unable to uninstall/reinstall Epson Smart Panel (scanner)

Scanner's been hooked up to this computer for a year, and worked okay until recently (the shortcut on the desktop stopped working). Thought I'd try uninstalling the software and then reinstall it, but when I try to uninstall it under add/remove programs in Control Panel, the computer apparently can't ever finish the job. The uninstall wizard comes up, a progress bar comes up briefly, then it says something to the effect of "finished performing maintenance on Smart Panel ". When I try to reinstall it from the original scanner software, I get a message that a previous version has been detected, and it must be uninstalled first - so I click on Yes to uninstall, but end up with the same maintenance message. Twice I've gotten the message "A fatal exception 0D has occurred at 0147:00005EBB ", and I've had to reboot the computer.
The very first time I tried running uninstall on the program, I got a bunch of popups about did I want to delete a file that might still be of use to some other program, and I clicked "ignore" for maybe a dozen of those. Those messages don't come up any more when I try to uninstall...
I looked up the error on google, but I found only one suggestion there (checking a line in system.ini), and it didn't apply to this case.
I have to admit that I initially tried uninstalling/reinstalling the software (there are 4 programs on the installation CD) with the scanner still connected to the computer, but after tracking down some paper instructions, I tried to rectify that by uninstalling/reinstalling everything all over again with the scanner NOT plugged in. The other 3 programs reinstalled fine - EPSON Twain, ArcSoft PhotoImpression, and Scanner Reference Guide.
The computer is running Win98SE; the scanner is an Epson Perfection 1660 Photo.
Does anyone have any suggestions about how I might troubleshoot this problem? The computer's not mine, and I'm only going to be here for another day, so any quick help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Rebecca

 

Only suggestion I have is to unplug the scanner, then remove it from the device manager, restart the PC and now try to uninstall the software, or secondary, reinstall the software over the top. If succesfull, shutdown, reconnect the scanner, turn it on, and power up the pc for redetection.

 

Thanks, Paul.
I don't see anything under Device Manager that looks like the scanner. The scanner connects to the computer through a USB port - would that explain why?
Is there any possible advantage to trying to uninstall from Safe Mode? No harm in trying, I guess - I'll give it a shot!

 

Hi Rebecca,

The scanner connects to the computer through a USB port - would that explain why?

Yes, if a USB device is turned off, it won't show up in the Device Manager, will come show up once turned on.

Regards - Charles

 

I just found out that the scanner can be operated even without the Smart Panel component, so I'll happily let this problem slide.
Thanks anyway, Charles and Paul!

 

For the sake of anyone reading this thread who ends up being misled and thinking the story ended well, it didn't. Even though my friend's parents assured me the scanner could be operated without the Smart Panel component, when I subsequently tried it, it did NOT work. I think I got a popup about the computer not being able to find the scanner or something - I wrote the message down somewhere, but can't put my hands on it at the moment.
I don't know when I'll get back to their computer (they live 13 hours away), but assuming they haven't gotten the problem professionally taken care of by then, I'll continue with this thread (or probably start a new one) at that time.
If anyone else has ever had a similar problem, and managed to come up with a solution, by all means, please email me with the information!

 

I have 1 of those and its a tempermental pain in the butt. First ---have you cahnged the USB port in which it was connected to origionally ?
Next if you have ---or have plugged it into a multi hub exstention port ---for some reason the epson scanners do not like it and will not function unless they are plugged into a main port that is connected directly to the computer . Once you have checked that then you can restart ---because the files probably got corrupt , but the uninstall won't unistall unless the scanner is plugged into the origional port when it and the software was origionally installed ( whew ) that was a mouthfull . Anyway --make sure of that ---then attempt to unistall ----once uninstalled ---unplug the scanner ---restart the puter. Reinstall the software , but do not plug in the scanner untill it asks you to ----or the install is complete( software) shut down the puter --plug the scanner into a base port , then restart the puter ----this should take care of any problems . I just went through all if this last week ---very frustration for something that should be so simple Good luck and post back if you have time . Dusty

 

I have an epson scanner on XP and use the camera and scanner wizard to scan. Mine is a SCSI or USB. I don't like the Smart Panel. One less thing to mess up.

 

copier compatibility printer

i am having a problem with the printer .you cannot read the print when copying from onetouch 7600 scanner

 

rebecca

I had the exact problem with the scanner and smart panel. I went to the Epson site and downloaded the latest twain driver and all is well now. The software that came with the printer (cx6400) would not properly install the twain .

The number to download is 11199.

 

Dussman is right

Dussman - You are the miracle worker. I used your method and got my scanner up a running. What a bizzare series of steps. I wonder if Epson knows?

Thanks.

 

Glad it helped!!!

Like I said ---I just went through it ----Good luck

 

Thanks for the info, Dussman, Bmoore, and Dfitzmahan! I somehow missed the follow-ups on this thread until yesterday (too busy trying to figure things out other things on other computers!), but I've since passed your messages on to the couple who own the computer/scanner in question. They're in their 70s, and I don't think they're particularly thrilled at the prospect of trying anything themselves, but who knows? Otherwise I'll give it a shot for them the next time I'm down there.

For the record, I also received the following in a private message from someone here:

I don't know whether or not you have solved your "Epson smartpanel" problem yet, but I had the identical problem a couple of days ago (I have Win98SE) when I was trying to re-install my Epson 2400 scanner.
I eventually solved it by going into "regedit" and deleting all references to "Smartpanel" or "smapanel" in the registry. Actually, if your scanner is the ONLY Epson product you have, then just delete all entries for Epson. Once I did this it reinstalled perfectly.
Be EXTREMELY careful about doing this, ONLY delete references to smartpanel (or Epson) and if you are unsure, then don't delete. If the relevant reg entry mentions anything else apart from Smartpanel or Epson then think twice before deleting. Make a backup copy of EVERYTHING you delete and if it goes wrong then replace all the backed up reg entries and start again.

So it looks like there definitely ARE solutions to this problem.

Thanks again to all for their input!