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Reviewed by
MilwaukeeMark
, Intermediate
Price Paid
$500.00
at B&H Photo
Photography Experience
6-10 years
, Outdoor
Summary
This scanner gave me nothing but trouble from the very start. I had problems with the installation disc because for whatever reason, my three week old Dell computer (2006) with Windows XP had trouble running all the install files. On top of that, the drivers needed were absent.
The drivers turned out to be something that wasn't even in the troubleshooting guide. It wasn't until after I talked to FIVE separate customer service representatives at Microtek before I figured out the driver dilemma. I was told that because this scanner is an "older model," it didn't come with the correct drivers for XP. I was instructed to go to a website of which I don't remember at this very moment so that I could download the necessary drivers. However, the website no longer carried the exact driver I needed.
I called Microtek again to inform them of my most recent problem and they told me that they couldn't help me with it and instructed me to call the company that ran the website that supposedly carried the needed drivers. Unfortunately for me, that company only provids customer service to paid users... because I bought my product from Microtek and not them, I couldn't talk to their customer service.
I finally talked to my brother (an IT professional) about getting the needed drivers and he somehow found a way to get them. Once they were installed, the scanner and scanner program booted up - only to stall and time out before I could open up my first project.
I called Microtek once again and this time got a reasonably nice representative who tried his very best to help me. He walked me through restarting my computer, unhooking the cables, rehooking everything up, reinstalling the hardware in my computer, reinstalling the drivers and all the install files, and on and on.
Finally, after five days... yes, FIVE days... I got the scanner to turn on and the program to run. I put my first slide in the scanner and got half way through the scan before it told me that the scanner had timed out and had to shut down. I restarted my computer and the scanner ten more times with the same problem before I finally gave up.
I returned the product to B&H Photo the next day and got a full refund.
I HIGHLY recommend AGAINST buying this product. The problems I had were numerous and beyond ridiculous for the amount of money I paid for a supposedly quality product.
Strengths
It looks nice. Other than that, strengths are absent.
Weaknesses
Does not come with proper drivers for Windows XP, slides (from what little I saw of my first scan - see review) scan with specs on them from apparent dust inside of the machine, and the scanner itself times out before a scan can even be completed.
Similar Products Used
none.
Customer Service
Microtek's customer service proved to be very helpful but ultimately futile. They were unable to fix any one of my problems and I was forced to return the product.
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