Slow data from Epson Expression 1640 XL

I have an Epson Expression 1640 XL, connected by USB cable to my Windows
XP Professional system, which is running the software that came with the
scanner.

It used to be that when I did a high resolution scan, after the actual
scanning was finished, it would take about half as long again to finish
sending the data to the PC. Then I found, more and more, that after the
scanning was finished it would take five or more times as long again to
finish sending the data. Nowadays I almost always have this long wait.
I want to get back to the relatively fast data transmission that I once
had.

I have tried uninstalling the software, downloading the latest version
from the Epson web site, and installing it.

I have tried uninstalling this latest version and reinstalling the
version that came on the CD with the scanner.

I have tried closing Windows, restarting it, and launching nothing but
the scanner software.

I have tried replacing the USB cable by a new one.

None of this helps. Can anyone suggest a way of getting the data
transmission to work faster? I find that while the actual scanning is
happening, my PC's CPUs are largely idle, but during the long pause one
of them is fully occupied running Eccndv.exe.

Nick

 

Ok, 6 minutes to scan, 16 minutes to transfer the data. I timed my
scanner, not at 1600 d.p.i. (for reasons that will become evident), but
at 400 d.p.i., 48-bit color, A3. This ought to generate 1/16 as much
data. Here are the timings.

Stage 1.
Starting from when I press the button to start scanning. Nothing
obvious is happening. The "progress" window has not appeared.
32 seconds.

Stage 2.
The "Progress" window has appeared, and says "Scanning". The progress
bar is going from 0% to about 90%. The scanner is operating.
3 minutes 13 seconds, or 193 seconds.

Stage 3.
The "Progress" window still says "Scanning". The progress bar is going
from 90% to 100%. The scanner has switched off its light, moves its read
head back to the beginning, and ceases obvious activity.
24 seconds.

Stage 4.
The "Progress" window now says "Processing data. Please wait.". Nothing
obvious is happening. Escndv.exe is using a whole processor.
43 minutes, or 2580 seconds.

My recollection is that when things were working well, Stages 1 and 4
did not happen. This is consistent with the timings you give for 1600
d.p.i.

Nick

 

I've solved it!

The problem was a clash of some kind with Computer Associates anti-virus
software. When I disable this, the scanner software runs at more than
ten times the speed!

Nick