Hi,

I have recently bought my first camcorder, a sony HC-19E and have bought and installed a firewire card with help from previous topics on this forum.

The installation appears to have worked as I can see the IEEE1394 HOST CONTROLLER in Device Manager.

The problem I have is that when I plug my camcorder into the firewire port my computer is not recognising it and Pinnacle Studio 8 has the same problem.

I pressume windows should recognise a camcorder connected to a firewire port the same way it recognises something connected to the USB port.

I am using XP and the firewire card is the basic one from Ebuyer that came supplied with a cable.

Im worried the cable may be faulty as I suspect Ebuyer may have sent me a box that has been returned as although it included the PCI card and the cable it did not have the manual that the box said it should include.

I have already tried uninstalling and re-installing the firewire card and have restarted the computer with the camera connected.

Any other ideas?

Many Thanks


James

[MarkE19]

Couple of things that might narrow down what is going on:

Did you put the camcorder into VCR/replay mode? This is how it should be before the software will see the cam.
Try a new cable. It has been stated a few times that the cable some members have had supplied with the card have been knackered!
Did you start the software before the camcorder was connected in VCR mode? If not then try this order.

The camcorder should be listed in 'device manager' but will not be seen in 'My Computer' as a device.

Mark.

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, I knew to have it in Playback mode and I have also tried to start the software first with no luck.

I think it may be the cable. Can you tell me under which heading in device manager my camcorder should appear? Is it under the IEEE1394 section or on its own?

If it is the cable ill try to get Ebuyer to change it or get another one.


James

[MarkE19]

Sorry, I got side tracked while typing my last post. I should have said that the cam must be connected and powered on before starting the software!

The camcorder should be seen under the ieee1394 controller.

Getting a refund or replacement out of eBuyer is easier said than done. You may just find it easier to get a new one.

Mark.

Yes I have heard that about Ebuyer so thats probably what ill have to do.

Yeah I have tried that as well and its still not working.

The camcorder is not showing up in device manager under the 1394 controller. Expanding it just shows the actual device and that cant be expanded.

Do you think its defiantely the cable and not the PCI card?

Is their anything else I can try?


Thanks for your help!

James

[MarkE19]

If the card is installed ok (no '!' in yellow circle besides it in device manager) then I think the most likely cause is the cable.

One other thought - have you installed XP SP2? Do a search on this forum as a few others lost their camcorder once it had been installed. I think it was only with Panasonic cams, but it might give you some pointers.

Mark.

No I havnt got SP2 installed so I guess its the cable.

Another quick point, I dont think its relevant but just in case.

In Pinnacle when I go to the capture screen it says my device isnt connected but when I ok this and try to press capture it gives me the message:

"Sorry Cannot Capture, The Data Rate On Drive C is less than the required rate of 4444 Kbyte/second"

The camera isnt connected as I can do this straight after getting the Not Connected error without touching anything.

Would this have anything to do with the camera not connecting at all?

Thanks For your help


James

I have had exactly the same problem as you, though with a JVC D23 - I bought the same PCI card - as recommended by someone on this board (nice to now learn that they are not that well regarded) - and received an item with no manual. It installs OK, but no action when I connect up the camcorder.

One easy thing you could try is to see if you can get the camera to speak to another PC - e.g. a friend's. This will at least help narrow down the search if it does work on another machine.

Let us know how you get on, I'll post again if I have any success with my efforts.

[JefUK]

The board should be installed as "OHCI Compliant IEEE1394 Host Controller" under "IEEE 1394 bus host controllers" in Device Manager. Check that the Microsoft driver has been installed by "plug & play". If not manually navigate through "Driver Update" to the Microsoft OHCI Compliant IEEE1394 Host Controller.

The camera should be identified under "Imaging Devices".

I have now solved my problem - the firewire cable that came with the PCI card from eBuyer was dud, and so I replaced it with a £15 cable from Jessops.