I have an Optura Xi that I've used many times and connected to my PC many times as well. Recently my computer crashed and I had to reinstall everything. Since then I have not been able to establish a connection between the Optura and the PC.

The only oddity, aside from a lack of connection, is noticed on the OSD on the Optura. While in VCR mode, when the firewire is connected to the DV in/out terminal, the OSD flashes "DV IN"

My first instinct was to suspect the computer and the recent crash, maybe a lack of drivers, firewire conflict, or software installation issue were to blame. I searched the net for driver updates etc. but found none, Win XP SP2 will handle all of this. Moving my attention to the firewire card and cable, I purchased new ones, still no connection. I even went as far as to purchase a firewire PCMCIA card for my laptop (Which will come in handy for minor editing while traveling), but the Optura is not recognized by the laptop either. Both computers give no indication that a new device has been connected.

My question is; has anyone else experienced this issue, and is it something stupid I am missing along the way? or is this an issue with the Optura that needs repair?

Thanks in advance for your help, it's greatly appreciated.

Jak

"the OSD flashes "DV IN"" does not really mean too much. It just indicates that there is some communication attempts being made.

At first I would suspect your computer, then it seems you have tried two computers.

I don't know. Here is my Firewire Troubleshooting sheet I usually give people to try:

Check your Firewire setup:

1. Go into Device Manager by Right Clicking on My Computer and select "Manage".

2. Under System Tools select "Device Manager", the "Computer Management" window will open.

3. Verify you have an "IEEE 1394 Bus Host Controller". It should have a device listed. If not, you do not have a Firewire card installed or the drivers have not been installed. Install the hardware from the Control Panel by selecting "Add Hardware" and let it do a hardware scan. Follow the instructions given on the screen.

4. If you have a listing for IEEE 1394 Bus Host Controller but it has an ! (exclamation point) or ? (question mark) to the left of it, the drivers are corrupted. Expand the listing and right click on the driver for the card. Select Uninstall. Reboot the computer and let Windows detect and reinstall the driver for the hardware.

5. Right click on the host controller and select "properties" then "Troubleshoot".

Attempt to transfer video:

1. With camcorder off and in tape playback mode (VCR or VTR), plug the Firewire cable into the computer. Turn on the camcorder and verify that Windows XP

detects the camcorder. On some camcorders the computer might not detect unless you switch the camcorder from one mode to another. Switch the camcorder to the record mode then switch it back to the tape playback mode (VCR or VTR).

2. Make sure you have a recorded tape in your camcorder.

3. Turn your camcorder to the VCR or VTR mode.

4. I would try WinDV or DVIO in this thread Easy Capture Program to try to transfer video from your camcorder to computer.

5. Reboot your system before you attempt to transfer your video.

6. Do not run any other programs during capture. You should not be doing anything else with your computer during capture. Other programs can easily interrupt the high rate of data flow to the hard disk during capture that can cause dropped frames. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del and view the Task Manager to see a list of applications that are running. Any unnecessary operations can be stopped by selecting the process and clicking the End Task button.

7. If all of the above does not work Click on "Start" on your task bar, then select "Run..." enter the following line in the "Open.." box:

regsvr32 %windir%\system32\qdv.dll
(you can copy and paste the line in the box)

Click on "OK"
You should get a "DllRegisterServer succeeded..." message. Try capturing again.

8. If the camcorder is not detected, take the camcorder and cable to another computer with Firewire, plug in, turn on and verify the camcorder is detected.

If not, replace the cable and try again. If still no connection, the camcorder's Firewire port is probably bad. If the camcorder is detected on the other computer then there is a problem with Firewire on the first computer.

Comments:

1. "DV-In" in the camcorder display means that there is some communication between your camcorder and the computer, I have never seen DV-OUT displayed.

2. You might want to reinstall/update latest DirectX: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/default.aspx Many applications use DirectX files for the Firewire IEEE 1394 transfer.

3. Try deleting the Firewire driver and let Windows detect the again camcorder.

4. You might also look at this page: http://www.pana3ccduser.com/article...-3CCD-Camcorder

5. There are many times more than one IEEE 1394 on a computer. Sometimes one in the front and some on the back. There have been several people what found that all their IEEE 1394 sockets were not connected, so try all available IEEE sockets. Sometimes there is also a socket internally on the IEEE 1394 card.

6. Windows XP comes with OHCI Firewire drivers, so drivers are not normally needed.

7. Firewire and USB are not related, just because one works does not mean the other will work.

Rich

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