Vista Does Not Recognize Cannon ZR950

[coogrr]

I have connected the Cannon miniDV tape camcorder to my Vista Home Premium pc via a 4-pin to 6-pin Firewire cable. The camera is not recognized.

Any suggestions?

[Ferrit]

http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/com...ders&os=64-bit

[CCT]

Perhaps using the proper 4x4 pin cable?

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...delSuppliesAct

I note, however, that the site Ferrit linked says Windows 32 or 64 bit has a 'free download required' BUT the actual site says none available for ANY Windows OS.

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...nloadDetailAct

Then they say;

"Microsoft Windows Vista compatibility information for supported Canon digital video cameras using memory cards

This model is supported for direct connection downloads of still images using the drivers built into Windows Vista

To download video via the 4 pin DV/HDV (IEEE-1394) terminal no additional drivers are needed as the drivers are built into Windows Vista. Video editing may be performed by using a variety of 3rd party programs that are available from software vendors or by using the Windows Movie Maker application built into Windows Vista Home Premium and Vista Ultimate."

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...pportDetailAct

Anyway, try the 4x4.

[coogrr]

Unfortuately my pc has only 6-pin Firewire ports. Why is it that everything with Vista is so difficult? I cannot record from a CD on my Vista machine but it is no problem on my old XP machine. Only about 60% of my software works with Vista. I sure hope Win 7 fixes these problems or I will have to go buy a Mac.

[CCT]

One poster here; http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache...&ct=clnk&gl=ca was having Vista install issues and called their 800 number and got help.

[coogrr]

Well I found a temporary workaround. I took my zr950 and my Firewire cable to our local high school. Connected it to one of the Macs in the computer lab. Worked just like Plag n Play is supposed to work. Uploaded my video, burned it to a DVD, and then was able to load the video off the DVD into my Vista pc.

Makes one question if the Mac is really the way to go for those of us that are not technical gurus.

[slgrieb]

Coogrr, I think you're going to find that most devices that aren't currently supported under Vista aren't much, if any, more likely to have Windows 7 support. Really, the situation for Macs isn't any better. There just comes a time when manufacturers don't want to spend money writing new drivers for certain products.

[Niclo Iste]

I agree with SL, technology gets outdated and it needs to be retired. I had a great Sidewinder controller for gaming. It's not made for anything past XP and was originally intended for 98. I don't even use it anymore because it's too much trouble to make work with vista. It served its purpose for many years and now I should just ignore it and am considering finding a replacement which most likely will serve me better with more functionality.

[coogrr]

Outdated Technology? My computer is three years old with Vista Home Premium and my Video Camera is one year old. Seems like they should play together nicely.

[Niclo Iste]

Well if the camera is only a year old (which I didn't research) then I'd say most likely you're limited to what the manufacturer set in place. If it works with a mac really I'm not overly surprised or impressed because Macs are intended to be media based computers used for photo and video design. I won't be able to offer any advice on this as I quit my media work over 10 years ago and only have knowledge on devices pertaining to equipment from that era.

[coogrr]

I was able to connect to another PC that was running Vista Home Premium. So I started to dig into my computer. Turns out the motherboard was NOT configured for Firewire. It had the ports but they were not connected to the motherboard.

Have ordered a Firewire PCI card and, hopefully, that will cure the problem.