Disk Write Error when trying to copy files from my digital camera.

[Losingmymind]

I have a Vivitar Vivicam 3305, and it's been working great. Now, I got a different computer, and I'm getting an error when I try to copy the files from the f:camea removable disk to my c: drive. It first comes up with the blue screen with "Disk Write Error" Unable to write to disk in drive F: Data or files may be lost. Press any key to continue. I hit escape and try again, and each time, I get a different error.

"Cannot copy IMAG0001: Cannot read from the source file or disk"

"F:\Camea\IMAG0001.JPG The directory name is invalid"

Error copying file
"The disk in drive F is not formatted
Do you want to format it now?" Yes or No.

I e-mailed Vivitar, and they said something about an old APIX.VXD file, but I already had the larger 29K file. I tried deleting some TWAIN files, and was able to copy over ONE image - but it stopped after that and came up with the same errors.

I can't keep two computers sitting at my desk. I'm frustrated after dealing with this, and I don't know what to do. Any help you have would be GREATLY appreciated!!!!
Thanks!

 

[Mulga]

Try removing and reinstalling the drivers for the camera. Make sure you have the correct drivers for the operating system you are using, whether 98, ME, XP, etc

Help us to help you, please post back and tell us if this helped.
All things are possible except skiing through a revolving door.

 

[Losingmymind]

Thanks for the information Mulga, but this doesn't seem to help. I tried downloading the file that Vivitar sent me, and also tired the driver v3305.exe, and still get the same problem. I thought it might be a Roxio Easy CD Creator conflict, but I have installed an upgrade, and still no luck.
Any more ideas would be really appreciated!
Thanks!

 

[cyberboy]

Hi Losingmymind,
Please clarify one point for me, are you using a SmartMedia card reader (USB connected), as a removable drive, to read the photographs on the card, rather than using the camera/USB cable included with the camera? If not, then I certainly can recommend it as a better alternative to downloading your images. If you are, then the SmartMedia reader drivers should be installed, rather than the ones from Vivitar.
Also, since these errors appeared to start when you got a new computer, is there anything significantly different about the two computers that might lead you to suspect what it might be? Maybe some difference in the BIOS settings, etc.
Can you give us some specs on this system that might help us help you?

Cyberboy
Computers are like snowflakes. No two are alike.

 

[Losingmymind]

Thank you for your response Cyberboy -
I am using the USB cable that came with the camera. I've tried going into different photo editing programs and getting the photo, but I think this camera is particular in the way it need the photos loaded onto your computer.

This new computer has a lot more software programs on it than mine did. I have actually had problems moving any program over to this computer. They just don't work. And a little glitch with trying to view any

http://www.geocities.com

website. And when you click on a .jpg file, it automatically pulls up what looks like Internet Explorer to view the photograph. There is a Digital Camera Settings icon in the control panel, and a Vivitar camera is not one of the choices. I tried switching it from Kodak to anything else to get more choices. I switched to Epson and clicked on removable storage and put in f:, but no such luck. That says when opening FotoExplorer - ? I'm just desparate, so I thought I'd try it. There is also "My Digital Camera" in My Computer, but when I click on that, I get the same errors about the f drive not being accessible.

I don't know what could be causing the problem, since there are a few photo editing softwares on this, I was going to try moving them to the recycle bin to see if I could get the camera working, then put them back - but they were too large, and I don't want to delete them.

I'm not sure where you'd like me to look for the specs you were talking about. Is this in System Properties, and System Devices?
Thanks for your help!!!

 

[cyberboy]

Hi again,
As far as the specs are concerned, I was actually thinking more along the lines of the Operating system and motherboard type (to know the BIOS-is USB enabled in the BIOS?), just to make sure that we're all operating on the same wavelength.
It is possible that image viewing, such as jpgs, was previously configured to show in IE, rather than a proper image viewer, but that can be changed according to your preference through the Tools>Folder Options>File types tab settings.
From your postings, I believe that you're using Windows XP on this new system and it may be that Vivitar drivers for XP are hard to come by. Try a Google search. Is it possible that the v3305.exe file sent to you by Vivitar is the FotoExplorer program that you referred to and not WinXP drivers for the camera? Also, I don't think that the photo editing programs on your computer are the problem, so moving them to the recycle bin won't help.
One other thing, it may not apply in your case, but I have a Fuji digital camera, and if I use the USB cable that was included with the camera, I also have to use a power adapter, it will not download under battery power. Anyway, that's why I went for the Zio Smartmedia card reader and believe me it works a treat. Just take the card out of the camera, put it in the reader, plug the reader into a USB port, and WinXP reads it automatically (after driver installation, which is included).For the price, it beats the hassles of downloading from the camera, plus it's instantaneous. Also, if the camera is particular in the way that it allows photo editing programs to access the photos, this may certainly be a better bet for you. BTW, what is your photo editing software?

Cyberboy
Computers are like snowflakes. No two are alike.

 

[Losingmymind]

Hi Cyberboy
Under the system information, it says Windows 98 Second Edition 4.10.2222 Authentic AMD AMD-K7(tm) Processor 128.0MB Ram. Not sure if that is all you were looking for.

