There are many reasons for not being able to capture, it is always best to
start with the most obvious and work your way through.
With the computer on, connect the camcorder to the pc using a firewire
cable. It is important to use firewire as USB cannot control the camera
fully and the information flow is often not capable of transferring full
sized dv-avi files. Most video capture applications also only work with a
firewire connected camcorder.
Turn the camcorder on and into the vcr/playback position. XP should give
it's characteristic new hardware inserted ping followed by the new hardware
balloon appearing in the bottom right of your pc screen. XP should have all
the drivers it needs for all the latest devices, so at this point you should
just allow XP to load all the information it wants. The writing in the
balloon should alter, with possibly the type of device and the make and
model number as well. When it has finished the balloon will say "Your new
hardware is installed and ready to use." The balloon should then disappear.
What happens if the perfect world scenario doesn't work for you? That's why
you are here isn't it. To start we need to break down the process into it's
various parts and gradually rule out each one as we go.
The PC.
1. Ensure the firewire port is enabled and working.
From the main windows screen go
Start > Control Panel > System > Hardware > Device Manager
If when you get to Control Panel you cannot see System, either click on
classic view at the top left and it will then be one of the options or go
from Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance> System > Device Manager.
In Device Manager you should look for the IEEE 1394 Bus host controllers
entry. If you can expand this you should have something similar to OHCI
Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller.
Neither of these entries should have a yellow exclamation mark by them, like
you can see in the picture where there is one next to network adaptors. if
there is, you have a problem.
To fix this you can do a number of things, we'll start with the easiest and
move on to the harder as we progress.
If you have closed down device manager, then open it back up. Right click on
OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 host controller and then left click on Update
driver. This will open up a box labeled Hardware Update Wizard. Click on
next and leave it to find the driver. XP should contain all the files needed
to replace the drivers for your firewire card, so after waiting a short
while, during which time the box will now say please wait while the wizard
searches. The box should end up saying the device is installed and ready to
use. If you check again in device manager the yellow exclamation mark should
now be gone.
There may also be a red cross through it, this would mean that the device
has not been enabled. To re-enable the device all you need to do is right
click on OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 host controller and then left click on
enable.
It's a good idea to check for faulty components at this stage.
The easiest way to check for faulty components is to get your hands on some
other items which you know for sure work. These will be a computer, firewire
cable and another camcorder, funnily enough all the same parts we are having
trouble with!!!!!
Firstly how do we know these new components work, well if a friend has a
camcorder and uses his pc for editing and he can demonstrate that his pc
recognise's his camera, then you know the three items work.
I would suggest to test all three pieces of equipment on each other, so your
cam with his cable and pc, your cam and cable on his pc, his cam your cable
and his pc, etc until you have been through every option.
Do not stop if you think you have found one faulty item, you may have two or
even all three!
If this hasn't shown up a faulty cam or cable the next step is to get inside
the pc.
Conflicts can exist between pci cards due to the way the port has been
assigned. The main problems are, No IRQ has been assigned, an IRQ has been
assigned, but it has a software conflict, an IRQ has been assigned, and it
has a hardware conflict.
Simply put the firewire card may be interfering with say the sound card, or
vice versa.
The first step is to go back into device manager and after right clicking on
the OHCI compliant ieee1394 host controller, is to choose uninstall, a
warning will come up, choose yes and the firewire card will be removed from
the system.
We now need to get inside the pc and the first thing you need to do when
working inside the pc is to read safety first.
Next, remove the case cover and determine which the firewire card is. Remove
any cables from the card which may be connected to it, carefully move any
cables which may interfere with physically removing the card, then unscrew
the screw holding the card tightly in place to the case. Once this is
removed we are ready to take out the card, a good time to ensure you are
earthed!! Take hold of the card, carefully but firmly and pull it out as
best you can in an all in one motion straight up, try not to lever it out by
rocking from side to side.
Place the card somewhere safe and away from anything that may build up
static, so not on a carpet.
Now, we need to turn the pc back on again. So, please put the case cover
back on, we don't want you getting an electric shock before solving your
problem. After replacing the cover boot up the pc as normal. Let it start up
and then leave it on for a minute or two and then turn it off. Again leave
it for a few minutes before starting work on it.
We need to remove the case and replace the firewire card. This time we need
to place it in to a different pci slot. This will help solve any interrupt
request conflicts. Again, push it in firmly but carefully, in one downward
motion, do not try pushing in one side and then the other. Once in place you
can reconnect any cables and screw in the retaining screw holding the card
to the case. Now refit the case cover and we are ready to turn on the pc
again.
When you turn it on XP should recognise that there is new hardware fitted
and the new hardware found balloon will again appear and XP will reinstall
the drivers. Hopefully this will sort the problem and we can get on with
editing. If not, you may need to repeat the process and move the card to
another pci slot and retest, and it may even mean swapping all of the cards
around, such as removing the audio card and placing that in another slot. If
you need to do this, then follow the above instructions and remove the cards
drivers from XP before physically removing the card from the pc and then
reinstalling when you have refitted the card. For this you will need to
ensure you have the driver cd from the manufacturer of the card.
--
Graham Hughes
MVP Digital Media
Laird of Glencairn
www.dvds2treasure.com
www.simplydv.com