I always photocopy my chip collection before I go to a chip show so I can remember what I already have. A couple of days before the Superbowl show in Las Vegas I began the process and immediately had problems with funny noises from my HP scanner. It eventually stopped working completely and I had only a day left before the show. I scurried down to the nearby COSTCO and picked up a new HP scanner and the job completed just fine.

When I got back from the show, I had time to look at the 'Frequently Asked Questions' on the HP web site regarding scanner problems. It turned out that the locking lever intended to keep the carriage from moving in shipment had become partly engaged. I pushed it back to the operate position and the scanner now works fine.

However, I now have two HP scanners and it's too late to return the new one. If someone on the bb would like a quality scanner, I'm going to offer it for $75, plus shipping (about 15-20 lbs). It is the model 5p, and comes with the HP scanner software and a copy of Adobe Photodeluxe 2. This model comes with a controller card that you plug into your PC, so it doesn't use up one of your parallel ports. If you've read any of my posts over the past couple of years, this is the scanner that produced the pics you saw. The new model I bought, incidently, cost $250 and does use a parallel port. I cannot see any difference in the quality of the scans from the two products.

I'll be glad to do some hand-holding over the phone if you need help in installation, but it went super-smooth for me.

Email me if you're interested. I have the shipping carton from my new machine to ship the old one in, so packing for shipment is pretty easy.

DonL