Thanks for the info about changing the program that it opens the jpeg images with. I was able to change that to the software that came with the camera, and still get the same errors when trying to load photos. (I thought it was worth a shot. Can you see how desperate I am???)

The software that came with the camera is MGI PhotoSuite III. Then I have Adobe Photo Deluxe, New Adobe Photo Deluxe, Dazzle DPM, and PhotoStudio 3.0.
Thanks!!!!

 

[cyberboy]

Hi LMM,
Win98SE eh? Too bad. What was the previous OS that worked-WIN98? It seems that Win98SE does not handle TWAIN drivers at all well (who knew?), even to the extent of having to reinstall them from the cab file on the Win98 CD. What I could suggest for now is
1. Completely uninstall the drivers for the camera. If it doesn't come with a self-uninstall, just use the "add/remove programs" from the control panel.
2. Remove the camera device from the control panel.
3. Reboot.
4. Then, reinstall the drivers from the exe file, but don't go through the process of adding a device in the "add scanner or camera device" in the control panel.
5. Reboot.
According to the Vivitar User Manual, when you set the camera to PC mode (once it's all connected to your PC), a removable disk should appear, (presumably) under My Computer, and you should be able to drag and drop the pix from this drive (F?) to your C drive. Don't use any photo imaging software, yet.
I know it seems that you have already done this before, but try it again this way.
BTW, when the system reboots, you'll see the name of the system BIOS in the upper left-hand corner of the screen (typically AMI or Award). Just let me know what it is in your next post. It may have no bearing at all on this, but just in case it becomes useful later on...

Cyberboy
Computers are like snowflakes. No two are alike.

 

[Losingmymind]

Hi Cyberboy -
Well, I tried what you suggested with deleting drivers, and no luck. The camera device on the control panel isn't going anywhere. In My Computer, when I try to delete the camera, delete is gray, so I can't select it.
I'm exhausted, so I tried deleting some things. I deleted the photo editing programs AND Roxio easy cd creator. God, nothing seems to make this camera work. So, I'm going to do a Gateway goback so I can fix my mess, and it lists everything I did. So, every time I tried to open an image from my digital camera, it says I changed this document - c:\logit.txt. I opened it up and it gives me this mumbo jumbo. Do you make any sense of it?? It's long, this is only a little part:

1020217:164639:WaveHelper:1:FFE12533:1:CWaveHelper:Invalid RootDir specified in the registry
1020217:164810:WaveHelper:1:FFFF8F8F:1:CWaveHelper:Invalid RootDir specified in the registry
1020217:165700:WaveHelper:1:FFE1035B:1:CWaveHelper:Invalid RootDir specified in the registry
1020217:165849:WaveHelper:1:FFE1035B:1:CWaveHelper:---------------> Unknown Event 114
1020217:204505:WaveHelper:1:FFE1F361:1:CWaveHelper:Invalid RootDir specified in the registry
1020217:204505:WaveHelper:1:FFE142D9:1:CWaveHelper:Invalid RootDir specified in the registry

Thanks!!!

 

[cyberboy]

Hi LMM,
Sorry, it didn't work out. Good luck with the Gateway Goback. No, I have no idea what those messages refer to specifically. I can understand your frustration with this situation, but honestly, deleting photo editing and CD burning apps is not the solution. Once you get your system back together, I would really urge you to look into the Smardcard reader, rather than bothering with the camera as a TWAIN device. This may sound like a broken record, but I wouldn't bother transferring my digital images any other way and many people share this idea too!
Anyway, post back when you're ready and we'll see what can be done...Plan B.
BTW, I asked around to see if others might have had similar experiences, but no such luck. Not too many people with Vivitar digital cameras either.
Cyberboy
Computers are like snowflakes. No two are alike.

 

[Losingmymind]

Hi Cyberboy-
Plan B worked like a charm! I don't know why one computer would have such a hard time downloading directly from the camera. I went to Best Buy and got a smart card and a reader that plugged into the USB port, and it works great! Thank you VERY much for all of your help and suggestions!!!!!

 

[cyberboy]

Hi LMM,
Thanks for the post back. I'm really glad that it worked out for you.
Now you know why my signature line reads the way it does!!

Cyberboy
Computers are like snowflakes. No two are alike.

 

[cgt1z]

I was reading through this thread and had a comment and a question. The comment is that I had the same problem but with a different brand camera. I can not afford a reader so I had to solve it. The suggestion to uninstall the camera and twain files is the right one. The problem is that with some USB drivers it is tough to get them to completely uninstall but that is the only way to make it work. The other thing is that even though you are not supposed to have to have the device plugged in when you start windows that was the only way I could get the drivers to install correctly. I think there may have been something else loading that was conflicting with the drivers I was trying to install but starting with the camera plugged in and turned on fixed the problem. Windows let me install the camera at startup and from there on everything was fine and I could plug the camera in anytime.

The question I had was what application creates the logit.txt file that losingmymind was talking about? I have 4 pcs with Win 98se on them and only 1 the compaq has a logit file. I can not figure out where it is coming from but I would like the info it provides on my other machines. Thanks