Dimension8300 printer problem

The printer part of my EpsonCX6600 works just fine, but I cannot get the scanner going. (Have connected to my son's laptop and all is well, so the problem is not with the printer unit or software). Have been in touch with Epson tech support by E-mail, have uninstalled-re-installed numerous times, checked Device Manager which shows no problem, tried several registry manipulations, all to no avail. Arcsoft Photo Impression, the program that comes with the printer, also shows my old scanner present, which may be the problem. I have searched in Explorer and the registry, have deleted every possible mention of this and it's still there. (I even re-installed and un-installed the old unit, with no success). I'm hoping someone in this knowledgeable group might have a suggestion as to where this "ghost" might be found. Can't think of anything else to try and hate to think I'll have to do a format and re-install of Windows. (Would this even be guaranteed to work)? I'm running XP Pro, SP2.

Tearing my hair and hoping someone here has an answer,

Kate