PC no longer recognising digital camera in USB port

Hello,

I don't know if this is a hardware or software problem, but I have been using a Caplio RR120 Digital Camera successfully for two years, with my PC, which was built by a local company (England) and is not a Packard or a Dell !!

My camera works fine on another PC.

When I used to plug my camera into the USB port, a new folder would come up in My Computer .. called F: Removable Disk and I could load my photos from there.

But my PC now thinks the camera is a Mass Storage Device and just won't work.

When I plug it in, at bottom right of screen icons appears (that never used to happen) and the following pop up, in succession,
Caplio RR120
USB Mass Storage Device
Camera Digital Camera USB Device
Disk Drive
Then says my new hardware is ready to use.
Then the USB Mass Storage Device appears in Device Manager
--

Recently, I installed the Windows Backup facility from the Windows CD but have not used it as I don't have an external drive. I wonder if this has changed some setting in the Registry or somewhere to make my PC think it has a Mass Storage Device somewhere? I've uninstalled the Backup facility, but this has not solved it.

Is anyone familiar with the way the Windows Backup facility changes the Registry? Could it have put any of the following in and would the removal of the ?Unknown Devices help?

If anyone knows of a Forum with more Registry expertise please let me know?

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HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\U SB

Unknown Device
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\U SB\Vid_000 0&Pid_0000\5&3b769765&0&1

Unknown Device
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\U SB\Vid_000 0&Pid_0000\5&3b769765&0&2

Optical Mouse
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\U SB\Vid_046 d&Pid_c00e

Mass Storage
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\U SB\Vid_05c a&Pid_0102

Film Scanner
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\U SB\Vid_277 0&Pid_0119

Digital Camera
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\U SBSTOR\Dis k&Ven_CAMERA&Prod_DIGITAL_CAMERA&Rev_1.00

ControlSet001 and ControlSet002 are the same.

This can happen - windows kinda gets confused and yes it probably was the backup software that caused it - you don't need to go burying in the registry here is the mskb fix

Thank you for your advice.

Let's say, basically, I don't know what I'm doing here ! But I did look at the link and then had Disk Management in front of me as I plugged in the camera to see what would happen.

It came up as an F: Partition underneath the C: Partition (where C: is my Hard Drive). It wasn't showing as a removable drive. (I'll put an attachment in of screen shot and hope it's not too big)

So I changed the F: to a G: and still nothing is showing up under 'My Computer' so I can't access the photos.

As I said .. doh !!

(A friend has suggested a complete reinstall of Windows, but I feel like deleting all the USB entries in the Reg and letting it find itself again ... err, hmm?)

ok, that's fine.... I wonder if it is off the side on my computer...
Try making sure it shows up in disk management, then, open my computer and click on the "folders" icon next to the search at the top of my computer. That will change the left hand side to show a list of drives and folders.... is it in that list?

Thank you, NooNoo,

I did as you suggested and was it showing in Folders list?

Short answer, No !

And having just had a root filling at Dentist, feel like shooting the PC, but ... er.... any more thoughts gratefully accepted.

I can feel a reinstall coming on ... never done one of those either.

Wish I'd kept the Restore Point before I installed backup, but it was a while ago and hadn't used camera since .. would have been so much easier.

just try this


Start, run, type in the drive letter followed by a full colon eg

G:

click ok (or hit enter)

What happens?

BTW feel your pain had a few of those in my time...

Well NooNoo, having looked at your profile, I'm not sure whether to say you clever lad or lady! But your birthday's the same day as I had my 19yr old lovely cat put down in 2004 - more about her on my website.

Anyway, where was I? When I typed G: in Run, it said it wasn't there, so I plugged the camera in and hey presto, it brought up a screen saying Removable Disk (G: ) with all my photos available to copy.

The picture that I really did want last Tuesday is attached, all welcome !

But before reading this post, in desparation, I arranged for my friend Ellie, to come over on Tuesday and we're going to do a full Reinstall. I've had the PC since August 2002, so won't do it any harm.

Hmm, Ohh, Umm, Ahh !! Thanks again.

Brilliant- yes the run trick will only work when the camera is plugged in and switched on - same rules for my computer. It just means that there is something stopping the icon displaying in my computer.

And for the record, I'm a clever lady :)

Well, for interest, you are a very clever lady...

Because I posted this in one forum, endless try this, that, the other, nothing solved it.

Posted in another forum, no replies.

And you solve it in 3 postings ..

So if I get any more problems, to here I will return.

Now I want to know what is stopping it showing in My Computer .. but by Tuesday hopefully, there'll be nothing left, arrrggh !! Will I ever come back.

Bye for now ... :) :) :)

See if the drive letter is being hidden...
Go to regedit:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Policies\Explorer

Do you have a key called NoDrives? If so what is it set to?

Hello again, I thought you may have taken a rest, as if all goes to plan, the reinstall on Tue/Wed/Thu/Fri/Sat/Sun, how long will it take me(!) should sort it out.

Anyways, here it is :

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Policies\Explorer

NoDrives REG_BINARY e2 ff ff 03

ok the NoDrives key is what is causing the problem. Just to be sure, right click that key and save it somewhere you can find it later. If this goes wrong then you can double click it to put it back in the reg.

Having backed up the the key - delete it. It should be immediately effective, if not, reboot.

This place is my rest from two kids and a degree course :)

Erm hello, also within HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Policies\Explorer

there was :
NoDriveAutoRun REG_BINARY e2 ff ff 03
NoDriveTypeAutoRun REG_DWORD 0x00000091 (145)
NoLowDiskSpaceChecks REG_DWORD 0x00000001 (1)

so I Exported the Explorer key and only deleted the entry NoDrives REG_BINARY e2 ff ff 03

Then YES, the G: Removable Drive showed in 'My Computer' but didn't have an Auto-Play feature as before, but I can get to the photos.

I don't think I mentioned nothing was working on USB! So I thought, 'maybe my Webcam, not that I use it much now, might work', cos that wasn't working either, so I reinstall the driver for that and as I thought, test it on MSN Messenger and that's still NOT working.

So Tuesday, here we come.......

I daren't reinstall the software for my Slide Scanner, cos that's bound not to work either. Good job my printer's parallel.

But I sure am impressed ! And timing, I must go for a walk now and is it coming out of school time, or hmmm, maybe the kids are older than that :) ..

hmmm the only key should have been NoDrives... the others do other things...

NoDriveTypeAutoRun REG_DWORD 0x00000091 (145) put this key back to enable the autorun with a new value 0x00000095

Hello,

I set it to 95, rebooted, but oh no ......

Gonna have to show this in two stages.
First picture shows the options when I right click on the G: Removable Drive

Second picture shows that PC still thinks this is a Mass Storage Device and not a Digital Camera.

Tuesday ???

That's correct - it's what my olympus c750 does.
It is a mass storage device - inside your camera is a flash drive of some description. On the usb safe removal, it states it is a camera - but it says its a mass storage device as the root because that is what it is looking at. Now if you had a piece of software that came with the camera, it may have changed that for you - have you tried reinstalling that?

Hmm, no, the software only contains a driver for Windows 98 (I have XP) and the camera manual, which I have as a booklet anyway, and a couple of photo imaging programs, I use Adobe Photoshop Elements instead.

The driver for XP is intended to come from within XP, so I don't have any of the software on my PC.

Only 3 days left and the hammer is going to fall ... but I'm really grateful that at least, I can get the photos off now.

Let us know how it goes.