[coopdawg1]

I recently got a digital camera and when I connected it a few weeks ago everything worked fine. Today when I connected it, my computer would not read the camera. I got the following error message when I try to connect my camera
"cannot detect camera. Check connection to camera then retry".

I have checked and double checked the connection and everything is fine, the camera also connects fine to my roommates computer.

I have uninstalled and reinstalled the camera software from the CD.

When trying to access the digital camera driver I also get this message.
"Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing"

I have run out of any more ideas, any help would greatly be appreciated.

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Coopdawg1,

The fact that your camera continues to work on your roommate's PC tells me that the problem is NOT with the camera. What make/model is your camera? What make/model is your computer? If your computer has multiple USB connectors, have you tried plugging the camera into a DIFFERENT USB port on your PC? USB Ports are prone to problems when people attempt to JAM cords into them the wrong way - which can damage them and render them useless. If there's a different port on your PC, try using another port.

Also - I would go into Control Panel on your PC, click on Add/Remove Programs, find the software for your camera and UNINSTALL it. After this, re-boot your PC. Re-install the software from the original disk and plug your camera in when prompted. Follow the instructions that came with your camera as some camera's require you to install the software FIRST and others have you plug in the camera and install the software AFTER the camera is attached and turned ON.

Again - if the camera is working on your roommate's PC, but not YOUR PC, then something's either wrong with the USB port, driver or camera specific driver on YOUR PC.

Hope this helps.

- John

[John Hook]

Coopdawg1,

The fact that your camera continues to work on your roommate's PC tells me that the problem is NOT with the camera. What make/model is your camera? What make/model is your computer? If your computer has multiple USB connectors, have you tried plugging the camera into a DIFFERENT USB port on your PC? USB Ports are prone to problems when people attempt to JAM cords into them the wrong way - which can damage them and render them useless. If there's a different port on your PC, try using another port.

Also - I would go into Control Panel on your PC, click on Add/Remove Programs, find the software for your camera and UNINSTALL it. After this, re-boot your PC. Re-install the software from the original disk and plug your camera in when prompted. Follow the instructions that came with your camera as some camera's require you to install the software FIRST and others have you plug in the camera and install the software AFTER the camera is attached and turned ON.

Again - if the camera is working on your roommate's PC, but not YOUR PC, then something's either wrong with the USB port, driver or camera specific driver on YOUR PC.

Hope this helps.

- John

[coopdawg1]

It is a Canon Powershot SD 300 camera and Toshiba m45-s265 laptop

I tried connecting it to different USB ports and the same thing happens. The laptop makes a sound like it found new hardware but nothing is showing up in my computer.

I uninstalled all the Canon Software but when I tried to reinstall it from the CD i got a message saying that a Canon Utilities Photostitch 3.1 program was already installed on the computer and then the rest of the installation would be cancelled.

I have searched for this program but have not been able to find anything.

[John Hook]

coopdawg1,

Do other USB devices (USB Flash Drives, mice, external hard drives, etc.) work OK on your Toshiba PC? I ask because perhaps the Windows XP USB drivers are not properly installed on your PC.

Does the camera have to be turned on in a certain MODE when you were able to connect it to your roommate's PC?

Check out this page - as it contains a windows XP specific driver for your camera:

http://www.opendrive...e-download.html

Most cameras with USB connections just look like removeable flash drives to Windows XP when you plug them in. Some, however, require that you install proprietary drivers to access the files on the camera.

If none of this helps, check out cannon's support site at:

http://www.usa.canon...p;modelid=10599

Hope this helps

[gutterman]

I know one simple issue that is similar to this is if you plugged in the device before plugging in the driver. In the past camera's have been finicky about being recognized if the driver wasn't installed prior to the device being connected.

Go to My Computer and Right Click, Click Properties. Go to Device Manager without the device connected. Plug the device in and see if any new devices appear in the device manager window. This will at least tell you if the PC sees the device. If something pops up, I'd disable it, disconnect the device and reinstall all software prior to plugging the device in.

However, if your applications don't see it, I don't imagine the PC seeing it in the device manager. You may need to look for a faulty driver (indicated by a yellow exclamation point icon) and disable it.

[coopdawg1]

Other USB devices do work in the same USB port that I am trying to insert the camera into.

The camera has to be in playback mode when plugged into the computer.

I have installed the windows xp driver but nothing has changed.

in the device manager the computer is recognizing it as "digital still camera"

the biggest issue i am having now is reinstalling the software. It keeps telling me that i already have some program installed and then aborts the rest of the installation.

[gutterman]

For what I can think of:

1) With that driver for "Digital Still Camera," I would uninstall it, the driver could be corrupted.
2) Try locating the uninstall launcher in your program files for the camera itself. If you haven't tried to uninstall the software completely from Control Panel, you may be able to do it this way. If it won't let you install, it may be because a complete uninstall was never run.
3) Open up the task manager and make sure when you install that there are no obvious background processes related to the camera runniing.

Maybe someone else could support my other theory, but if the application was uninstalled trhough the Control Panel, you may be able to delete the Program File folder to make sure no trace of this camera is in your program files. Then start from scratch.

Hope this helps somewhat.

[John Hook]

coopdawg1,

Not sure if you've resolve this issue yet. If not, are you able to use other USB devices (flash drives, mice, etc.) on the computer where your camera is NOT working? If not - this would point to an issue with the USB hardware and/or drivers on your PC. When troubleshooting these problems, you always need to use a process of elimination.

Let me/use know if you've had any luck either way.

- John Hook