plustek: Notes on installation
Subject:
Notes on installation
From:
####@####.####
Date:
1 Sep 2000 15:36:56 -0000
Message-Id: <39AFCDE7.15568CAA@bellsouth.net>
Here are some notes that people might find useful when installing
the plustek driver. I have installed this driver on versions on
Redhat from 5.2 to 6.1, Mandrake 7.1, and a Suse 6.2(?? maybe 3).
I have used both the sane-1.0.1 and sane-1.0.2 tgz versions. I
don't recall there being anything really specific to the
distribution, with the possible exception of where certain files
are put (see below). Most if not all of the following assume you
are logged in as root:
1. Be sure you only have one version of sane: use "find /usr -name
scanimage" to get a listing of how many scanimages there are on
your system; there should be only one. Most of the distribution
seem to default to /usr/bin (i.e., if you use an rpm package to
install sane). THis may have been installed when you installed
linux without your being aware of it; I find that distributions
(RH in particular) install a lot of things I even told them I
didn't want installed (I always use custom install). If you build
and install the tgz version, it seems to work best in /usr/local
(CFLAGS="-g -O -Wall" ./configure --prefix=/usr/local before you
do the make in the sane directory). If you have scanimage entries
in both /usr/bin and /usr/local/bin, you will have to remove one
of them. If one was installed as an rpm ("rpm -qa | grep sane"
will tell you) and want to remove it use "rpm -e sane". If it
wasn't installed as an rmp, you have to find all the files
associated with that copy. "ldd /usr/bin/scanimage" will give a
list of the libraries associated with THAT copy of scanimage; you
can delete the libsane libraries manually (other libraries in the
list may be needed for other programs; don't just delete
everything).
2. Assuming you now only have one copy of scanimage (and the other
files associated with it), you want to be sure that the library
links are set up (rpms do this for you). First check the
/etc/ld.so.conf file to see if it lists the directory into which
you installed sane (the prefix you used). This is normally either
/usr/lib or /usr/local/lib. It doesn't hurt to have both of these
listed. Add one or both to the ld.so.conf if needed (it's just a
text file), and run "ldconfig -v". This will build a new list so
scanimage knows where to find its libraries (the "-v" just lets
you see what is happening). One extra note: scanimage often
complains that it can't find libsane.so.1 even though it exists.
It seems to go into /usr/local/lib/sane instead of /usr/local/lib
(or no /local if you built it that way). You can either add that
directory to the /etc/ld.so.conf list or make a soft link to it (
from /usr/local/lib, "ln -s sane/libsane.so.1 libsane.so.1".
sane/libsane.so.1 may itself be a link to another file). Run
ldconfig again, whichever method you use.
3. Problems loading the plustek driver pt_drv.o:
Doing "make load" doesn't always work. It is supposed to create
the pt_drv entry in the /dev subdirectory; this may fail for
various reasons. Do " ls -al /dev/pt_drv". You should get back a
line
something like "crw-rw--r 1 root root 40, 0 <date> /dev/pt_drv".
If it says that pt_drv doesn't exist, use mknod to create it
(check the manpage to be sure) "mknod /dev/pt_drv c 40 0". Use "ls
..." again to be sure it got created. I'm assuming you did a "make
install" at some point in the plustek directory. This should put
pt_drv.o in both /lib/modules/<kernel version- e.g., 2.2.12>/misc
and /lib/modules/misc. Don't worry about this last one; it's the
first one that is important. You then need to check that the
driver has all dependencies resolved. I would "cd
/lib/modules/2.2.12 (or whatever)" and do "depmod -a". This will
create a new file, modules.dep I think, which has the dependencies
for all modules including pt_drv.o, in /lib/modules/2.... If you
get any errors, first be sure that you have parport and parport_pc
loaded ("modprobe parport_pc") and then try depmod again. If you
don't get any errors, everything should work; do "modprobe pt_drv"
and you should see messages indicating that the scanner has been
found. If you have the scanner connected to a port with an address
other than 0x378 (usually called lpt1 in the dos-win world) you
will need to use the "port=0x278" (for lpt2) option: "insmod
pt_drv port=0x278". If you get errors and the scanner is turned on
and connected to the port you specified, then there is some other
problem. If it loads, then try "scanimage -L" and see if the
plustek scanner is listed.
4. The printer driver lp.o is known to have a conflict with
pt_drv.o This results in a loud noise when you try to do a scan.
Until this is resolved, remove the lp driver before loading the
pt_drv and trying to use the scanner ("lsmod lp" will tell you if
it is loaded. I made up a bash script which I call scanner; I
checks to see if lp is loaded and unloads it, and loads the
parport modules if necessary, before trying to load the plustek
driver. If pt_drv is already loaded it unloads it, and could be
set to reload lp.o if desired. Typing "scanner" just toggles the
pt_drv load or unload. This post is long enough already but if
anyone is interested I can email it or post it to this list.
This is by no means an exhaustive list but I think it covers
several of the most important problems. It is very difficult to
get a program that is still undergoing changes to install
perfectly in every case, and I would rather see Gerhard, who has
done a tremendous job getting the various plustek scanners to work
under linux, concentrate on driver issues rather than installation
problems. Someday, when the driver is finalized (or nearly so) we
may all simply install sane and the plustek driver using an rpm or
deb package. Until then, remember that you will get cut when
you're on the bleeding edge, and what doesn't kill you makes you
stronger (although you may wish you were dead).
Kevin
