Is it possible to buy a digital camera and it not work with your computer?

I have serious doubts about this but I have been told just that. :)

We are going through the same problem right now. I bought my husband a digital for xmas...our old computer didn't have the right kind of port (or something like that)..we bought our new computer..it had the port, but it's not compatable with Windows XP.!!!!

Originally posted by TopCat
Is it possible to buy a digital camera and it not work with your computer?

I have serious doubts about this but I have been told just that. :)

Yes and no. For example, you could buy a Canon digital camera that uses a USB connection to transfer pictures to your computer, but perhaps you have an old Pentium 233 machine that does not have USB ports. There's a problem. Although you can buy add on cards with USB ports that will plug right in, thus giving you USB, and Windows supports them just fine.

The only 2 connections I have ever seen for a digi cam is serial or USB. ALL desktop/tower computers have serial ports, they date back to the 70's. USB is more recent. All computers made within the past few years should have USB, but many machines built prior to the late 90's don't. My old Pentium 133 didn't have it, but my 233 did.

As for not working with your computer, I would try to get more information as to why. The only thing I can possibly think of, besides the USB deal (and as I said, you can buy plug in add on cards to support it), is if you are using Windows NT/2000.

I have a Polaroid digi cam that will not run under NT or 2000, but it ran under XP using the program compatibility wizard. Runs fine under Windows 98 as well. I have no idea why they don't support Windows NT.

Other than these 2 factors, I see no reason why it won't work. Many digi cams use the serial port, and there should be no reason that won't work, unless 1) you have a faulty port, 2) it isn't configured properly (most factory settings are perfectly fine), or 3) you have a modem or something else using that same port (like an internal modem) and its conflicting.

That's all I can think of.

I have never seen a digital camera that wasn't serial or USB and didn't support Windows 98.

Originally posted by LOSTNTHE80S
We are going through the same problem right now. I bought my husband a digital for xmas...our old computer didn't have the right kind of port (or something like that)..we bought our new computer..it had the port, but it's not compatable with Windows XP.!!!!

Sounds to me like a USB port. No older computers came with USB for one simple reason: it didn't exist yet.

By older I don't mean 1 or 2 years, I mean YEARS old. My dad bought a Pentium 100 back in 96 or so, and it didn't have USB, since it wasn't openly available. I THINK my 233 that I bought in 99 had it, but I really don't remember. My Pentium II from 99 had it and so does my g/f's Celeron, my work Celeron, my Pentium III, and so forth.

I don't know that there is an exact time when it was automatically added, but this is what I've noticed: AT motherboards (the old style which are very rare today) did NOT have USB ports. Perhaps some manufacturers added pins on the board and offered adapter cards, but as for the physical port on the board, none did it.

Every single ATX motherboard I've seen has it. You can tell the difference easily. ATX boards have the keyboard and mouse stacked (AT only has keyboard), and you have the 2 serial (or 1 serial and 1 video) with the printer stacked on top of it, and possible video and game connections, all in a row. The AT motherboard doesn't have video/game ports, and the serial and printer ports are not stacked.

Suffice to say, all of the ATX motherboards I've have USB. ATX really started hitting around 98/99 (it was available before then, it just wasn't as popular in 95/96), and now its hard to find any non-ATX board out there. ATX is a HUGE improvement over AT.

Just in case some of you are confused, the AT means Advanced Technology, borrowed from the 286 computer circa 1982. Any computer made since then (386, 486, Pentium, etc) is considered an AT. 82 technology isn't exactly cutting edge, but the term just stuck through the years. ATX, as in the motherboard, means AT eXtended. They used existing technology and made it better.

So if anybody ever says they have an AT computer, that does NOT necessarily mean a 486, Pentium II, or Pentium III. An AT computer is anything from a 286 up to today, although few people (if any) use a machine under a Pentium on a daily basis.

As for why a port wouldn't work under Windows XP, that could be based on several factors:

1) The physical port is defective. If its USB, you have 2 on board. Try them both.
2) The port could be disabled in the BIOS. Why in the hell the factory would do that is beyond me... that's like building a car with all power options (PS, PB, PW, PDL, etc), but disabling everything before shipment... uhhh why??
3) The drivers included on the CD with the motherboard are buggy (although this should not be a factor, as Windows includes direct support for USB, so very few manufacturers would even bother including this...I have seen it, but they really aren't necessary)
4) Windows XP has a bug that prevents the USB port from working properly

To be honest, I never used my USB ports under XP. My g/f used my USB web cam under XP Home with no problems.

I would be interested to know why someone thinks the USB port won't work under Windows XP.

I can't see why the camera wouldn't work under XP unless it is a software compatibility issue? I have had no problems with my USB ports under XP. I have an external burner that runs perfectly through my USB port.

We put in the cd rom that came with the camera and it says that it isn't compatable w/windows XP.. do you think there is something else we should try? Thanks :)

Originally posted by LOSTNTHE80S
We put in the cd rom that came with the camera and it says that it isn't compatable w/windows XP.. do you think there is something else we should try? Thanks :)

If you are running XP Pro, that could be the deal. I have never used XP Home, so I'm not sure on that.

XP uses the Windows NT foundation, XP just sucks 100x times more than NT does. (Can you tell I HATE XP?)

My Polaroid digital camera doesn't work under NT, and as soon as I ran the install CD under XP Pro, it bitched that I was using NT and would not go. I had to use the program compatibility wizard (I think its under accessories), told it to install the CD using Windows 98 compatibility, and it worked fine.

That's all I can think of. What errors do you get?

Actually you can just right-click on the setup file and get to compatibility mode that way. The third tab from the left (or first on the right. Guess it is a matter of perspective...) is the compatibility tab. Just check that you want to run it in compatibility mode and chose what OS you want it to think it is running under. 98 is probably your best bet.