I have an Acer Aspire notebook, which connects by cable and Wi-Fi to my Epson SX525WD Printer/Scanner. I can print but not scan and get a message saying ‘Communication Error, make sure the computer is connected and try again’. It works properly on my old Dell laptop, so it’s obviously not faulty. I have reloaded and updated the drivers, sought advice from online forums and friends in the IT business but with no success.
Ian Smith, by email
Well done for eliminating the obvious causes, though a driver problem is still high on my list of probable causes so please double check that you have downloaded the correct Windows 7/64-bit drivers. Otherwise that leaves us with the more obscure possibilities. The first two come from Epson Support, they are a bit of a long shot, but try them anyway. If you are not already doing so, use the USB lead that came with the device, and it connects via a hub, bypass it and plug the printer directly into the laptop’s USB socket.
The Windows Firewall can sometimes play tricks so create an exception for your printer by going to Start > Control Panel > Security Centre > Windows Firewall and click ‘Allow a program or feature…’. If Windows User Account Control asks for permission click Continue, and enter your logon password if requested. Click Change Settings, check the list for Epson Scan and make sure it is ticked. Microsoft has couple of utilities that are worth trying. Start with the built in Hardware and Device Troubleshooter, by typing ‘troubleshooter’ in Search on the Start menu. Click Troubleshooting > Hardware and Sound > Configure a device and follow the prompts.
There’s also a free device detection repair utility, called Fixit.
