camcorder not recognized through firewire

[extinguisher]

heyy guys...
its my first post here, but i promise it wont be my last after my problem is solved...im not really a newbie to digital video, but i am at a loss with this problem, and was wondering if the experts could suggest something.
I own a Canon ZR50MC digital camcorder. I have an Adaptec FireConnect firewire card installed in my computer. From the past 3 months, my camera has not been recognized by my PC. It has a USB connection for transfer of still pics, and a firewire connection for transfer of digital video/pics. When I used to connect using USB, the camera was recognized and I had no problem downloading my pix. However, the firewire connection was not being recognized when the camera was connected using that. I thought maybe its a software issue and as I had to do a clean install of everything on my computer soon, i thought i would proceed with that now itself. So i formatted my drives and installed fresh software. I updated windows and installed the latest versions of windows media player etc. I also installed Adobe Premiere 6.5. I also installed Canon's own digital pictures program (ZoomBrowser). However, I was still not able to get the computer to recognize the firewire connection. The card is recognized perfectly by the computer. I even changed the PCI slot the card was in, just to see if it would make a difference. Another thing is, earlier when this problem did not exist, the camera would say "PC CONNECT" on its LCD when it was connected using firewire. It does not say that anymore and the computer does not detect anything. I have tried all settings through the camera and installed all possible drivers (canon doesnt even have a video driver, its just supposed to work through the firewire card). So someone please help and tell me what i should do next? Should i invest in a new firewire cable? and then maybe a new card? Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

[Skyman]

hmm my gut reaction is to get the cable checked. take the cable to a good computer shop or camera shop and see if they can test it. otherwise then look at the camera's firewire port and then the card.

[Peter_AUS]

If the card is being recognised, it is more likely to do with either the camera or the cable. First Try and new cable. Have you looked to see if there are any conflicts on the computer at all, with IO and IRQ's. Usually with my experience, you have to connect the camera to the computer before you turn it on have the camera turned on as well, that way windows sees it through the connection at start up and loads appropriate drivers. With the Plug and Play side of Windows, it doesn't always work. Software confilicts will cause this type of problem.

[extinguisher]

heyy guys..thanks for the replies....sorry i was trying my best to troubleshoot this thing...well i took it to henry's (sells cameras and camcorders)...they connected the camera using my cable to their imac...and it wasn't detected. unfortunately, they didn't have spare cables lying around as their store had just recently moved, so i bought a new cable from a computer store, came home and tried it out, and it still doesn't work ... so i guess it is the camera. yah, i tried all the irq stuff, and starting the camera with the machine etc etc...none worked...i guess it is my camera then...and worse part is, its out of warranty now and i don;t know what to do. i guess i'll be looking at those capture boards which allow you to capture video using a s-video cable and composite audio. i can still do that so that should work fine? i have never worked with a tv-tuner / capture card. i have a couple options there i guess..any knowledge on those topics would be greatly appreciated. thanks again

[Peter_AUS]

Canopus and Pinnacle.

Just for interest, have you checked the manual for troublshooting this problem. Are there any settings that need to be turned on, in the camera menus.

Have you looked at the Components to see if there are any yellow ? marks. Right click on the my computer icon and check the hardware, you never know there just might be something doing it, but it does sound like the camera maybe the problem. Although I have had this problem and it is hard to troubleshoot it.

[extinguisher]

Yah, I have tried all the settings in the camera and checked all hardware problems in the computer, and all components seem to be working fine. One good indicator that the camera is the problem is the fact that it does not say "DV IN" when the cable is connected to the computer. If the problem was with the cable, then it should have said that in the cameras screen and it still doesn't. I guess I will just have to invest in a capture card. The ATI TV Wonder Pro is looking good to me as it accepts S-Video and Composite audio inputs too. Thanks again for the help everyone.

