usb/003/003 (my scanner is device 003 on bus 003), but to no avail as it has not made any difference...but I may have done this last bit incorrectly, not sure.

Anyone have any advice or need more info to fix this?

Cheers,
Terry

Ztcoracat · 08-14-2014, 01:05 PM

Hi:

See if maybe Epson has a Linux driver for your printer/scanner-
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/s...rm=OSF_O_LINUX

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/s...portIndex.jsp?

Maybe you need a sane backend drivers for your Epson.
http://www.sane-project.org/sane-backends.html

Aside from that the only other things I can think of is check the cable (usb) if that's how your printer/scanner connects to your pc and ensure that the connections are good.

If your printer connects via WiFi it could be a cups issue-
http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en/articl...-printers.html

Everytime I have a power outage or a bad thunderstorm with lightning I have to go online, delete the printer and than use the terminal to add it again in order for the printer or scanner to work.
http://localhost:631/

Hope that helps.

terry-duell · 08-14-2014, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ztcoracat

Hi:

See if maybe Epson has a Linux driver for your printer/scanner-
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/s...rm=OSF_O_LINUX

The Epson binary driver is installed.

Quote:

Maybe you need a sane backend drivers for your Epson.
http://www.sane-project.org/sane-backends.html

The sane backends are installed

Quote:

Aside from that the only other things I can think of is check the cable (usb) if that's how your printer/scanner connects to your pc and ensure that the connections are good.

I think if the cable was the issue, I wouldn't be able to scan using simplescan. The procedure I outlined is repeatable

Quote:

If your printer connects via WiFi it could be a cups issue-
http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en/articl...-printers.html

No it connects via USB, sorry I should have mentioned that.

Quote:

Hope that helps.

Not really, it is all really just general advice, I am well past that, but thanks for taking the trouble to help.

Cheers,
Terry

Ztcoracat · 08-15-2014, 11:43 AM

Your Welcome; I gave it my best go-

terry-duell · 12-25-2014, 07:46 PM

I would like to resurrect this thread...still having problems and not found a solution.

What I find strange, or odd, is that the combination of Epson 3490 photo scanner (USB), the Epson binary driver (esfw52.bin) installed in /usr/share/sane/snapscan/ with the appropriate detail added to /etc/sane.d/snapscan.conf has been working flawlessly with Fedora linux for as long as I can remember (many years), and now I have these problems.
I suspect that something has changed in Xsane or Fedora, but if this is the case surely others would have similar problems?

Does anyone have any helpful advice on the problem I have outlined in this thread?

terry-duell · 12-27-2014, 11:27 PM

This is really driving me around the bend!
I think I have found (almost) every story about how to configure sane for this scanner, and check/rechecked the config files, but it still doesn't work.
After a system reboot, I can run "scanimage -L" and it finds the scanner OK, and I can run "sane-find-scanner" and that too reports the correct stuff.
If I then start gimp and use "file->create xsane dialog" the xsane windows all open OK. I can then select "preview" and the scanner does a preview scan, but when I then select "scan" there is a long delay and " Error failed to start scanner:Error during device I/O".
Any attempts to do a preview scan or run "scanimage -L" or "sane-find-scanner" after that all result in a failure...but I can repeat the process OK after a reboot.
This suggests to me that maybe something goes haywire with the USB communications after Xsane does a preview...but this is a bit of a guess.
I don't think it is a hardware problem. I have installed "Vuescan" (a review copy) and this will do a number a scans OK immediately after a reboot, but won't scan after Xsane has done a preview scan and failed to do then do a scan. Given the history, it also suggests that something that affects this in either Xsane or Fedora has changed, but I have no idea where to look.

Is there anyone reading this who knows about this stuff who can help?

Ztcoracat · 12-28-2014, 12:25 AM

I don't know how to solve this printer issue that you have going on.
In fact I find it quite puzzeling till I saw this:

Quote:

Error failed to start scanner:Error during device I/O".

Is there a chance that the cable is old?
Input/output error could mean that the communication between the printer and the cable may not be working at some point.

I had an error last week: problems occur between the communication of the disk and the host I found out that the cable to my HDD wasn't seated all the way down.
It's acting up again leading me to believe the cable might be bad. It it 5 years old.

