# Solved: Windows XP does not recognize camera



## roxybaby (Dec 14, 2008)

Hello,

I own a Canon Powershot A630. I've had it for awhile and until last week it was working fine with my laptop -- I'd plug it in via USB and the Microsoft Camera & Scanner wizard would run.

Unfortunately my laptop no longer recognizes the camera. I ran a registry cleaner and I think it (or I) may have deleted the autoplay for my camera. I do remember the camera trying to re-install itself when I plugged it in but there was an error. Now when I try plugging my camera in via USB nothing happens...the transfer light on the camera blinks for a second and then stops. If I try running the Microsoft Camera and Scanner wizard manually it says it can't find the camera.

I know this is NOT a problem with the camera because it works fine with other computers. It's only broken with mine.  Can anyone help me?

Thank you.


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## telecom69 (Oct 12, 2001)

Try plugging the camera in before you boot up and see if it gets recognized then ....


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## roxybaby (Dec 14, 2008)

Thank you telecom69. I tried that and unfortunately nothing happened.


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## telecom69 (Oct 12, 2001)

Sounds to me as if the camera drivers have got corrupted some how,best thing to do would be to go to the Canon website and look for new drivers ...there is an article from microsoft here about the problem but as usual its a bit long winded http://support.microsoft.com/kb/810609....

You can dwnload drivers here http://software.canon-europe.com/


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## roxybaby (Dec 14, 2008)

Hi telecom69. Thank you for pointing me to the article -- I did try going to the Canon site to download drivers. If you look up my camera (powershot a630) it says there are no drivers for Windows XP because 'none are required'...just my luck. I tried downloading a legacy driver just to see what it would do but the older driver would not install. I agree that it sounds like the drivers got corrupted but since my computer doesn't even recognize the camera I don't know where to go to delete whatever is corrupted.


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## telecom69 (Oct 12, 2001)

At the moment I dont have anything else to offer Im afraid,except to ask is the usb connection working ok? I mean will anything else work from it just to eliminate the socket not being the problem ? if I can find anything more I will post back ...


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## roxybaby (Dec 14, 2008)

Yes, the port is working fine. My printer, mouse and iPod all work normally through all 3 USB ports on my laptop. I appreciate your help telecom69.


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## telecom69 (Oct 12, 2001)

Have you thought about doing a system restore going back to when the camera was working ok? its best to not use registry cleaners really,they can cause all sort of problems,dont know which one you used, if you think it may be this, but it should have some sort of back up that would allow you to undo what you had done perhaps ...system restore would be the best way to go at the moment,or you might want to try setting the camera up again as if from new if you still have the discs etc that came with it ....


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## roxybaby (Dec 14, 2008)

OK, I just tried a system restore. The good news is that my laptop discovered the camera as new hardware. The bad news is "There was an error during installation. Your new hardware may not work correctly." It is still not working correctly. No change.


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## telecom69 (Oct 12, 2001)

Crickey  at least its geting recognized now :up: so its looks like we are back with the corrupted drivers,last thing I have to offer now is that you go into device manager and look for the camera then uninstall and re-install from there,it will probably have an exclamation mark next to it,indicating a problem ....


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## roxybaby (Dec 14, 2008)

Hmm. Now it keeps making the chime noise like I plugged in the camera, but then when the scanner/camera wizard pops up the laptop immediately makes the chime like I disconnected it. Something weird is definitely up. Could I have a virus causing this?


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## telecom69 (Oct 12, 2001)

At least its getting better all the time,who knows about whether you have a virus causing this its possible of course, do a virus scan but not with your regular scanner use this one http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner it can take a while but its one of the best available ......


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## Hughv (Jul 22, 2006)

Can you see this camera in My Computer?


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## roxybaby (Dec 14, 2008)

Hi Hughv, sorry for the delay in replying. No, I cannot see the camera in My Computer.


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## Hughv (Jul 22, 2006)

You might try contacting Canon support:
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/c...ortDetailTabAct&fcategoryid=113&modelid=14108


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## PopPicker (Sep 21, 2004)

If I was you I'd plug it into a friends PC first. Just to make sure it's not the camera or the lead.

If it is, then just get a card reader and that will solve your problems.


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## Hughv (Jul 22, 2006)

PopPicker said:


> If I was you I'd plug it into a friends PC first. Just to make sure it's not the camera or the lead.
> 
> If it is, then just get a card reader and that will solve your problems.


See the first post:
"I know this is NOT a problem with the camera because it works fine with other computers"


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## Cookiegal (Aug 27, 2003)

You could try running the MS autoplay repair wizard and see if it can repair it:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...B6-E8FA-45C4-A171-1B389CFACDAD&displaylang=en


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## roxybaby (Dec 14, 2008)

Hi Cookiegal,

I did download the autoplay fix wizard, however it didn't really do anything for me. On the first screen it said all of my global settings were "OK" and then when I select my C drive to fix Autoplay I get a message that "this type of drive does not support Autoplay" and my only option is to finish. It's quite frustrating.


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## Cookiegal (Aug 27, 2003)

Try the third to last post in this thread:

http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=14...k=t&sd=a&sid=c3e6e500f07e1e6890da7b77426fcbbf


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## roxybaby (Dec 14, 2008)

Hi Cookiegal, 

I can't get my laptop to recognize that the camera is plugged in. Sometimes it will chime like it's plugged in but then immediately chimes like it's been unplugged. Is there a way to force my computer to search for the camera? Just to reiterate I know this isn't an issue with my USB ports because other peripherals are working fine through USB.

Thank you for your help. I appreciate your suggestions.


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## Cookiegal (Aug 27, 2003)

Do you have an external drive or some other USB device you can plug in and see if it gets recognized or if it's just the camera?


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## roxybaby (Dec 14, 2008)

Yep, my external HD works fine, so does my printer via USB.


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## Cookiegal (Aug 27, 2003)

Was there any software that came with the camera? Perhaps installing it will restore whatever is needed.


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## roxybaby (Dec 14, 2008)

Hi Cookiegal,

I do have Canon software that came with the camera. A friend of mine also suggested installing some photo software (like Picasa) and then uninstalling it to see if that resolves the issue. I will try later tonight and report back.

Thank you again for all of your suggestions!


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## Cookiegal (Aug 27, 2003)

You don't normally need to install the software but it might restore something that's needed. At least, that's what we're hoping for.


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## roxybaby (Dec 14, 2008)

Hi Cookiegal,

That worked! I installed the Canon software and then uninstalled it, and now my laptop recognizes my camera again! Thank you much for sticking with me. Just in time to download holiday photos too. Cheers.


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## Cookiegal (Aug 27, 2003)

I'm so glad it work. To be honest, I was just winging it as this is not my area of expertise. But I hate giving up and anything's possible. 

Happy Holidays to you!


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