[chrisboarder]

Hi, first post for me. I posted on some skate filming sites...those people had no clue about all this stuff. I read the whole thing and...still have a problem. I'm running Xp home edt. trying to import with Premiere Pro, and the ZR50MC is (not) the camera of choice. It's not even my camera. Anyways.

"DV IN" is flashing...i assume that is abnormal since it only started flashing after i pushed on the brand new Firewire cable that i bought today.

When i go to the Security Center it says the firewall is on and cannot turn it off from here. When I go to Network Connections and left click 1394. It says the firewall is disconnected. This confuses me to say the least.

anyways, this is not fun, I have to give the camera back tommorrow and if I dont get the footage captured then it seems like I'm gonna have to use ethier Imovie or Windows Movie Maker. Blech...no thanks. So any help would be appreciated ASAP.

Oh yeah, I tried to copy the footage to the Memory Card, and it went through all the steps, and when I went to save the files the video files are not there.

[MJS]

I realize that this is probable too late, but was the camcorder being recognized by Windows? Once you have properly connected and let Windows load the drivers, you should be able to see the Camera under my computer. If this is not happening, your camera is not being seen by your PC. Make sure that you have run all updates, un firewall the firewire, reboot the machine and try again. You could always try the canon web-site to see if there have been any similar problems.

Good luck,

[Peter Vince]

I had this same problem with xp sp1 and can't get a handle on it. Any suggestions . . .

Camera says dv in
control panel says firewire port working
but
no capture in either premiere elements 6.5. or pro 1.5 or movie maker or windv

other forums say it's a fried connector on the camera. I'm a high school vid prod teacher working with sony trv 19, hc30, hc 85 vx2100 and panasonic gs33 cameras on 8 different work stations--xp and 2000 -- swapped out cables, swapped out pci firewire cards, switched slots in the computer--or all my cameras fried?????????

thanks for any help

[kkolbo]

other forums say it's a fried connector on the camera. I'm a high school vid prod teacher working with sony trv 19, hc30, hc 85 vx2100 and panasonic gs33 cameras on 8 different work stations--xp and 2000 -- swapped out cables, swapped out pci firewire cards, switched slots in the computer--or all my cameras fried?????????

thanks for any help

Did all the cameras stop at once or one by one? Did you change anything in the computers before they failed? Are you computers connected to a network where they might have received an update remotely?

Letting students plug and unplug firewire devices is very risky. The 6 pin side can be inserted backwards with a little pressure reversing the polarity of the power and cooking the device on the other end. I lost five tape decks this year to that. I am having them repaired, adding two more and putting firewire switches in to share the decks between two dedicated stations to prevent the problem again. The decks failed one by one over a two week period before I figured out that the plug was in reversed each time I found one dead.

That is why I am asking if they just all magically stopped on the same day or failed in quick succession. I would either bring in a known working camera and try it on a station, or take a camera home to station that you know connects with another device to see if you can eliminate one cause. You have to have one confirmed working item to trouble shoot a system.

[littlebit]

Hope it is okay that I post this here, as I have the similar problem with a JVC GR-D90U camcorder.

Shortly after I got the camera I took video and downloaded it via firewire connection. All worked fine. Left the camera sit for several months, and now tried to connect it again and the computer does not seem to recognize the camera. Firewire card taken out and reinserted, also tried same camcorder same cable different computer. Tried same camcorder different cable same computer. Tried different cable different computer and nothing. The only thing I can think of is that on all three computers that were tried with it, the only thing the same is that all have the latest windows XP updates.

Does anyone know if an up-date for Windows XP could affect camcorders? My camcorder is not suppose to need any special drivers, suppose to be found by XP.

Thanks

[Skyman]

Only way to test it for sure is to try a different camera with your connection. I doubt that it would b xp, especially since you tried it on a mac as well. it might be time to send it to a technician

[montypl]

I've been having the same sort of connection problems since installing WinXP Service Pack 2. I'm curious if any one else that has installed XP2 is having the same problems? A friend gave me a utility today that's supposed to fix a problem with firewire connections called 'ubcore'. You might want to google for this utility and try it out.

