stimon.exe bad???

I recently had an in-warranty replacement of an EPSON all-
in-one CX5200. The defective unit worked fine for scanning 
and copying, but the ink delivery system went bad after 
only 6 months of use. After unplugging the old unit and 
plugging in the new unit (identical model), the scanning 
funtion won't work, gives error message about the TWAIN 
driver needing to be installed (even though it is already 
installed). 

EPSON tech support had me check my WIN98 Accessories, 
Imaging, File, Select Scanner. When I told him that option 
was grayed out, he said my stimon.exe was corrupt and 
needed to be removed and reinstalled. Asking how that was 
possible just from unplugging one cx5200 and plugging in 
another got me nowhere. 

HP and Microsoft each want $40 to "troubleshoot" this 
problem. My gut tells me it is NOT a WIN98 problem...BUT 
I'm not opposed to reinstalling the stimon.exe file. My HP 
Pavilion did not come with WIN98 installation CD. I do 
have a 3-disk set called HP Pavilion Application Recovery, 
which I suspect holds WIN98. HP tech support cautioned me 
about trying to use those CDs for fear of losing all 
information on this four year old desktop.

Any ideas?

Either look at the CDs in Windows Explorer to see what's there or consult
your user's guide.  Also, the setup files may be on the hard drive.  Do a
find on:  win98_24.cab      and if found, note the location and when a file
is needed, point the system to that location.  Here's how to replace a file:

Run sfc.exe and select the "extract one file..." option.  Type in the
complete name of the missing file you want to restore or use the browse
button for a file replacement.  Click start and in the resulting window,
browse to the location of the folder containing the W98 .cab files (either
the hard drive or CDRom drive).  If the information in the "save in" box is
wrong, use the browse button to show where the file is to be restored to.
Click OK and if appropriate, on the resulting screen, show the location
where the file being replaced is to be backed up to.  Click OK or skip as
appropriate.  Restart your computer and the file replacement will occur
during the boot process.

If you are going to use sfc.exe for other than the extract option, I highly
recommend that you first read the article here:
 http://www.**--****.com/ 


-- 
Regards

Ron Badour, MS MVP for W98
Tips:   http://www.**--****.com/ 
Knowledge Base Info:
 http://www.**--****.com/