Kodak hardware/software problem

Hello All,

I'm hoping there are a few Kodak digital camera gurus out there that may be able to help me. I'm having a problem with my Kodak digital camera being "seen" by my computer on a consistant basis and Kodak hasn't been much help in solving it.

The camera is a Kodak CX4300 sitting on a Kodak 'Easyshare' Dock II. The computer has an AMD Athlon 850 processor and there are 15+ GB of empty space on the hdd. (I don't know why that info is relavent but Kodak wanted to know it.) I am running Win98SE and Kodak's Easyshare software, v3.4 - their latest offering.

This would probably be a petty and insignificant thing to most people but it has driven me to the point of distraction.

The problem - The computer does not recognize the camera as a 'drive' [G:] in 'My Computer' after more than one reboot. The dock is connected directly to the computer (not through a HUB) via USB cable and it is firmly attached - as is the camera to the dock. I have tried all of the USB ports on the computer, as well as the HUB, all with no joy. Bypassing the dock makes no difference, either.

I can transfer pictures from the camera to the computer by using the 'transfer' button on the dock. However, it is not easily reached from the desk chair and I have no place else to put it with easy access. When I right-click on the Kodak icon in the system tray and try to "Transfer now" I get an error message telling me; "A connected device could not be found. Connect a device and click refresh." This is the point where my temper, and consequently my blood pressure, go to near-fatal levels. Maybe I'm just too lazy for my own good but I feel that if the claim is made that it will work, it darn sure should work !!

I have installed and uninstalled the software (from v2.1 that was packaged with the camera - up to and including v3.4) more times than I can count. The biggest problem with installing "new" versions is the fact that Kodak won't allow you to "Save to disk ". You have to go through the whole download and install process every single time. Very time consuming.

To Kodak's credit, however, a small program that completely removes anything left over from a previous installation is offered. That has been saved and run before each "new" try at installation. It saves a little time but not much in the overall process.

As always, any and all help will be greatly appreciated. If I have neglected to post any information that you deem to be necessary or helpful please post back and I will tell you what I know.

TIA


Mike

 

It maybe a 98se problem if you have A VIA Technologies USB controller and using a AMD. MS made a patch that can be found at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;240075&Product=w98

 

Hi Russ,

Thanks for the reply. I have looked in the Device Manager and all I can find about USB on this computer is this - AMD 756 PCI to USB Open Host Controller.

I can find nothing refering to VIA Technologies anywhere. What now?

TIA, again.


Mike

 

Okay, I'll live with what I have and check back regularly to see if there are any more suggestions or "trys ".

Thanks to Russ and anyone else who has read this thread.


Mike

 

Hi Mike,

Maybe some more info would help.

Can you tell us the make and model of the motherboard that you have? You could use the program Everest if you don't have the information.

Do you have any problems with any other USB hardware? (I'm thinking along the same lines as Russ).

What is listed under "Universal Serial Bus Controllers" in Device Manager?

Matt

 

hi indutch,

Your USB is working, and not the problem.

You don't need a dock to transfer pictures. I just connect my usb cable directly to the camera and I use explorer (windowskey+e, OR start, run, explorer), open "my Computer ", and can see the flash card as a drive and can use it like any drive, moving pictures (or anything else) from or to the camera flash memory. Suggest you try this and let us know how it works for you.

 

Thanks for the replies mattman & sparrow.

The problem that I'm having is this: When the camera actually shows up in 'My Computer', as drive "G: ", I can right click on the Kodak icon in the system tray and download the pictures into the computer by clicking on 'Transfer now' without a problem. However, I can't get the camera icon to stay in the 'My Computer' window after the computer gets rebooted or turned off. It's like the darn thing just disappears and the computer can't find it anymore.

I am able to transfer the pictures to the computer by using the transfer button on the dock but it is a bit of a challenge to get to it. I have no room at all on the desk for it so it is tucked away on a shelf that I can't reach without getting up and stretching over a bunch of stuff. I suppose all this boils down to my being lazy but . . . .

All I want for Christmas is to have the computer "SEE" the camera all the time. For the life of me, I can't understand why the computer loses the connection and can't regain it after a reboot or shutdown. All the other USB stuff works just fine, btw.

I have an HP Photosmart 7350 printer with 4 internal card readers. I'm going to uninstall it and see if that helps at all. I'll post back with joy /no joy shortly.


Mike

 

Mine sees the camera only when it's connected and then always when it's connected, but my "disk" (e: ) desappears when the camera is not connected. As soon as I re-attach the camera it shows up as E:.

I guess I don't see why you need to press the dock button if this works.
What am I missing?

 

I've never used a dock before so can't talk about it. Is the dock really necessary to transfer pics? Can't you simply connect your camera directly to your PC with the accompanied USB cable to transfer pics?

I did have trouble even doing it this way with Win98 though. I used to be able to disconnect the camera from the PC after the transfer was complete but one day it decided to hard-lock when I did that and it would always do that from that day on. No problems with WinXP though.

 

I've used a dock and direct connection and prefer the latter. There's no need for a dock; it's for the computer illiterate.

 

The dock is for Windows 98. For Windows XP is became an overpriced battery charger. As for why it isn't working as advertised, I can't tell you if its a chipset problem or drivers problem from Kodak.

 

Finally fixed . . . Well, mostly and enuff 4 me!

I aplologize for the delay in responding but our boat has been sitting in the driveway collecting dust and calling my name for days. So . . . we took it out to the lake and rinsed it off. Well, the bottom of it, anyway.

I bought the camera dock for the convenience of having the batteries charged on a constant basis more than anything else. But . . . the convenience of just pushing a button to transfer pictures, and not having to mess with a cord every time, did come in to play. Call me lazy & you'd be right.

I spent several hours the other day completely re-arranging my 'office' so I could get the camera and dock on my desk where it belongs, (and I can reach it) instead of where I had it - and had to be a contortionist to get to it.

I did a couple of things Kodak suggested I not do. One of which was to connect the dock to a USB hub. I'm sitting here now and looking at a bright green light (the one that represents my camera's connection to the computer via the hub) and it's glowing merrily away. Amazing !!

The FIX seems to be almost too simple to be believable and Kodak's 'offshore techs' never, ever mentioned it or offered the suggestion to try it. In one of the Easyshare software's dialog boxes (during 'tranfer') there is an option to "Perform one touch transfer on next use ", or words to that effect. After checking that option, the camera has continued to be visible in "My Computer ", and thus connected, through more than half a dozen reboots with the Easyshare software both running and not running.

The connection won't survive a complete shutdown but now I know how to get the camera and the computer to hold hands with each other and be friends on a more than hit-and-miss basis. I can simply push the 'transfer' button on the dock and - Bingo - connected. Just like it said on the box. And . . . it stays that way until the computer is turned completely off. I can live with that.

It never ceases to amaze me how much work one stupid little check-mark, or the lack of it, can cause.

Thank you all for the responses, suggestions and offers of help. It is greatly appreciated !!


Mike