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  1. His LA Dudeness
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    Hi.. I am ready to find the sign that says "Bang Head Here". I have an old Sony HandyCam DCR-HC90 and about 60 MiniDv tapes of family memories that I am trying to get imported into a PC so I can put some movies out to my kids and future grandkids.

    Long story short. I have tried using a Firewire Card in a Desktop PC that was running Windows 10 and never could get the card to talk with the Handycam through the firewire. I purchased a genuine Sony VAIO laptop with a firewire port which ran on windows 7. The original picture package CD runs with XP and apparently is rejected by Win 7. Plugged th camera into the firewire port and the VAIO laptop never recognized the camera being attached.
    Lastly Dellsam34 in 2016 suggested using the Pinnacle 500 USB device which plugs into a PC via USB after a handy cam plugs into it via firewire.
    [
    QUOTE=dellsam34;2577576]There is a way using one of the Pinnacle capture devices such as the 500-USB, This device takes DV data pockets and send them over a USB port, Not only you get 1:1 transfer of your tapes over USB but you can control the camcorder functions within the application like WinDV or ScenalyzerLive, The same device can capture analog sources as well according to the following diagram:

    [/QUOTE]

    Found one on ebay in a totally sealed box. It came with Pinnacle 10 which I tried to load into a Windows 7 laptop. Second disc was corrupted so I could not load the software fully in. Found the driver for the Pinnacle 500 USB for window 7. The laptop sees the 500 USB but will not see the camera attached to the USB 500 through firewire.

    I am at my wits end. There are really smart people here. Can anyone give some advice on how to get my camera to talk to a PC through the 500 USB box using a windows 11 desktop? Or how to get it to work with the old Windows 7 laptop?

    Any advice is greatly appreciated.
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  2. Member
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    I wouldn't consider myself smart () but these are my thoughts.

    In Device Manager on your laptop, check you have Firewire recognised by Windows, like this (this is win 10 but IIRC Win 7 was similar):

    Image
    [Attachment 67081 - Click to enlarge]


    If not, try re-installing the Win 7 Firewire driver:

    https://avid.secure.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/troubleshooting/en370145

    When that's done, try using WinDV or Scenalyzer

    For the Win 10 machine, install the Firewire driver as per this:

    https://www.startech.com/en-us/faq/firewire-cards-windows-legacy-driver-swap

    and then try with WinDV or Scenealzer
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  3. Capturing Memories dellsam34's Avatar
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    It sounds like there is a problem with your camcorder, A Sony VAIO laptop with the original firewire under Windows 7 which is exactly what I have for these legacy tasks should not have any problems recognizing the camcorder, Check your camcorder manual on how to set it up to connect to a computer, at the same time check the iLink port on the camcorder and try another firewire cable, Try rebooting with the camcorder plugged in and ON.

    What Sclive reports, and what do you see in the device's drop down box in Sclive?
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  4. His LA Dudeness
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    See.. I did get some good advice from some really smart folks. Based on what Dellsam34 said, I borrowed my friend's Sony camera and low and behold. It worked on the VAIO laptop. I was able to transfer video to the laptop without a hitch via the firewire. Seems my camera has an issue. So here's another challenge. It takes a long time to capture the video onto the VAIO and takes a long time to get the video off the VAIO onto my main desktop where I can edit via thumb drives. I still have the Pinnacle 500-USB and would love to connect it to my Windows 10 Desktop and drop the videos directly into there. Got any ideas how to get the Pinnacle 500-USB to talk to a Windows 10 Machine?

    Alwyn. the Windows 7 Laptop I have does not have a firewire port in it. Only the VAIO. Are you thinking that the Pinnacle 500-USB might play will with the software you suggested or am I confused.

    You both are absolutely amazing and I deeply appreciate the help.
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  5. Member
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    I was getting a bit muddled by all your computers!

    You mentioned a Windows 10 PC with a Firewire card; if you still have that, try to update the Firewire drivers as per my previous post. Given there's an issue with your original camera, that may have been why the Win 10 PC wouldn't capture.

    I too have used a Pinnacle USB box to capture DV; it is a wonder to behold. Unfortunately, it is a bit hit and miss, and I've never worked out why.

    You could try updating/installing the 500-USB drivers onto one of your PCs:

    http://cdn.pinnaclesys.com/SupportFiles/Hardware_Installer/readmeHW10.htm?utm_source=c...0f005a0a1c0e10

    To remove your old drivers:

    https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/398965-Dazzle-DVC100-not-capturing-anymore-on-Wind...10#post2602591

    To use WinDV or Scenealyzer, you don't need the Pinnacle Studio 10 software installed, only the drivers.

    Re thumb drives, if they are the small stick types, I'd be very careful. It would be safer to use a proper external drive as they, I think, are more reliable.
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  6. Capturing Memories dellsam34's Avatar
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    The Win 7 driver from the Pinnacle Driver page should work on Win 10, I've tried it.
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  7. His LA Dudeness
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    Hurray for the Smart People!!! Gents (yes assuming) You fixed my dilemma!! I was able to get the Pinnacle 500 USB to work on my Windows 10 Desktop! Here's what I did:
    I downloaded the Windows 7 Driver from Pinnacle and was able to install it. My Device Manager was able to see the Pinnacle 500 USB and reported it was functioning normally. I then took your advice and downloaded Scenealyzer. I then connected my friends Sony HandyCam, put in a MiniDv, switched it to play/edit and connected it via firewire to the Pinnacle USB 500. Then I attempted to capture and low and behold!!! it worked!!! I captured 1 hour's worth of my son at age 8, killing a baseball at a little league game with a big hit and running the bases. Priceless!

    The only bummer is that Scenealyzer is plopping a "Please Register Bug" on frames as you capture which is annoying. I guess I need to pay the toll to get rid of it. If not Scenealyzer is there a video capture and editing program that is preferred?

    Thanks again for solving my problem. I deeply appreciate all of your good advice.
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  8. Capturing Memories dellsam34's Avatar
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    Scenalyzer is license free, Download it from the creator's website here, It is no longer supported.
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