XSane scanner and Epson WF-4630

Forum rules
Before you post read how to get help. Topics in this forum are automatically closed 6 months after creation.
Locked
MrDoh

XSane scanner and Epson WF-4630

Post by MrDoh »

I'm using Linux Mint 18 with my Epson WF-4630 multifunction printer/scanner vi wifi. XSane Image Scanning Program works without any configuration, but it takes a long time to find my wifi scanner. I'm wondering if there isn't a tweak that I can make to speed up just the process of XSane finding my scanner. It really shouldn't take very long *smile*, but XSane takes about 2.75 minutes (almost 3 minutes) to find the scanner and come up. That's a lot of computer cpu cycles and a lot of time on the network just to find a wifi scanner when I could easily advise XSane exactly where to look for it *smile*.

I've looked around for this a bit, but apparently haven't looked in the right place. Can anyone give me a clue?

Thanks!
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
MrDoh

Re: XSane scanner and Epson WF-4630

Post by MrDoh »

After thinking about this for a while, I've decided that it isn't taking almost 3 minutes to find my scanner. What's happening is that it finds my scanner fairly quickly, but then times out on the network waiting for any other laggard scanners to come along. So my real question would be how can I convince XSane to stop looking for scanners when it finds the first one, and not wait 3 more minutes to time out.

Like how to tell XSane to go with the first scanner it finds in my case, not timeout on the network to find all scanners.

I may have to resort to modifying the source and rebuilding it, but I'd rather not go there if there's a more standard workaround for this to be had.

Thanks.
User avatar
kyphi
Level 9
Level 9
Posts: 2735
Joined: Sat Jul 09, 2011 1:14 am
Location: The Hunter Valley, Australia

Re: XSane scanner and Epson WF-4630

Post by kyphi »

As you seem to have discovered, the problem is with your network and has nothing to do with the scanner.
Xsane is not looking for other scanners.

For what it is worth, on my systems, both 17.3 and 18, using a Wi-Fi connection, Simple Scan starts in 1 second, XSane Scanner starts in 7 seconds and Image Scan starts in 7 seconds.

Why not try a USB cable connection to see if that circumvents the problem. If it does, then reconfigure your network.
Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon
MrDoh

Re: XSane scanner and Epson WF-4630

Post by MrDoh »

How would you suggest that I reconfigure my network? Exactly what are you thinking needs to be reconfigured?

My network works fine in all respects except this one, returning after finding the scanner. I'm pretty sure that this one is Linux somehow, but I don't know where to start to reconfigure it to help it get done sooner on the network. For everything else network related, it's all good, very fast, both Windows and Linux, and Windows doesn't have to work for almost 3 minutes to be able to scan once I bring up the Epson scan software. Of course, the Epson scan software on Windows is configured when you install it to shake hands with the scanner up front, so it's always right where Windows left it. Never a problem. Linux has to find the scanner each time I bring up XSane, since there's no configuration that I'm aware of for XSane scanner that would allow me to tell it where the scanner is. And it's equally slow every time it looks for it on Linux, like it was looking everywhere for it every time.

Thanks for the suggestion.
MrDoh

Re: XSane scanner and Epson WF-4630

Post by MrDoh »

This is just crazy, but I reinstalled Linux Mint again, and now the scanner is found by simple scan and xsane scanner right away. Might take a chance and install Epson iscan software, but I hate to screw with something that works. Have not changed any network configuration from the default that Linux installs and autoconfigures when it comes up. So it isn't a network configuration issue outside of xsane. And I don't see any accessible network configuration inside of xsane...there's a bunch of configuration files under ~/.config, but they're just scanner settings, not network stuff as far as I can tell.

Anyways, I really changed very little between the time that I installed last time and this time, the scanner stuff seems to be very sensitive to being touched.

I wish I knew what was different now so that I could watch for it in the future. I guess I'll just take a hands-off approach this time around, since it's working again. Things that I feel that I can't touch make me nervous.
User avatar
kyphi
Level 9
Level 9
Posts: 2735
Joined: Sat Jul 09, 2011 1:14 am
Location: The Hunter Valley, Australia

Re: XSane scanner and Epson WF-4630

Post by kyphi »

Whatever went awry with your system seems to have been fixed when you re-installed afresh washing away the sins of the past. As I mentioned before, both Simple Scan and XSane Scanner work out of the box in Linux Mint 18 on my systems and there is no adjustment necessary. To get Image Scan working all I did was to install the Epson scanner files and edit the dll.conf and the epkowa.conf files in /etc/sane.d/ as well as pairing the scanner unit to the router via the IP Address. If you want to print you also need to install the Epson printer driver. The configuration and driver installation is the same for my Epson Artisan 725 as it is for your WorkForce-4630.
Since it is an internal LAN, no firewall applies.

Hopefully all will be well now. Please advise.
Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon
MrDoh

Re: XSane scanner and Epson WF-4630

Post by MrDoh »

Firewall on Linux is between the scanner and the Linux software, so yes, gufw firewall has to have a rule. Otherwise my computer can't talk to the scanner. Been there done that.
MrDoh

Re: XSane scanner and Epson WF-4630

Post by MrDoh »

Okay, tried just installing the Epson iscan bundle using their install.sh script without installing the "sane" package first this time, and did the minimal configuration changes in /etc/sane.d (see below). And it doesn't work, get the usual "Could not send command to scanner. Check the scanner's status." pop-up window. Very familiar.

This is just wacky...after editing dll.conf (add epkowa.conf line) and epkowa.conf (add net <scanner ip> 1865), not only did iscan not find the scanner, but XSane took the full "almost 3 minutes" to come up. It did come up, though.

So I went and commented out the line that I added to dll.conf, and the one added to epkowa.conf, and now XSane comes up quickly again, and iscan still doesn't find the scanner (of course). This is all just crazy.

I think that this is going to be as good as it gets here. XSane is it for me for the time being, tired of this.
User avatar
kyphi
Level 9
Level 9
Posts: 2735
Joined: Sat Jul 09, 2011 1:14 am
Location: The Hunter Valley, Australia

Re: XSane scanner and Epson WF-4630

Post by kyphi »

There is nothing to add in /etc/sane.d/dll.conf although adding the word epkowa (NOT epkowa.conf) will not do any harm.

To get Image Scan to work after installing the scanner bundle edit the epkowa.conf file.

In /etc/sane.d/epkowa.conf, add the net IP of the Epson scanner to the group 'usb' & 'scsi' so that it reads something like this:
net 192.168.178.25:1865 or whatever it says on your Epson machine network configuration screen.

If the IP address is wrong then Image Scan cannot find the scanner.
Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon
MrDoh

Re: XSane scanner and Epson WF-4630

Post by MrDoh »

I did exactly what you said above, didn't work for me. Not only that, it made XSane scanner take the full "almost 3 minutes" to find the scanner until I reversed the two configuration file changes that I had made.

Glad that it works for you.
Locked

Return to “Printers & Scanners”