2 different scanners no longer communicating w/laptop, deeper issue?

Hi, Thank you in advance for your help!

I'm on a Dell XPS L702X laptop, running Windows 7 Home Premium, SP1, 64-bit.

All of a sudden my 2 scanners can no longer communicate with my laptop. The only recent software update I've downloaded is an AVG update.

When one of the scanners wasn't connecting about 2 weeks ago, I ran a Microsoft Fix It (called "Hardware devices are not working or not detected in Windows"), and I thought that fixed the problem, as I was able to scan via USB right after the Fix It. I was able to scan as recently as 5 days ago.

But as of today, 2 scanners can no longer communicate with the laptop, and there must be a deeper problem, right?

Scanner 1 is a Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500 that connects via a USB cable (no wifi function). I push scan on the Fujitsu (connected via USB), and ScanSnap is successfully initiated on the laptop, so I know some kind of initial handshake is occurring. The ScanSnap window pops up as if the scanner connection is working, then a separate error window pops up that says "Failed to communicate with the ScanSnap. (0x00000000)" etc., so I know the connection is unable to complete.

The full ScanSnap Manager message states:
"Failed to communicate with the ScanSnap. (0x00000000)

Disconnect the cable then connect it again. If the problem persists, contact your FUJITSU scanner dealer or an authorized FUJITSU scanner service provider."

Scanner 2 is a multi-function Brother printer, MFC-7860DW. It usually connects wirelessly or as a back-up, via USB. I tried both. Much like the Fujitsu, an initial handshake is successful. I push the scan controls, and the Brother scan software options pop up. I choose ControlCenter 4 as my scanner software, but then the connection is unable to complete, and I get this ControlCenter4 error message:
"MFC=7860DW LAN cannot be found.
-If the device is OFF, turn ON the device.
-Check the I/F cable connection between the device and your computer.
-If the scanner is working with another application, cancel scanning or wait until the scan job finishes and try again.
(CC4-202-00000008)"

Needless to say, I have tried reconnecting the USB cables, making sure the Brother wifi scanner was an exception in my Windows firewall, and restarting my computer. No luck.


Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.