Firewire IEEE Code 10... or is it?

[ponderdj]

Hello,

I have a problem that is giving me a headache. A few days ago my firewire was working beautifully. After no known upgrades or system changes, it suddenly quit working. My camcorder screen says 'DV In' when I plug it in, but my computer will not recognize it. So here's some info and what I've done:

Info
MSI P965 Platinum (MS-7238 v1.1)
Vista Home Premium 64 bit
1 gb PC-800 Ram

What I've Done
Looked at Device Manager, it said IEEE 1394 Working properly
Uninstalled IEEE 1394 and rebooted, installation failed (Code 10)
Had lunch, returned to see IEEE 1394 'working properly' in Device Manager
Went to pull out Firewire card to uninstall, reboot, etc and saw it was integrated.
Installed new Firewire card that came w/ MOBO but I never installed, it acts the same way as the integrated firewire.
Downloaded files (newest is v1.7) to update MOBO bios. *Haven't flashed BIOS because I don't have a floppy drive.*
*Thought that it could just be a bad firewire cord, but haven't had chance to confirm*

So, should I go get a floppy and go through the hassle of trying to update the BIOS or what?

Help would be greatly appreciated,
David

 

[wahnula]

I looked at the MSI website and there are six revisions since 1.1. Whether related to the problem or not, a floppy would be a cheap investment to eliminate the possibility that a rev 1 BIOS is causing the trouble. All my PCs have floppies, but if I were to buy a floppy today I would find one of the two USB models that are MS approved for F6 driver install (on laptops) or BIOS upgrades:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/916196

I say two because the Sony is impossible to find, but if you wanted to save some coin and go with a standard floppy you should be able to pick one up for less than $5. The cable will probably cost more, and it will round out the build.

The fact that it WAS working after lunch means you should eat more

Seriously these intermittent problems are the most annoying and difficult to repair, I have a sneaking suspicion that Vista64 is partially responsible. Try booting to a live Linux CD like Puppy or Knoppix and see how that goes and if you can see the camera, but the floppy idea is a good, low-cost investment and will pay off in the future if not now. Also, a new FW cable would eliminate that piece of hardware. Also, make sure there is a good ground connection between the I/O shield and the FW port. Best of luck.

Tony

"Buy what you like, or you'll be forced to like what you buy"...me

 

[ponderdj]

Well, the funny thing is that after lunch the Device Manager no longer showed a Code 10, and said the device was working properly, but when I tried to capture video it didn't recognize that the camera was plugged in.

I may try the linux disk to see if it is Vista's problem. I will probably steal a floppy out of my friend's computer just for the BIOS update and then give it back to him. I just don't want to go through all that then boot up and the problem is still there. I'll give an update after I upgrade the BIOS.

Thanks,
David

 

[wahnula]

A floppy drive is too essential a tool to not even own ONE. The one time you need it, and have it, will pay for it many times over.

I'm still leaning toward a driver problem between Vista64 and your camera. Check the camera's website for latest drivers.

Tony

"Buy what you like, or you'll be forced to like what you buy"...me

 

[ponderdj]

Update:

I've tried uninstalling the 'Sony Picture Utility' software that came with the camcorder and reinstalling from the disk that came with it in an effort to rule out any automatic software updates. I've decided not to update the bios as the camcorder was working with this version of the bios.

Additionally, I bought another Firewire cable to see if the cable was at fault.

Finally, I performed a system restore to take my computer back as far as it would go, which was November 6th in an effort to rule out windows updates.

None of these efforts have proven successful, and the camera, a Sony DCR-HC38 is still not being recognized by the computer when connected. I'm about to take the camera to Best Buy to see if they can get it connected to a computer because I haven't ruled out the camera being broken. I also am contemplating an entire format and reinstall of windows, which seems ridiculous for this problem but I'm about at the end of my rope. I haven't tried booting to a live Linux CD... I'll probably try that prior to a format.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
David