Memorex 6142U Scanner and Windows 7

After installing Windows 7 on a laptop, I needed to get my legacy scanner, a Memorex 6142U Flatbed Scanner, to operate. Previous to this, the scanner was working perfectly well under Windows XP Pro.

After running the legacy driver installer under Windows 7, and Windows 7 failing (still) to detect the scanner. I reviewed the installer's log file in C:\Program Files\42 Bit Scanner and noticed that the installer was installing files in (C:\Windows\Inf\i386\). However, upon inspection of that folder after the installer ran, I found nothing there (not even the folder).

The solution for me was to go back to another Windows XP system which had this specific scanner on that computer and copy the files from that folder to the Windows 7 folder, re-insert the USB scanner, and let Windows 7 try to find the drivers (but this time explicitly specifying the folder (C:\Windows\Inf\i386\)) to search for the drivers. Bingo! It now works.

So, in summary, my specific steps were:

• run/install memorex_scan_42Bit.exe (md5sum 'bcb6ef0283107acb3d01134ca96bce5d' that checksum should be search-able via your favorite search engine)
  

• copy these files to C:\Windows\Inf\i386\ (create this folder if necessary):
  

• E1.ini
  gl.dll
  LUT.plg
  onetouch.inf
  Pmicro.dll
  Usbscan.sys
  viceo.dll
  vis4400.cat

• plug in the scanner, likely the device will not be found.
• open device manager
• select find 'Other devices'
  find 'USB Scanner'
  right click 'Update Driver Software'
  browse to 'C:\Windows\Inf\i386\'
  select 'Install this driver anyway'
• you should see 'Windows has successfully updated your driver software'
  select 'Close'

To test, I used Picasa:

• open 'Picasa'
• click 'File -> Import From...'
• select "Import From: Scan Manager"
• use the manager to preview/crop/scan your image
• exit 'scan manager' when done