Hope it is okay that I post this here, as I have the similar problem with a JVC GR-D90U camcorder.

Shortly after I got the camera I took video and downloaded it via firewire connection. All worked fine. Left the camera sit for several months, and now tried to connect it again and the computer does not seem to recognize the camera. Firewire card taken out and reinserted, also tried same camcorder same cable different computer. Tried same camcorder different cable same computer. Tried different cable different computer and nothing. The only thing I can think of is that on all three computers that were tried with it, the only thing the same is that all have the latest windows XP updates.

Does anyone know if an up-date for Windows XP could affect camcorders? My camcorder is not suppose to need any special drivers, suppose to be found by XP.

Thanks

[mullens101]

Hi everyone, first post here. I have a canon ZR25MC, I've captured video with it via firewire many times in the past. It had been a while since last capturing video. Now, XP does not detect the camera. I've tried different firewire cards and cables, I've tried going back to Win 2K, Windows XP, Windows XP SP1, and again to Windows XP SP2. The only difference in the operating system changes is that in Win2k, the computer locks while the camera is connected, as soon as it's discinnected, things work fine. I even tried using the ubCore firewire stack mentioned in an earlier reply. In desperation, I've even hooked the camera to a Linux PC ... at least I get more info. The firewire driver in linux is throwing "Ack 0xffffffff, Response Code 0x4".

When connecting a neighbors new panasonic camera to the same computers using the same cable, things work great. I'm certain the issue is with the camera. At this point I've made a few inquiries to Canon and some repair shops to get an idea of how much fixing the camera will cost.

[MJS]

Have you checked with Canon to see if they have a new driver for the camera. Microsoft's technet pages might also be a help.

Good Luck.

[Speedy2]

I've been having the same sort of connection problems since installing WinXP Service Pack 2. I'm curious if any one else that has installed XP2 is having the same problems? A friend gave me a utility today that's supposed to fix a problem with firewire connections called 'ubcore'. You might want to google for this utility and try it out.

I also have been having problems as of late. Used to use my Canon Elura2MC with Video Studio with no problems whatsoever on my Monster desktop system and my laptop. Just a couple of days ago I try and hook my camcorder up to both systems and I can't seem to get either to recognise the camcorder. Both worked before and since I have upgraded to XP SP2 neither work so figure its either my firewire port on the camera or SP2 thats causing the problem. I have an external harddrive which connects thru firewire and it has no problems. Strange there are so many people having the same type of problems so I am leaning towards a problem created with SP2.

Anyone finds a solution please post. I was hoping to do a Christmas DVD for the kids of past moments but I'm not having much luck. Would rather not feed the video thru my AIW 9800.

Speedy2

[MJS]

I'm going to make a call into Microsoft tomorrow and see if I can find a fix for the problem. I'll post something one way or another by the afternoon.

Michael

[MJS]

I checked with the Microsoft site last night. While there were some issues with multiple firewire ports, they seem to be fixed. Two of my students have updated to SP2, are using Canon ZR series cameras and aren't having any problems. The only thing that I can think of is having you re-run the windows update and check with Canon to see if you have any newer drivers, eventhough Windows supposedly should see the device. I'll keep looking.

Michael

[Speedy2]

Well I found a post on another forum with many people having the same problem as myself. Seems that there is a problem with SP2 and some people are reverting back to the SP1 drivers. Here's the thread. I haven't had much luck getting mine to work even after the suggestions.

http://forum.digital-digest.com/arch...c/42557-1.html

Speedy2

[freako]

Yet another case here. I am not a newb either. I have successfully captured DV since the first consumer boards showed up from ADS. I have helped numerous friends making "stupid" mistakes, but now I am stumped.

My Sony D8 camera has worked captured flawlessly since inception (1999). Last week I reformatted (XPSP2) and the camera is no longer recognized. The firewire board shows up in device manager. However, the camera no longer indicates DV when pluggen in.

