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Device Manager not recognizing a camera

I have a Canon Powershot S40 camera. I have correctly installed the WIA drivers (on numerous occasions because of this problem!) and I can see that the camera drivers are all there when I check the device manager. However, the camera appears as an 'Unknown Device' and is not recognized.

When I first uninstall then reinstall the drivers then plug the camera in via the USB cable, I see that the camera is recognized by my computer via the little pop up windows in the bottom right of the screen. Alas, nothing much else happens and the Windows Camera and Scanner Wizard does not start up.

It is not a problem with the USB cable nor the drivers as I can successfully connect the camera to my Win XP laptop (my other computer).

Troubleshoots so far have included the usual uninstall/reinstall, right-clicking on 'Unknown Device' and deleting it and also deleting all my USB drivers and reinstalling them. All to no avail.

I do have a Logitech webcam but I have unplugged it now in the hope that that would avert the USB conflict that may have been happening. Again, no joy.

I have contacted Canon and scoured their website(s) for some advice. They have none. They tell me that it is an operating system problem, hence my posting of the question here.

I hope someone can help me.

Thanks,

Jon

SheharyaarSaahil

did u nstall only the drivers for ur camer, or installed any software also came wtih it, if yehs then uninstall it and alse delete the regsitry entries for it form regedit.exe. reboot the system and install the drivers again.....again reboot and now plugin the camera.

SheharyaarSaahil

if still no luck, then try to uninstall the old logitech camera completely from ur system, unplug the camera, usninstall the drievrs, software and registry entries, rebooth the system, then install the drivers and software for the canon camera. reboot and plugin the canon camera.

SheharyaarSaahil

here are the compatible drivers of ur camera with XP:
http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/customer/driverdown.html

download instructions:
http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/customer/windowsxp.html

SheharyaarSaahil

have u installed the logitech camera in ur laptop also??

ASKER

OKay - I just tried the first suggestion which didn't work, so I will now uninstall the Logitech camera via the registry and see if that works....

SheharyaarSaahil

OK......but remember to install the latest drivers for ur camera, u can download them from the link above i gave.

ASKER

No - the LOgitech camera is not installed on my laptop which may be a clue....

ASKER

Yep - I already downloaded the correct, latest driver for my Powershot S40 the other day - v. 3.9.0 which diodn't work as a solution (on its own that is).

SheharyaarSaahil

yes it should be a reason.......coz this type of situation has happened with one of my friend's PC.....he had the Logitech camera installed on his PC, he bought a new Creative Webcam and installed it withour removing thr old one. So he started getting errors with both of the cameras.....then i uninstalled both the cameras, also removed the registry entries, then installe donly one camera at a time. NO Problem since then :)
I think Logitech cameras have not the compatibility to work with other cameras.....as far as my experience =)

ASKER

Just wiped out the Logitech camera (with an uninstall and deletion of registry entries manually), but nothing has changed. My Powershot switches itself on when I plug it in, but nothing happened and I checked device manager again - still appearing as 'Unknown Device'..

...the other weird thing is that there was a time when I used to be able to use both the Logitech and Canon cameras together. The current development is relatively recent.

SheharyaarSaahil

ok check this if can help u:
http://www.expressresponse.com/cgi-bin/progsnp/canon_ps/srchjnnp?search_type=vdocument&search_input=0142.htm&session_id=1070932481.24281.3&search_erproduct=Powershot%5fS40

SheharyaarSaahil

in Device Manager, right click the unknow device and click on install drivers. chooz the SEARCH AUTOMATICALLY option, see what happens??

ASKER

Tried that exact link the other day. As stated: "The PowerShot S30 and S40 should automatically power on when properly connected and the computer is communicating." is exactly what my camera does when I plug it in which tells me that everything in terms of the USB cable and power etc is working okay.

Also, it is worth mentioning, when I click on the '+' next to 'Unknown Device' in Device Manager it reveals 'Powershot S40' so somewhere in my computer it knows that it is connected to my camera, but it just isn't creating a link/device connection to an 'Imaging Device' which is what I believe it should be doing.

ASKER

It says that 'The Wizard could not find a better match.....'

Evidently it sees that there are drivers installed. When I look at the driver details, I can see a bunch of Canon drivers all there and working properly.

SheharyaarSaahil

is ur camera present in ControlPanel>Scanner and Cameras folder??

SheharyaarSaahil

BTW after uninstalling the Logitech camera, did u uninstall the drivers and software for canon camera also, and then reinstalled it ??

and when u right click the yellow "?" in device manager, did it give the option to uninstall ??

ASKER

No. An interestingly, when I click on the 'Add an Imaging Device' button, nothing happens (ie. the wizrd that should start doesn't).

