epson 4490 "vista-compatible" driver does not install

My "best" result is through choosing (under Browse) the folder

C:\EPSON\epson12119_pr449_twain_driver_and_epson_scanner_utility_304a

When I go with this for "search for deiver software in this location"
I check the box "include subfolders". It looks as if everything is
going OK, with an "installing driver software" message, but it fails
at the last minute with "windows encounters a problem installing the
driver software for your device".
Maybe people who have upgraded to Vista from Windows XP, rather than
having stand-alone Vistas preinstalled on a new PC, have a better
chance of installing the driver OK as they have both OS on their
computer? I do notice that the Epson downloadable driver is meant for
all Windows OSs from Windows 98 to Vista. Seems a wide spectrum; I'd
been expecting more of a Vista-specific driver.

I guess I am going to have to return the scanner; have run out of
other options.

On Mar 18, 4:32�pm, "mikeyhsd" <mikey....DeleteThis@comcast.net> wrote:
> did you point to the folder where the correct files or, or just to the top most epson folder.
>
> mikey....DeleteThis@comcast.net
>
>   >

Wish I had an answer for you, for if I did I would have one for myself. Your
post looks just like mine, except my scanner is RX580. Is is compatible,
according to Microsoft, but I get the exact same message as you. Epson says
it is Microsoft's fault, Microsoft says you have to go through Dell because
it is OEM software, and Dell says they do not know what to do. Just a circle
j___. Pardon my French, all I want is to get my 2 month old scanner to work,
just like it does on my laptop running XP.

If I get an answer I will let you know.

Steve L.

"josie k" wrote:

> My "best" result is through choosing (under Browse) the folder
>
> C:\EPSON\epson12119_pr449_twain_driver_and_epson_scanner_utility_304a
>
> When I go with this for "search for deiver software in this location"
> I check the box "include subfolders". It looks as if everything is
> going OK, with an "installing driver software" message, but it fails
> at the last minute with "windows encounters a problem installing the
> driver software for your device".
> Maybe people who have upgraded to Vista from Windows XP, rather than
> having stand-alone Vistas preinstalled on a new PC, have a better
> chance of installing the driver OK as they have both OS on their
> computer? I do notice that the Epson downloadable driver is meant for
> all Windows OSs from Windows 98 to Vista. Seems a wide spectrum; I'd
> been expecting more of a Vista-specific driver.
>
> I guess I am going to have to return the scanner; have run out of
> other options.
>
> On Mar 18, 4:32�pm, "mikeyhsd" <mikey... RemoveThis @comcast.net> wrote:
> > did you point to the folder where the correct files or, or just to the top most epson folder.
> >
> > mikey... RemoveThis @comcast.net
> >
> > >
>
>
>

My software too came pre-installed in a Dell and I got caught in just
the loop you describe of Epson passing the buck to Microsoft which
passes it to Dell which passes it back to Epson. Is it possible that
the problem with these two scanners is related to Dell and the precise
form of Vista that Dell has installed? (I noticed something else odd
with the Vista yesterday in that in the "new look" - as oppposed to
the classic view- control panel, all of the System and Maintenance
section and its components "fail to load" when I try to open them.

Surely Dell should be offering better support for its Vista customers.

In order to try to demonstrate to me that there is nothing wrong with
the 4490 Vista driver, an Epson technician I was dealing with over the
phone downloaded it on his Vista system and said it installed in a
4490 perfectly. He also extolled the virtues of some newer Epson
scanners (some v expensive). 4490 is only around a year old though.

On Mar 20, 3:27�am, Slombardy <Slomba....DeleteThis@discussions.microsoft.com>
wrote:
> Wish I had an answer for you, for if I did I would have one for myself.  Your
> post looks just like mine, except my scanner is RX580.  Is is compatible,
> according to Microsoft, but I get the exact same message as you.  Epson says
> it is Microsoft's fault, Microsoft says you have to go through Dell because
> it is OEM software, and Dell says they do not know what to do.  Just a circle
> j___.  Pardon my French, all I want is to get my 2 month old scanner to work,
> just like it does on my laptop running XP.
>
> If I get an answer I will let you know.
>
> Steve L.
>

josie k wrote:
> I'm finding it impossible to get the suppposedly Vista-compatible
> driver downloaded for a new Epson Perfection 4490 scanner to work. Nor
> is Epson support (I contacted them by phone) able to solve the problem
> - they vaguely blame a "bug" in Vista. The driver downloads from the
> Epson website and runs OK. But at the end of stage where I plug in
> power and USB and turn on the scanner, and a message says new hardware
> is being detected and software is
> being installed, things go wrong and the software will not install.
> I always get messages saying
> "Windows found driver software for your device but encountered an
> error while attempting to install it" and "the system cannot find the
> file specified". Looking on device manager, under properties for the
> scanner icon (which has a yellow
> exclamation mark), a message says the drivers for this device are not
> installed (Code 2. I've tried downloading the driver from various
> Epson sites, but always with the same result. I've also tried finding
> the file manually. Any suggestions for a way round this? I uninstall
> the driver and its installation each time I have another go with a
> fresh download, and have deleted all Epson files I can.
Just throwing out a possibility here, did you happen to have a previous
version of the software installed before tyring to install the later
version. If yes, did you first remove the previous software before trying
to install the latest software or drivers.
--
Michael Solomon

