Laser Printer MF232w scanning problem. Computer cannot communicate with the scanner (used to work)

[alangil]

Hi,

I am having a problem with my ImageClass MF232w laser printer.

It prints just fine from multiple comupters via wireless (WLAN).  However, when I try to use the MF Scan Utility I get an error message which says "Cannot communicate with the scanner"

Please note this worked in the past.

When I pull up the Canon MF Network Scanner Selector, the list is empty.  Somehow it has lost the value that used to be in there which based on the scan utility was probbably "Canon MF230 ser_D-C5D3C78802".

I tried re-starting both the printer and the computer.  The printer indicates that wireless networkd connectivty is good as evidenced by the fact that I can print to it just fine.  When I press the Scan-PC1 button, it asks to connect the computer.  But in settings it won't let me connect to any computer.  I am pretty sure this was setup before as well.

Finally, I could also scan directly from Photoshop, but now when I try to that it says "Could not open the TWAIN source".

Do I need to re-install the drivers?  I tried installing the drives on another computer, but got a permsision error (even though I am administrator and run using administrator) trying to do a Network install.  Seemed to work doing a USB install.

Please help, this is extraodinarily frustrating.

Thanks,

Alan

[Stephen]

Hello!

So that the Community can help you better, we will need to know the Computer Operating System you're using (Windows Vista/7/8/10 or macOS 10.x), as well as the way you connect to your device (USB or WiFi).

Any other details you'd like to give will only help the Community better understand your issue!

If you're in the United States, and this is an urgent support need, please click HERE to visit your My Canon Account to discover your personalized support options. 

If you're outside of the USA, please click HERE to find support options in your country.

Thanks and have a great day!

[alangil · Accepted solution]

The operating system in question is Windows 10 and I specificaly mentioned WiFi connectivity.

At any rate, I seemed to have solved the problem.

In order to determine if it was the computer and not the printer with the problem, I tried to install the MF drivers and scan utility on my work computer, but due to some user policy it gave me the insufficient permissions problem (most likely due to the WiFi drivers making changes to Windows Firewall).  This made me afraid to re-install the drivers on the first computer in question.

I found a third computer and I was albe to install the MF drivers and the MF scan utility with sucess.

So then I returned to the original computer where I first had the problem and did a re-install of the MF drivers as well.  It now works again.

My theory is some Windows Update or some other program must have messed with the Windows Firewall settings and closed the port that the Canon MF232w printer uses for scanning.  Re-installing the driver has fixed it for now.

Thanks,

Alan