Free program that can utilize a scanner?
 

Hi. My friend keeps asking me for advice on how to get her scanner working, but apparently she doesn't have the install CD, which I assume not only came with the drivers but also a generic program that can actually utilize it. I was wondering if there is any good, free programs that I can direct her to download? All it needs to do is let her scan and crop images, and save them as jpegs. Please help!

you may want to check out the <a href="http://www.sane-project.org/">SANE</a> project. It even works in Windows apparently. In order to actually run the scanner, you will need the SANE backend, and the GUI is run by a frontend.

Can't you search the website of the scanner manufacturer and download the latest drivers?

Does anyone know if gimp for windows will read scanners natively?

I ran into this problem with an HP scanner at work. We had lost the install disk and HP didn't allow downloads of the software from their site, we had to order a new disk and have it shipped to us. Cost like $15 I think, can't remember exactly.

GIMP will work with scanner in windows, quite well I might add. Definitely search for drivers on the manufacturers website, and if you can't find any there, check out http://www.windrivers.com/

Sounds like your friend needs the scanner's scan module. Any program you install, free or paid, will call up the scan module to do the actual scanning. It should be fairly easy to find the correct driver, locate the label, usually on the under or back side of the scanner. Find the make and model then Google it up, should be easy to find. Download the drivers needed and install it. Irfanview is a great free program that can acquire image from the scanner. If you have trouble finding the driver, post the make and model here and the rest of us geek heads can help looking it up.

Ifranview will do the job for you. It's free too!