You can try this.
Rich
FreeSCAN has a good function to check com ports.
BEFORE! you plug in your cable do the following:
.At the top, under 'SCANNER'
.. Select 'CONTROL SCANNER'
...Select 'COM Port Setup'
....Click on the dropdown box for 'Port #' and note any ports there.
..... Then, plug in your USB1 cable and click 'REFRESH'
..... Then click on the dropdown box again.
..... You should see one more port than before. If not, your cable 'may' be bad. (or correct driver is not installed)
If FreeSCAN does see your cable, once it's connected to your scanner you can click on 'TEST' and it 'should' tell you what kind of scanner is connected.
If you do see the COM port show up, and the speed of the COM port matches the speed set in the scanner, and you STILL can't talk to the scanner, you may have a cable or driver problem.