Makes me wonder if somehow my computer has lost it's imaging ability/wizards/drivers or whatever!

ASKER

Yes, I did an uninstall/reinstall of the Canon WIA drivers after the LOgitech uninstall (as well as reboots).

But here is some added weirdness for you: in Device Manager, there is no yellow question mark next to 'Unknown Device' where the camera is located. There are just two grey diamond icons next to both 'UNknown Device' and 'Powershot S40'.

SheharyaarSaahil

ok to find out if it a windows system problem do the following step:

STRAT>RUN type sfc /scannow

note that, u should have the XP CD with u to perform the above step.

ASKER

Did the scannow check. Apparently nothing was worng - I wasn't asked for my XP CD and the process juat happaned and nothing occured (ie. no report etc)....is there a place I can retrieve a report as a result of the scan?

did you check the website, there is an update firmware patch
and I read the manual, you do not need to install drivers for XP for that model cannon
and its on page 20

good luck

Also, trying to go into safemode and removed all image device from device manager, have xp pick it up and install the firmware patch.

http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/customer/pop_up/S40firmware.html

ASKER

Quick question: how can I install the firmware if my camera is not properly being detected? AS mentioned, Imaging Devices in Control Panel isn't finding the camera...

Have you tried to check in safemode if there are multiple installations for the logitech?

ASKER

In safe mode, there is no installations of LOgitech camera as that has been uninstalled successfully. As I previously mentioned, the weird thing about my computer at present is that 'Add an Imaging Device' wizard doesn't even seem to be working when I am in the 'Scanners and Cameras' area of the control panel.

I am pretty sure that my problem doesn't relate to the LOgitech Camera being present. I should reiterate that until relatively recently, my Powershot S40 and my Logitech camera both worked okay on my computer.

Also, to ask my question again: how can I install new firmware on to the Powershot if there is no recognized connection to that device, and indeed it is appearing as an 'Unknown Device' in the Device Manager?

ASKER

Can I also add that I am desperate to get this problem solved before Christmas so I can look at my holiday 'happy snaps' :P...

Megabyte_Computers

I didn't go through all the posts so this might have been covered already. Is the web cam plugged directly into the USB port or possibly a USB hub? Sometimes there is not enough power to power multiple devices. It is a long shot but maybe.

Megabyte_Computers

http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/customer/wiaver390.html
http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/customer/fvu-e.html
http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/customer/RCW_275.html

All the new drivers. I am sure that you have tried these.

http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/customer/RIW_202.html

This is a link to the older drivers and software. Not sure if you have tried this.

ASKER

Webcam is/was plugged directly into the computer - I haven't got a hub attached to my machine.

ASKER

Also, I have installed/reinstalled/uninstalled and reinstalled again all the new drivers but that hasn't made any difference. Doesn't anyone think it is strange that when I go to Scanners and Cameras in the control panel and click on the 'Add an imaging device' button, nothing happens? This is where I think the source of the problem may be - it is almost as if my computer has lost the ability to recognize cameras. If you read through the threads in this problem you will see the discussions regarding the fact that the Powershot S40 appears in Device Manager as an 'Unknown Device' despite having all the drivers properly installed and viewable.......

Curious, have you tried to do a repair in XP?

ASKER

I followed the instructions of one of the other experts to do an SFC /Scannow and nothing seemed to be detected. Apart from that, I haven't done an XP repair. What do you suggest?

SOLUTION

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SheharyaarSaahil

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ASKER

Thanks for all the help people! One question: how best to repair windows? Is there a utility on the XP OS CD?

SheharyaarSaahil

just boot with XP CD, it will give the first setup screen, there will be two options, but u have to choose PRESS "R" to repair,after selecting this option setup will guide u through step by step process to repair ur XP.

BUT REMEMBER, although repairing XP will not remove ur data, but it is always good to bakup all ur personal and necessary data before doing any this type of operation. So just GOOD LUCK =)

SheharyaarSaahil

I think the REPAIR option worked for him, that's why he didn't camo back to report further problems :-|
so i suggest to split the points between Orientgal19 and Me, only if Orientgal19 has no objection, coz the first suggestion of REPAIR was of Orientgal19, and i explained that how can it be done :-)

!! REGARDS !!

ASKER

Okay, many apologies people for not getting back on this one. As it happens, I just spent the last 3 weeks up in Sydney on business and haven't been at my computer since the last post. Hence I haven't done the repair yet and the question is still open. I plan to do the Windows repair in 10 days time (when I get back from a week's holiday) and I will then report on the results.

Again, sorry for letting this one drag on.

Its fine with me, SheharyaarSaahil, as long as it helps Jon fixes his/her problem