Installing Brother scanner of MFC-J6920DW in Mint 18.1 [solved]

[eldiener]

I was able to install the printer drivers for the multifunction Brother MFC-J6920DW device and print to the device using the files and instructions on the Brother web site for my multi-function device. I followed the instructions for installing the scanner from Brother's support page but the scanner is not showing in Simple Scan application and I see no other Mint 18.1 application which will show me what scanners have been installed properly.

There is a scanner settings file on the Brother support page at http://support.brother.com/g/b/download ... _as&os=128 but it does not mention Mint 18 but earlier versions of Mint to which the file applies, so I have not installed that file. There is also a specific web page at https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/15 for installing the Brother printers and scanners, but since that page has some errors on it I did not try to follow it completely. This latter page suggests adding two lines to /lib/udev/rules.d/40-libsane.rules to identify the Brother scanners, but since another scanner in /lib/udev/rules.d/40-libsane.rules has the same iD as the Brother scanner in those two lines I was loth to do it.

Does anyone know how I can complete the installation of my multifunction's scanner so I can use it on Linux Mint 18.1 ?

[pdc_2]

can you just fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge; 32bit system? usb connection? only printer on the system?

did you use the brother installer tool to install the printer drivers?

___________________

"I followed the instructions for installing the scanner from Brother's support page" ...... I am guessing that might be starting here http://support.brother.com/g/s/id/linux ... edirect=on

____________________

separate to the how-to-install-the-scanner but on the same page, is the FAQ ........ one small part of which is this http://support.brother.com/g/s/id/linux ... edirect=on

which is all about copying files into different places ...... but one needs to use sudo so the format is

Code: Select all

sudo cp /usr/lib64/libbrscandec3.so.1.0.0 /usr/lib

....... for brscan3 users ..............

for the scanner, pulling together of Brother's "oh, by the way, you need to do this .....and that ..........." is difficult ......

.......... I am guessing this is a brscan4 device, as the 6910 is; and I can't see the 6920 on the list I have ......

so you need to move

Code: Select all

/usr/lib64/sane/libsane-brother4.so.1.0.7
/usr/lib64/sane/libsane-brother4.so
/usr/lib64/sane/libsane-brother4.so.1

[eldiener]

can you just fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge; 32bit system? usb connection? only printer on the system?

did you use the brother installer tool to install the printer drivers?

___________________

"I followed the instructions for installing the scanner from Brother's support page" ...... I am guessing that might be starting here http://support.brother.com/g/s/id/linux ... edirect=on

____________________

separate to the how-to-install-the-scanner but on the same page, is the FAQ ........ one small part of which is this http://support.brother.com/g/s/id/linux ... edirect=on

which is all about copying files into different places ...... but one needs to use sudo so the format is

Code: Select all

sudo cp /usr/lib64/libbrscandec3.so.1.0.0 /usr/lib

....... for brscan3 users ..............

for the scanner, pulling together of Brother's "oh, by the way, you need to do this .....and that ..........." is difficult ......

.......... I am guessing this is a brscan4 device, as the 6910 is; and I can't see the 6920 on the list I have ......

so you need to move

Code: Select all

/usr/lib64/sane/libsane-brother4.so.1.0.7
/usr/lib64/sane/libsane-brother4.so
/usr/lib64/sane/libsane-brother4.so.1

This is Mint 18.1 64-bit. The printer is a wireless connection. I have another wireless printer I connected. The printer wireless connection works flawlessly given Brother's software for my device and instructions. I used the Brother install tool to install the printer drivers.

The instructions for installing the scanner for my device is at http://support.brother.com/g/b/download ... _as&os=128. The Brother "Driver Install Tool" actually installs the printer and the individual scanner drivers you see in the "Scanner Drivers" section, except for the "Scanner Setting file". I did not install the "Scanner Setting file" because further instructions for installing it refer to versions of Linux Mint well below 18.1, so it is a guess on my part whether or not to install it.

Thanks for your own links above but nothing in the particular instructions for the MFC-J6920DW led me to either one. As far as copying files into different places the install of the scanner drivers placed three files, two of them links, in /usr/lib64/sane and not any file in /usr/lib64. But I linked those three files into /usr/lib/sane nonetheless.

I have no idea what brsaneconfig I am supposed to use and it was not mentioned at all in the specific device's instructions. Maybe it is brscan4 as you surmise. As to the rest of the instructions in your links it looks ancient and doesn't come close to the way Linux Mint is setup in Mint 18.1.

[eldiener]

can you just fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge; 32bit system? usb connection? only printer on the system?

did you use the brother installer tool to install the printer drivers?

