Drive belt came off internal spool. How do I remove cover to fix

Check to see where it is writing to (which directory) and make sure the directory exists and you do not have duplicate filenames. Check the free space on the drive you are writing to. Run an error check on the drive. If it is a shared folder/directory then check your permissions.

First check to see if belt is hanging loose due to broken plastic mounts at forward mounting point.

This happened to both mine and my sister's 3170. The plate holding the belt pulley wheel is held by two very small plastic flanges. At between a year to a year and a half the flanges fatigue and break causing the forward pulley wheel to break free. With the belt no longer able to turn the scanner won't initialize, the lamp won't light and the red flashing light comes on. The fix is rather simple though. Simply drill a small hole through the bottom of the case and place a small metal screw through with the screw head placed so that it overlaps the pulley wheel base thus holding everything down snugly. Fixed both scanners with this fix. In my opinion, just poorly engineered and perhaps even "designed in obsolescence". Most people would simply toss it and buy another considering what it would cost to send it in for service. You might even get charged for a new lamp that you didn't need. That was what Epson Service diagnosed the problem as over the phone.

This happened to both mine and my sister's 3170. The plate holding the belt pulley wheel is held by two very small plastic flanges. At between a year to a year and a half the flanges fatigue and break causing the forward pulley wheel to break free. With the belt no longer able to turn the scanner won't initialize, the lamp won't light and the red flashing light comes on. The fix is rather simple though. Simply drill a small hole through the bottom of the case and place a small metal screw through with the screw head placed so that it overlaps the pulley wheel base thus holding everything down snugly. Fixed both scanners with this fix. In my opinion, just poorly engineered and perhaps even "designed in obsolescence". Most people would simply toss it and buy another considering what it would cost to send it in for service. You might even get charged for a new lamp that you didn't need. That was what Epson Service diagnosed the problem as over the phone.

You can try copying the films first onto regular paper and then scanning those copies.

Unplug the lid cable and lift straight upward. The lid will lift off completely. At the bottom of each square hinge hole is a single phillips screw. Remove both screws, (Preferably with a magnetic tipped screwdriver), then lift gently upwards on the rear of the glass windowed case cover three or four inches then slide gently forward. The front of the case is secured by two tabs. If you observe from the side you can see them clearly. Reverse the process to replace.

Oh, and if you have a USB cable plugged in, your scanner is NOT locked down. It can only be locked down when no USB cable is plugged in.

The below is a very common problem with non-working 3170's.

This happened to both mine and my sister's 3170. The plate holding the belt pulley wheel is held by two very small plastic flanges. At between a year to a year and a half the flanges fatigue and break causing the forward pulley wheel to break free. With the belt no longer able to turn the scanner won't initialize, the lamp won't light and the red flashing light comes on. The fix is rather simple though. Simply drill a small hole through the bottom of the case and place a small metal screw through with the screw head placed so that it overlaps the pulley wheel base thus holding everything down snugly. Fixed both scanners with this fix. In my opinion, just poorly engineered and perhaps even "designed in obsolescence". Most people would simply toss it and buy another considering what it would cost to send it in for service. You might even get charged for a new lamp that you didn't need. That was what Epson Service diagnosed the problem as over the phone.

The 3170 has a screw in each of the two slots where the lid inserts into the scanner. Remove the lid, remove these screws, and then the top portion of the scanner with the glass slides forward and off. Mine was stiff getting it off, but with some slight twisting and a bit of force it came off. You can then clean the glass.

having the scanner repaired will cost more than a new one.

Go here

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/support/supDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&infoType=Doc&oid=25021&prodoid=35836301

Has the belt come off the drive pinion? If so, you will need to remove the printer top cover, loosen the drive motor screws, put the drive belt back on the pinion and re-tighten the drive motor screws. If this isn't the problem, find a technician who will look at it and give you a price for doing the job. It shouldn't be expensive, but maybe more than the printer is worth!

OK - since you won't respond, we'll assume that the problem is a loose drive belt. To check this and repair it you will need to remove the printer top cover. Once you have done this, check that the spring assembly is intact on the left end of the drive belt. If it isn't you will need professional help to fix this. If it's OK, then look at the drive motor end on the right. If the belt has come off the drive pinion, you must loosen the two screws holding the drive motor. This will permit you to get the drive belt back on the pinion. Make sure the drive motor is held in the correct position when you re-tighten the two screws. Test the printer before replacing the cover.