I have had the same experience as Josie with a new Epson 4490, along with a new Vista-loaded Dell unit. Two weeks of the same problems, with same non-answers from everyone involved. Is the solution simply to return the Epson, or has anything new emerged in the last two months? I'm having difficulty believing that this situation exists. Sheesh. Any new suggestions?

It the same vicious loop also on a brand new HP m8013w Vista Home Premium Media Center PC:

1. Attempt to install "Vista compliant" Epson12180.exe (in my case for an Epson Perfection 3490 PHOTO") directly from Epson's Vista drivers & downloads website.

2. Receive error messages "Windows found driver software for your device but encountered an error while attempting to install it." & "The system cannot find the file specified."

3. Call Epson support & work with them for 2 hours.

4. Epson support throws up their hands and says it is a Microsoft Vista OS issue and please call Microsoft at 800-426-9400.

5. Microsoft says it isn't their problem and says to call HP.

6. Work with HP support for 2.5 hours who finally says "Reformat the disk, reinstall the operating system with recovery disks (customer has to burn these), and don't call us back if your Epson doesn't work because Microsoft Vista doesn't work with so many products we do not have the resources or knowledge to make them work. Maybe wait a year or two until the 3rd party manufacturers have caught up to Vista compatibility issues."

7. The HP "Recovery Manager" errors off and will not burn the System Recovery DVDs.

8. HP has their finger pointed at Microsoft & Epson -
Epson has their finger pointed at Microsoft -
Microsoft has their finger pointed at HP.

This round robin finger pointing is an infinite loop.

Bottom line. Vista isn't ready for home or office desktop usage. This same basic scenario repeated itself with WinFax Pro and Quicken AND...
MICROSOFT OFFICE XP PROFESSIONAL!!! The answer Microsoft gives when trying to fix various bugs in MICROSOFT'S OFFICE XP PRO?:

"We don't support MICROSOFT OFFICE XP PRO under Vista. UPGRADE for only $300. Can we help you with anything else?"

My question was "What have you helped me with so far?"

"Hmmm... we told you what you must do, you must upgrade all your software up to Vista compliance. Can we help you with anything else?"

NOW... Has anyone else had any better fortune when trying to install the Epson drivers?

Best regards!

I know this is an old thread, but I had a similar problem with my Epson CX6000. After reaching dead ends with Epson support and searching the net, I finally opened C:\Windows\inf\setupapi.dev.log in Notepad and searched from the bottom up for the error message. A few lines above the last message, I saw lines indicating it was looking for the file usbscan.sys in the C:\Windows\inf directory. Sure enough, it wasn't there; it was in C:\Windows\System32\drivers instead.

To fix this problem, you have to open either Windows Explorer or a command window as an administrator, then copy the missing file to the correct location, then reinstall the driver in Device Manager. Once I copied usbscan.sys to C:\Windows\inf, my driver finally installed.

I just wanted to give a special thanks to RBBrittain. I have had this problem of the "cannot find the file specified" message when trying to get my Epson RX700 printer/scanner to work with Vista. Epson came close in recognizing that I needed a usbscan.sys file and told me that I needed to get it from Microsoft. Right. Microsoft said I'd have to talk to Dell, who, after a good hour and moving up to a supervisor level, said that I had a compatibility problem, that usbscan.sys wasn't compatible with Vista, etc. In short, not their problem. Then I found usbscan.sys in one of the Windows subfolders. After reading RBBrittain's message, I took a look at C:\Windows\inf\setupapi.dev.log. There I learned that my driver installer was looking for usbscan.sys in a different Windows subfolder, and I copied it there. Other than having to figure out how to get "permission" to do the copying, everything worked great, and the scanner is now functional.

For anybody with the same problem, I would suggest opening C:\Windows\inf\setupapi.dev.log. Then go to the bottom of the log file and search upward for the phrase "cannot find the file specified." A few lines above that you should see "SourceFile - [usbscan.sys]", and just above that "SourcePath - [Path]", where Path will be the path to the folder that is being searched for the usbscan.sys file. Then search your C: drive to find usbscan.sys file and copy it to that folder. Then run your driver installer and pray.