The local shop, down the street wants $50 to put a computer on the bench, and then charges $50 an hour, after that.

Not my doing, a club I belong to had a problem with a computer. I said I'd fix it. They said NO take it in where we bought it (same shop).

When I told them the fees they said OK see what you can do. I replaced the CMOS battery for a few bucks, ran Norton on it and it's fine.

Needless to say, they have been coming to me since. While I'm underpaid, it's the club...

But $50 to LOOK at it? Give Me a break! They sold us the computer. Some support.

I think $30 may be a fair price for their Tech. time, but an unnecessary fee if someone has a computer with anti-virus software on it.

I agree with your idea of just buying a new scanner, after you have a friend look at it. Did you try removing all the scanner software and doing a clean re-install.