Digital BW, The Print

I have begun to scan in B&W negatives from my darkroom past.  I use a Nikon 9000ED and VuScan for this.  The problem is that when I scan certain favorite negatives that include images of the sun, the over-exposed sun images and immediate surround are totally impenetrable to the scanner, even with two or three passes.  These same images printed very well through an optical enlarger along with the expected heavy burning of the sun image area, which was able to show a density curve even within the darkest area.

I could accept defeat and scan an optical print of these negatives (sigh). However I wonder if: a) I could adjust the 9000 in some way to make it scan through the spot, or b) if an expensive drum scan would do the job?