hey guys, after a year or so using linux,
i finaly got my mustel 1200 UB plus scanner working in linux.

even though many other sites i have read say that the mustek driver
will NOT work for this scanner.

since i found hundreds of posts around the internet asking how to do it,
and ending with some one forwarding a link to some sane site saying this scanner isnt suported, i thought i should post my sucess story.. seeing as it seems to be the only one.

anyway....
i use fedora core 1, but i suppose this should work on any distro right ?

u need to have the following installed...

libusb (im using version 0.1.7-3)
sane-backends (im using 1.0.12-4)
xsane (im using 0.91-1)

you need the following kernel modules loaded
(to see loaded kernel modules, become root (su -) and type lsmod)

usbcore
usb-ohci
scanner

if you are missing one, you can load it as root (su -) with the command
modprobe module_name

you ALSO need the CD disk that came with your scanner.
this is the stupid part..... you the usb program which is uploaded to the scanner
before each use... it might be on the cd.. search for a file named somthing.usb

if you cant find it, then it is likely that the file is generated dureing a windows install.
if you have a windows machine, install the cd, then look in the windows system or system32 folder for the .usb file. when you retrieve it, put it on a floppy, and get the file on your linux machine.

now make sure you have the following folders, if not create them
/usr/share/sane/gt68xx/

move the usb file into that folder.

now run xsane in command line.....

it will probably fail with the error "coundnt open /dev/scanner0 invalid argument"
look in the command line you executed it from, there will be an error opening the usb file because sane has got the name wrong....

rename the usb file to match the file xsane tries to open.

if all goes to plan, you should now be looking at xsane and a mustek logo..
slap somthing in the scanner and hit the scan button.

hope this helps.

ohh, forgot to mention.... if you dont have access to a windows machine,
and the somthing.usb file is not on the disk, then you will need a program called wine.

wine allow linux to run windows programs, use wine to run the windows installer.
it will install the driver to a 'fake' c drive.. (usually $HOME/.wine/c) you can then copy the usb file from there, and then delete the fake c drive to save disk space.

Nice one stop shop for the cheap little scanner!

Here's a few extra tips for Mandrake 10 (kernel 2.6.x)

Look at http://www.meier-geinitz.de/sane/gt68xx-backend/ for support and it is the place to get the required firmware file - instead of doing all that wine stuff.

Open up a console and su as root
Create the directory /usr/share/sane/gt68xx
Copy the downloaded sbfw.usb firmware file to the gt68xx directory
Type in: scannerdrake - follow your nose with the dialog boxes.

The final test is a scan, so as a regular user run xsane or kooka and scan away!

I did encounter initial disappointment ( I think my mainboard is well flaky though..) and found it necessary to unplug / plug the usb cable and then re-run xsane...

Thanks for that information qwijibow Guru, done what you said on my mandrake 9.1 worked very well.
Thanks again
Tewaru

Mine worked with Mandrake 8.2, 9.2, and 10.0 along with Redhat 8.0 out of the box.

moosedaddy....
strange. the redhat hardware compatability list said it didnt work when i last looked.
also, its SANE said it wouldnt work either !

I am about to try FC2 hopefully tonight. I will report back after I get it installed.

I was unable to get Fedora loaded, it would not load onto my second harddrive. So I managed to get Mandrake 10 installed.

I have 2 problems I can`t load usb-ohci just usb-uhci and my gt86xx isn`t a folder but a file what to do?

I GOT MY MUSTEK 1200 UB PLUS WORKING!! IMAGES ARE BEATUTIFUL!!!!

now you know whats funny about all that??
i cant get it to work in windows at all.. i mean it wont work on my laptop and it WONT work on win2003 server AT ALL and yet all it takes is that one tiny usb file thats barely 200kb NO proprietory software and BLAM it works!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! GOD I LOVE LINUX

In answer to qwijibaw's post #1 comment below, the usb file name should be PS1fw.usb for my Mandrake 9.1 system. I created a link rather than renaming the file. My scanner works now. Many thanks to him.

"now run xsane in command line.....

it will probably fail with the error "coundnt open /dev/scanner0 invalid argument"
look in the command line you executed it from, there will be an error opening the usb file because sane has got the name wrong....

rename the usb file to match the file xsane tries to open."

Hello,
I can get my mustek 1200 scanner working using,

Now scan it:
$ /usr/local/bin/scanimage --device-name=gt68xx:/dev/usb/scanner0 --mode Color --resolution 600 > aaa.pnm

Now open up the file and save it as aaa.jpg file format:
$ gimp aaa.pnm

But when trying to execute the xsane command,

$ xsane gt68xx:/dev/usb/scanner0
or
$ xsane

I get error message, >> Failed to open device gt68xx:/dev/usb/scanner0: Invalid argument.


Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

Hi All,
I have Fedora core 8 64 bits, when I tried to use my scaner Mustek 1200 I got this error

Failed to open device gt68xx:/dev/usb/scanner0: Invalid argument.
what's going on ??