Vista - Epson Perfection 2480 Photo scanner works in Vista x64

Just thought I'd pass along some info I came across after setting up my newest 64 bit machine and connecting an older but definitely not outdated Epson Perfection scanner. I really love this scanner and it's auto-restoration features for older photos, so I was not willing to give it up. I found the following website with instructions for finding the correct drivers.
Nafcom's Crap Blog!: Epson Perfection 2480 Photo: Vista X64 drivers work in Windows XP X64!
Apparently, Epson built support for x64, but hid the drivers within the installer for 32 bit systems. No search on any version of their support website shows driver downloads under 64 bit. I did what was described in that article, and have my scanner working beautifully on Vista x64. I can say that I downloaded drivers both from the European site as well as the U.S. site. The driver file each installs is no different, but the scan utility is a slightly different version. I went with the U.S. version in the end, it being what looks like a higher version number (3.04a instead of 3.0u... hard to tell if there's any real difference, as there was no language issues or anything).

For anyone who is interested, this worked for me. The only thing I did differently from the OP is that I went ahead and used the German file.

So far, the scanner is working just fine.

Thanks for the update No 24... I don't know if this matters to anyone here, but those same Vista drivers work well for me on Windows 7 Ultimate x64, which pleased me greatly.

You know, it's worth it to note that the only reason I found your intial post was due to what I call the forum's "auto-topic search" function thingie. Very nice feature indeed.

I wanted to say THANK YOU! bad_the_ba for this post and link. Grateful enough to register with this site just so I can relay this thanks to you. I just built a new system which includes V64 Ultimate but doesn't include a new scanner. As a result of this post, I won't need one. It's just a shame that Epson was asleep at the wheel on this one. Don't know if you'll see this post due to the age of the thread, but...

Thanks again,
Lunarcrank

No problem! Glad it worked for you. This site generates emails when someone replies to a thread, even if it is an old one. I also have this scanner working in Windows 7 x64 beta as well, and will be downloading the Windows 7 RC shortly, but I don't see there being any issues there. If there is anything to update then, I will post.

I am encouraged that someone has successfully gotten the Epson Perfection 2480 Photo scanner to work in Vista, but I have not had that same success.

I have downloaded all the drivers suggested by one or another person, and they don't work.

The software seems to install, but the computer simply does not recognize the presence of the scanner.

Therefore, no program can use the scanner.

I've tried the drivers epson12204.exe / epson316633eu.exe, and others, but the final result is always that a required line is missing in the INF, and the list of available scanners does not show the EpsonPerfection 2480.

I've only just discovered this forum, though I've been working on this problem for a year.

Thanks to anyone who responds.

It seems I remember having a similar sounding issue, and believe it or not the problem I had was resolved by using front instead of back USB ports on the particular computer I was using it on. I will try to reproduce the errors (or non-errors, since no device was recognized), since I still have the same hardware and scanner. No time now, but will report back when I have more information. I can guarantee this scanner worked well in 2 different Vista setups, and in Windows 7 beta several months ago. I am now running a Windows 7 RC, build 7100. You did not say if this was on Vista 32 bit or 64 bit, but I am assuming 64 bit since 32 bit drivers are listed on their site.

Also, check the scanner power button light when plugged in. If I remember correctly in my situation, there was some strange behavior with this (color? flashing? can't remember), and it clued me in on the USB port issue.

Yes it is Vista-64 I am having trouble with (with the Epson Perfection 2480 photo scanner). I did try different USB ports as well. This has been an intractable problem. The ports do work with other devices. There will even be a signal that a device is being detected, and EVEN that the driver for the device is being sought. But the scanner never appears in the list of scanners, and no program can access it.