Digital camera not recognised by computer

[mge456]

Hi, I have Spybot 1.6.0 and since I installed it, my computer (running Vista)no longer recognises the digital camera when I plug it in.

Usually the camera software program starts automatically, now nothing happens. There isn't even an error message displayed.

I've tried looking under the 'blocked processes' section but there is nothing there.

Any suggestions would be gladly received. Thanks.

[Greyfox]

mge456,

I have seen a similar problem recently where Camera window stopped opening automatically when the camera was connected and turned on. Due to other more pressing matters this has not yet been resolved, so there has been no link established at the moment between this problem and Spybot.

In this particular instance the camera connection had been operating correctly for quite some time with Spybot, but there had been updates to Spybot since the last time the connection functioned correctly, and indeed there had also been updates to other software as well.

It is a Canon camera and the software is linked to Zoombrowser, running on XP SP3. Whilst the camera window didn't open automatically, it was found that the camera (device) had been recognised in Start/Control Panel/Scanners and Cameras, and it was possible to manually start the download from Zoombrowser. This suggests the problem may have been a failure to register the (connection) event.

Can you indicate what brand/model of camera you have and whether you had teatimer running at the time when you connected the camera.

[mge456]

Hi, I have a Nikon S210 camera and the camera software program is called 'Nikon Transfer' ver 1.0.2.

I'm sorry I don't know if Tea Timer was running at the time- I hadn't opened Spybot, but it's always running in the background anyway I think..

When I plug in the camera, there is a sound as if the laptop is aware of it, but then nothing happens. Even if I start Nikon Transfer manually, it doesn't register the camera.

I'm sure Spybot must be stopping the program because it thinks it's malicious?

[Greyfox]

mge456.

As far as I know, all of the Spybot immunisation is in the form of passive URL or domain name blocks, that would have nothing to do with a USB camera interface. Teatimer does monitor some processes and registry changes, but if it is not enabled then Spybot is not running until you start it. I have confirmed that the Canon problem I mentioned does occur even if Spybot is not installed, and also that the same camera will connect and download correctly on another XP SP3 computer which also has the same version of Spybot installed.

So if you turn off Teatimer and the problem remains, then you should look elsewhere, though for peace of mind it's not such a big job to un-immunise Spybot, uninstall it and if the problem is still there, reinstall it again.

From your description it sounds like the USB camera connection is probably being recognised, but the "event" mechanism is then not launching the next bit of software, usually a camera window or downloader that looks after pathing and naming of the photo files as they are downloaded. You might try to see whether when the camera is connected you can manually launch the camera window or downloader program (that works in the Canon setup).

Have you tried to obtain Vista specific drivers for the Nikon?
Has anyone mentioned this problem in relation to the Nikon on any of the camera forums.?

If all else fails, you could adopt the approach that many have taken when they have camera download problems, and simply remove the memory card and read it in a card reader.

Sorry I can't offer any more suggestions at the moment.

[mge456]

Thanks for investigating greyfox. The issue is that the camera software worked fine before I was using Spybot- now it doesn't.
I've tried switching off Teatimer but that didn't help either. I've since uninstalled spybot and re-installed the camera software, but now it still doesn't recognise the camera.
I'm rather annoyed that I may have to buy a memory card reader now, when the camera was recognised perfectly well before.
I am still convinced that spybot was the cause of the problem.

Thanks for trying anyway...

[Terminator]

Have you tried looking at the Auto-Run Settings?

[honda12]

Hi mge456,

Just to confirm that this probably isn't a Nikon camera related issue (I have a Nikon S600 and have had no problems connecting)

-Firstly, a stupid question to start off , does the camera appear in My Computer?

-Have you tried connecting the camera to a different usb port on your computer?

[mge456]

Hi, thanks for the posts. In answer to your questions:

a) Yes I have tried the AutoPlay feature, and it is set to automatically use the Nikon software if I plug in the camera.

b) No, the camera is not appearing in My Computer

c) I've tried all four USB ports but to no avail