I asked one of our Moderators to join your thread.

terry-duell · 12-28-2014, 03:48 AM

Thanks for joining this thread.
The USB cable looks like it might be a special for this scanner, not sure. I haven't seen another like it before, it has cylindrical devices, about 25mm long, 12mm dia near each end.
I happened to have an unused USB cable from an Epson printer, and fitted that.
After a reboot, "scanimage -L" reports correctly, as does "sane-find-scanner".
Start gimp and "File -> Create -> Xsane: device dialog" pops up a dialog box saying "scanning for devices" and sometime later says" "no devices found". Repeating this gives the same result.
At this point "scanimage -L" fails, but "sane-find-scanner" reports correctly.
I try Vuescan, which takes an age to start, and when asked to scan it exits...poof!
Refit the old cable, same results as with the new cable.

This is all very confusing to me. Hopefully I haven't ended up with some crook config files as a result of all my previous troubleshooting. I'll have a look at documenting the "correct" setup and what I have to delete and re-install to start completely from fresh.

If any of the results of this trial with new USB cable give someone in the know any clues, I look forward to hearing about them.

Cheers,
Terry

unSpawn · 12-28-2014, 05:54 AM

I got called in to see if I could help diagnose things, so let's see:

Quote:

Originally Posted by terry-duell

After a system reboot, I can run "scanimage -L" and it finds the scanner OK, and I can run "sane-find-scanner" and that too reports the correct stuff.

0) Please reboot, log in as root and show us exact output of running

Code:

lsusb
sane-find-scanner -v
scanimage -L
scanimage -vvv -T
scanimage -vvv --format tiff > /tmp/scan.tiff

1) Now open a terminal window (you don't want to be root for this), start GIMP and scan something. If there's error messages post them. Re-run (as root!) the steps from step #0 again. Then also look in 'dmesg' output, /var/log/messages, /var/log/audit/audit.log for anything USB / sane related nfo and post it.

2) Post any configs you have changed (manually or via a User Interface) like /etc/sane.d/epson.conf etc, etc.
Also add any steps you took, between noticing the error for the very first time and now, to "correct"' things. Permisssions, ownership, anything.

terry-duell · 12-28-2014, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unSpawn

I got called in to see if I could help diagnose things, so let's see:

0) Please reboot, log in as root and show us exact output of running

Code:

lsusb
sane-find-scanner -v
scanimage -L
scanimage -vvv -T
scanimage -vvv --format tiff > /tmp/scan.tiff

Firstly, is exasperation I un-installed all xsane and sane packages then reinstalled, and reset config files. Also found another new USB cable and installed that. Behaviour of scanner is as previously reported.
The results of the tests (at 0. above) are in attached file "sane_root_tests.txt".

Quote:

1) Now open a terminal window (you don't want to be root for this), start GIMP and scan something. If there's error messages post them. Re-run (as root!) the steps from step #0 again. Then also look in 'dmesg' output, /var/log/messages, /var/log/audit/audit.log for anything USB / sane related nfo and post it.

Ran Gimp from terminal, failed with message in dialog box "no devices found", no message written to terminal.
Re-ran tests (at 0. above, results in attached file "sane_root_tests2.txt".
Nothing USB/sane related in /var/log/messages, /var/log/audit/audit.log does not exist.

Quote:

2) Post any configs you have changed (manually or via a User Interface) like /etc/sane.d/epson.conf etc, etc.
Also add any steps you took, between noticing the error for the very first time and now, to "correct"' things. Permisssions, ownership, anything.

Attached is my /etc/sane.d/epson.conf as "epsonconf.txt"
I have the epson firmware file "esfw52.bin" in /usr/share/sane/snapscan/ and I have changed permissions on this file (chmod 777).

Apologies if I have missed any of your requested info, or obtained it incorrectly.
Hope this helps, and thanks for your help.

Cheers,
Terry

capt ron · 12-28-2014, 07:04 PM

I'm having the same problem with my Epson perfection 4490 Photo. It used to work just fine, but has problems similar to those described above on any kernel newer than 3.10. I don't know if something changed in the kernel or the sane environment, but what used to work no longer does.

My 4490 still works with the VueScan front end (http://www.hamrick.com/). The Epson/Epkowa iscan files and proprietary driver still have to be installed even though they don't function.

VueScan is commercial software, but you can run it in trial mode for no cost to determine if VueScan is a viable solution

Ztcoracat · 12-28-2014, 07:06 PM

Code:

[root@localhost terry]# lsusb
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:8001 Intel Corp. 
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:8009 Intel Corp. 
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 04b8:0122 Seiko Epson Corp. GT-F520/GT-F570 [Perfection 3590 PHOTO]
Bus 003 Device 003: ID 046d:c05a Logitech, Inc. M90/M100 Optical Mouse
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
[root@localhost terry]# sane-find-scanner -v
This is sane-find-scanner from sane-backends 1.0.24

Code:

checking /dev/scanner...
/dev/sgo throught sg9 and /dev/sga throught sgz failed to open
 # No SCSI scanners found. If you expected something different, make sure that
  # you have loaded a kernel SCSI driver for your SCSI adapter.
(I shortened it due to text space)

Code:

[root@localhost terry]# scanimage -L

No scanners were identified. If you were expecting something different,
check that the scanner is plugged in, turned on and detected by the
sane-find-scanner tool (if appropriate). Please read the documentation
which came with this software (README, FAQ, manpages).