Since it coincided with a reinstall, I am puzzled. I moved PCI slots but no dice. The timing of problems indicates software issues, but XP is generally idiot proof plug and play these days, so suspects are also cable and camera itself. But cables and cameras generally don't break spontaneously. Each suspect equally unlikely.

I will do the Sherlock Holmes thing and narrow the problem down by trying the cam on a different PC, and maybe borrow a cam and try it on my PC. In the meanwhile, any ideas/opinions? Puzzling and frustrating for sure.

[tristan]

Yet another case here. I am not a newb either. I have successfully captured DV since the first consumer boards showed up from ADS. I have helped numerous friends making "stupid" mistakes, but now I am stumped.

My Sony D8 camera has worked captured flawlessly since inception (1999). Last week I reformatted (XPSP2) and the camera is no longer recognized. The firewire board shows up in device manager. However, the camera no longer indicates DV when pluggen in.

Since it coincided with a reinstall, I am puzzled. I moved PCI slots but no dice. The timing of problems indicates software issues, but XP is generally idiot proof plug and play these days, so suspects are also cable and camera itself. But cables and cameras generally don't break spontaneously. Each suspect equally unlikely.

I will do the Sherlock Holmes thing and narrow the problem down by trying the cam on a different PC, and maybe borrow a cam and try it on my PC. In the meanwhile, any ideas/opinions? Puzzling and frustrating for sure.

I Have been on the net all day like you and have found nothing. I first noticed the problem because my ipod was not being detected anymore. I am also running WinXp SP2 and after doing all the updates the problems creeped in. I thought it was an ipod problem and searched the net for a fix. Then I tried my Sony and connected it to the firewire card with no action just the words "DV IN" on the display. I am now pretty sure the problem is the firewire card issue with Windows. I went out and bought a new firewire card and the thing was it even worked for a week. Now I have the same problem all over again. Does anyone have a fix???? I read the link at micosoft but it didn't fix my problem. http://support.microsoft.com/?id=885222

[Speedy2]

I just noticed this fix from microsoft which was posted on another site. I'm at work at the moment but when I get home I will try.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...en&Hash=XKC4S9

Hope this works for everyone.

Speedy2

[glenpinn]

hi there.

i was using my dv camcorder up till i installed winxp sp2, then my firewire went down.
this was a common problem with 75% of all dv camcorders being used with sp2, all firewire drivers got disabled by sp2 and the best fix was to simply reformat your pc with fresh install with new sp2 installed.
the original problem arose only when people already had sp1, then installed sp2 and sp2 drivers caused a conflict with the sp1 firewire drivers.
some experts came up with so-called fixes, but in most cases they never worked, and microsoft knew about the problem but wouldnt aknowledge it till they got a lot of preasure put on them to make a fix.
i just reformated and installed sp2 and my firewire was fine, so if u ever have a problem again, remember just reformat, its easier than messing about looking at other options, in most cases its nearly always going to be a driver problem or a microsoft issue rather than hardware/software related.
i spent 6 weeks trying to fix this mess, if i had known that it was a driver conflick between sp1 and sp2, i would have reformatted at the start.

anyway, just wanted to let u know what most of the problems were caused by.

cheers.....GLEN

[Nien]

OK. I've had enough!!!

If I can't find a solution to this problem I'm going to drown myself in Bill Gates' pool!

In short, my Panasonic DV camera worked fine on my PC with XP and SP1.
I now have a Sony Vaio laptop, also running XP but with SP2 loaded. Now the camera isn't detected. I've installed hotfixes, uninstalled SP2, formatted, reverted to factory settings, camera not detected, reinstalled SP2. STILL NO JOY!!!

Does anyone have a solution? If not my hardware is going to find itself neatly inserted into a microsoft help desk employee's orifice!

[Nien]

Oh and by the way...

Speedy, that link looks promising. I only wish I could get through the Microsoft validation process