___________________

"I followed the instructions for installing the scanner from Brother's support page" ...... I am guessing that might be starting here http://support.brother.com/g/s/id/linux ... edirect=on

____________________

separate to the how-to-install-the-scanner but on the same page, is the FAQ ........ one small part of which is this http://support.brother.com/g/s/id/linux ... edirect=on

which is all about copying files into different places ...... but one needs to use sudo so the format is

Code: Select all

sudo cp /usr/lib64/libbrscandec3.so.1.0.0 /usr/lib

....... for brscan3 users ..............

for the scanner, pulling together of Brother's "oh, by the way, you need to do this .....and that ..........." is difficult ......

.......... I am guessing this is a brscan4 device, as the 6910 is; and I can't see the 6920 on the list I have ......

so you need to move

Code: Select all

/usr/lib64/sane/libsane-brother4.so.1.0.7
/usr/lib64/sane/libsane-brother4.so
/usr/lib64/sane/libsane-brother4.so.1

Everything is now working correctly and I am able to scan from my multifunction device. The mistake was mine when I made links from where the drivers were installed in /usr/lib64/sane to /usr/lib/sane. Once I straightened out the links the "Simple Scanner" program picked up my device and I was able to scan. Evidently changes to /lib/udev/rules.d/40-libsane.rules to add the Brother ID code is not needed. The Brother instructions were correct except for the fact that it installed the 64-bit drivers in /usr/lib64/sane rather than /usr/lib/sane. I also do not understand why Mint 18.1 cannot pick up the drivers in /usr/lib64/sane for a 64-bit system, but there is probably some backward compatibility reason for that.

Thanks for your help !

[pdc_2]

very instructive to hear from you what works;

I was just reading you wondering which brscanconfig command to issue ..... I was guessing it was

Code: Select all

brsaneconfig42  -a  name=SCANNER  model=MFC-J6920DW  ip=xx.xx.xx.xx

was that what you did?

_______________

Code: Select all

The Brother instructions were correct except for the fact that it installed the 64-bit drivers in /usr/lib64/sane rather than /usr/lib/sane

.... I would sort of expect the 64bit drivers to go into lib64

but Brother ask you to copy them across to /lib as you say

Code: Select all

sudo cp /usr/lib64/sane/libsane-brother4.so.1.0.7 /usr/lib/sane

...... always something new to learn ........ I see lib on our 64bit system is just lib; nothing called lib64 ....... so I can only assume Brother would create a lib64 if it did an install on this system

___________

some folks suggest that one sets up a static ip address; for a device such as yours; lest the computer "loses" the device with a shifting ip address; interesting to see if it all stays good: do let us know;

glad to hear it is all good; and enjoy the MFD: it looks a very fine machine

[eldiener]

very instructive to hear from you what works;

I was just reading you wondering which brscanconfig command to issue ..... I was guessing it was

Code: Select all

brsaneconfig42  -a  name=SCANNER  model=MFC-J6920DW  ip=xx.xx.xx.xx

was that what you did?

_______________

Code: Select all

The Brother instructions were correct except for the fact that it installed the 64-bit drivers in /usr/lib64/sane rather than /usr/lib/sane

.... I would sort of expect the 64bit drivers to go into lib64

but Brother ask you to copy them across to /lib as you say

Code: Select all

sudo cp /usr/lib64/sane/libsane-brother4.so.1.0.7 /usr/lib/sane

...... always something new to learn ........ I see lib on our 64bit system is just lib; nothing called lib64 ....... so I can only assume Brother would create a lib64 if it did an install on this system

___________

some folks suggest that one sets up a static ip address; for a device such as yours; lest the computer "loses" the device with a shifting ip address; interesting to see if it all stays good: do let us know;

glad to hear it is all good; and enjoy the MFD: it looks a very fine machine

I did not issue a brsaneconfig command. Maybe the Driver Install did it.

None of the Brother docs I originally saw told me to copy the drivers Brother installed into /usr/lib64/sane to /usr/lib/sane. I picked that up from finding the page https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/15.

Yes I am also worrying that the IP address is not static, but DHCP, but I am not sure how to make it static on my LAN or even if I need to do so.

[Pjotr]

There is also a specific web page at https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/15 for installing the Brother printers and scanners, but since that page has some errors on it I did not try to follow it completely.

What errors?

[eldiener]

There is also a specific web page at https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/15 for installing the Brother printers and scanners, but since that page has some errors on it I did not try to follow it completely.

What errors?

1) The changes to /lib/udev/rules.d/40-libsane.rules are evidently not needed.
2) The suggested change to /lib/udev/rules.d/40-libsane.rules added a vendor ID that already exists for another vendor in the /lib/udev/rules.d/40-libsane.rules.
3) There are no files installed of the /usr/lib64/libbrscandec*.so* pattern. In fact there are no files at all installed in /usr/lib64/ except the files installed in /usr/lib64/sane.

[pdc_2]

Code: Select all

libbrscandec*.so*

seems to apply to what Brother call brscan3 ........... their current models seem to be brscan4; this comes from the FAQ page that Brother post: the information is there; just hard to put together

http://support.brother.com/g/s/id/linux ... =on#f00101