Code:

[root@localhost terry]# scanimage -vvv -T
scanimage: no SANE devices found
Calling sane_exit
scanimage: finished

Code:

[root@localhost terry]# scanimage -vvv --format tiff > /tmp/scan2.tiff
scanimage: no SANE devices found
Calling sane_exit
scanimage: finished

lsusb see's the printer but the commands insist that the device is not found. (Why, I'm asking myself)

Ztcoracat · 12-28-2014, 07:14 PM

epsonconf file:

Code:

# SCSI scanner:
scsi EPSON
# for the GT-6500:
scsi "EPSON SC"
#
# Parallel port scanner:
#pio 0x278
#pio 0x378
#pio 0x3BC
#
# USB scanner:
# There are two different methods of configuring a USB scanner: libusb and the kernel module
# For any system with libusb support (which is pretty much any recent Linux distribution) the
# following line is sufficient. This however assumes that the connected scanner (or to be more
# accurate, it's device ID) is known to the backend. 
usb
# For libusb support for unknown scanners use the following command
# usb <product ID> <device ID>
# e.g.:
# usb 0x4b8 0x110
# And for the scanner module, use the following configuration:
#usb /dev/usbscanner0
#usb /dev/usb/scanner0

I'm wondering if a kernel module is the problem? In otherwords is there a module that you need that you don't have?
Also I noticed that all of the arguments in the 'epsonconf file' all of the arguments are commented out.

Is is possibly unSpawn that (usb /dev/usbscanner0 or usb /dev/usb/scanner0) should be un-commented?

terry-duell · 12-28-2014, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ztcoracat

epsonconf file:

Code:

# SCSI scanner:
scsi EPSON
# for the GT-6500:
scsi "EPSON SC"
#
# Parallel port scanner:
#pio 0x278
#pio 0x378
#pio 0x3BC
#
# USB scanner:
# There are two different methods of configuring a USB scanner: libusb and the kernel module
# For any system with libusb support (which is pretty much any recent Linux distribution) the
# following line is sufficient. This however assumes that the connected scanner (or to be more
# accurate, it's device ID) is known to the backend. 
usb
# For libusb support for unknown scanners use the following command
# usb <product ID> <device ID>
# e.g.:
# usb 0x4b8 0x110
# And for the scanner module, use the following configuration:
#usb /dev/usbscanner0
#usb /dev/usb/scanner0

I'm wondering if a kernel module is the problem? In otherwords is there a module that you need that you don't have?
Also I noticed that all of the arguments in the 'epsonconf file' all of the arguments are commented out.

Is is possibly unSpawn that (usb /dev/usbscanner0 or usb /dev/usb/scanner0) should be un-commented?

This is interesting, as my Fedora 20 doesn't have a /dev/usb/ or a /dev/usbscanner0
What it does have is /dev/bus/usb/001/, .../002/, .../003/, .../004/ and each of those dirs have files 001, 002 etc, with no sign of a "scanner0".
I have no idea what this means.

usb isn't commented out in my epson.conf.

Cheers,
Terry

Ztcoracat · 12-28-2014, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by terry-duell

This is interesting, as my Fedora 20 doesn't have a /dev/usb/ or a /dev/usbscanner0
What it does have is /dev/bus/usb/001/, .../002/, .../003/, .../004/ and each of those dirs have files 001, 002 etc, with no sign of a "scanner0".
I have no idea what this means.

usb isn't commented out in my epson.conf.

Cheers,
Terry

I'm not sure Terry (best to wait and see what unSpawn thinks)

Configuration files assist process and devices that we want to work. (aside from drivers assisting the hardware)
I wonder if it is as simple as adding an argument to the file you already have? (Again let's see what unSpawn suggest's)
I called on him because he has more experience and I trust him.

It could also be that sane needs to be updated.
Maybe updating will help. Just run:
su -c 'yum update xsane'
and see if it helps.

Another thing that I found out while I was looking up all the details of sane is that The binary driver needs a libsane.dll from Sane version 1.0.16 or later. A fancy name for the backend driver I think.

Is this the place where you downloaded your binary driver here?
http://rpm.pbone.net/index.php3?stat...sane&srodzaj=3