Computer does not recognize camera

[Retiredbill]

My wife took some pictures with her camera but she is unable to load them into the computer. In the first place, the menu does not come up on the screen as it used to. I also tried 2 photo programs and none of them recognized the camera. I even switched the USB port to the one on the front of the box (I have a desktop computer). She uploaded a set of pictures a month ago with o problem. Any suggestions or possible photo loading programs to try. Thank you.

 

[Barman58]

First things first, is the camera fully charged, or on mains power? do you have a second USB cable to use for the transfer? These two items are amongst the most common issues with a "Non Working" Transfer. The next thing to try is another device, a USB pen drive is something that most people these days have access to, and as they do not have a cable it can remove the possibility of a broken cable

You are normally better off using the rear ports as they are directly attached to the motherboard so are less likely to have a bad connection,

The other thing to try is - Does the camera have a removable "SD" or similar memory card? If so you may be able to read it using an adaptor, (assuming that your PC does not include a card reader)

 

[samuria]

What is the camera and is there a setting on camera for USB?

 

[Retiredbill]

The first thing I did was to replace the battery with a fully charged one. No help. I replaced the USB cord with no results. The only other device I have is my smartphone. I connected it to the same USB port and the computer recognized it. The camera doses have an SD card and I'll go thru my junk box to see if by any chance I have an adapter. The camera is a power Shot G11 and I don't know of any USB turn on device or button. She has used the camera numerous times before with no problem. Thank you very much for your prompt and very thorough response.

 

[Barman58]

One thing to check, is if there are more that one connection mode- some cameras can use MTP mode as well as the more traditional connection - you would need to check with the camera manual, for options and how to set these, (most are available online as PDF if you do not have one to hand)

 

[Retiredbill]

The connection we are using is exactly the same one that we used a two weeks ago and it worked fine.

 

[Mellon Head]

Bill,

My camera interfaces to a PC with a certain series of steps, and I see from your manual that yours does too. For your camera the steps are easy:

1. Power off camera
2. Connect the USB interface cable
3. From the manual, press the following button



So, my question is, are you forgetting a step in this case?


The other possibility is that Autoplay has become disengaged from your camera. When a camera is hooked up to a PC, it behaves like a pen drive or "thumb" drive. If it is indeed working, you should be able to reach the camera using Windows Explorer. In the left hand pane, it should show up as a disk drive, with a disk letter and everything. You can then navigate it and get to your pictures that way. Just copy them off the camera as files instead of using the camera's included software.

 

[Retiredbill]

Those are the exact steps we have used in the past 10 or 20 times we have uploaded photos. When connected, the camera does not appear in the drive list in W.E. In fact, there is also no autoplay menu appearing on the screen.

 

[iko22]

I have exactly same problem with a Canon Powershot G9. Had been using the computer to upload my pictures from the G9 for many years, and the transfer had always worked all the time. Then suddenly the computer stopped recognising the camera when I plugged it in to the computer via the USB cable.

When the camera was plugged into computer, the computer would charge the camera's battery (showed up in camera lcd panel) but it would not display the device as available in the Windows operating system.


1. I tried camera on a different computer and it worked fine the very first time. The computer just loaded the device drivers automatically, then I could choose what to do via the auto play (as you'd expect with a working camera and computer).

2. After I plugged camera back into my computer, still nothing. I tried using DISKPART and typed LIST DISK, and the memory card had not showed up there.

3. However I could see the device listed as REMOVABLE MEDIA in the computer's BIOS options screen.



So Bill, if you venture to try all the things as I have done, then I think you would only get as far as me; device displays in BIOS firmware as REMOVABLE MEDIA, yet Windows OS fails to detect device when using Windows Explorer, Auto Play or DISKPART.

A quick check of Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > AutoPlay shows both my G9 camera's as being selected by "Ask me every time".

Picture shows Auto Play setting for G9's.


Does Group Policy have any over-riding settings for media devices? Is there any thing else that would help diagnose the cause of the issue?

 

[Ranger4]

It would seem that the problem might be with the camera.

If you get a USB Hub & Card Reader, you should be able to take the SD card from the camera & put it into the card reader & transfer the photos to your computer.

 

[Retiredbill]

I tried attaching the camera to my laptop using the same USB cord and it worked fine. I can upload the photos to my laptop, store them on a CD and then load them onto my desktop for processing. However that isn't a permanent solution. I made sure that the options in Control Panel, autoplay was the same on both computers. I suspect that there is a problem with the autoplay on my desktop. Does Microsoft have any software upgrade to autoplay?

 

[Ranger4]

Did your Canon Power Shot come with a DVD for software installation, if so, have you installed it & registered it with Canon. Have a look at this Canon website & register the camera & download the latest software. Before you install it Uninstall any previous Canon camera software you have installed.

Install the correct software & also download any instruction manual you might need as well.

PowerShot G11 Support - Firmware, Software & Manuals | Canon Australia

 

[Retiredbill]

I no longer have the software that was provided with the camera. However, my wife uploaded a few hundred photos from the same camera a month ago, so it was working properly. I have run into a second problem. I uploaded the photos to my laptop with no problem. However when I tried to copy them to a DVD, the disc drive would not accept the disc. It told me to insert a proper disc. I tried the same disc in my desktop and it recognized it right away. I then took a disc with software on it and put it in the laptop drive and the drive accepted it. It seems the longer I go the more complicated it gets. Any suggestions?