Please excuse me if I am on the wrong forum to ask this ? I bought a new digital camera...it never wd go off "initializing usb connection" or something like that...so i looked on the device manager to see if it was there (by now you know i know very little about computers) i saw an "intel 8280aa usb" thinking it was my old digital intel camera...I DELETED it...I am sure was the wrong thing to do..now I see NO USB info on the device manager...what do I do??? has to be pretty simple or I want be able to do it...thanks for any help

try installing the driver for the new digital camera. There are many ways to do this: here are some...(i'll assume you know how to do the following since you found the device manager:))

1. using the install disk.(disk that ships with your camera)
2. use the Add/remove hardware wizard.

if you dont have the driver disk, try searching the web.

second that, rio.

kat, did you delete USB completely from the device manager?

If so, reboot, and plug and play should re-detect your USB ports and add them in device manager.

USB is hot-swappable (you can plug your camera into the USB port while the computer is running and your system should detect it). So as long as you have USB in your device manager, your system should at least realize that your camera is connected. It might then need the proper drivers to communicate.

How new is your camera? I have found the drivers for these do not always play nice with Windows. What I have been doing for my clients and for myself is to get a card reader. You plug it into the USB port and it treats the memory card like a hard drive. Simply copy/paste or cut/paste and the images are on your hard drive.

I found that when I connected my USB card and Windows 98 detected it and automatically installed the generic Windows 98 USB drivers, that these would not work with the camera.
I had to install the [Win98] USB driver that came with the camera, otherwise it would not detect the presence of the camera.
[Usually when I have the camera connected and switch the camera on, it only takes about 2 seconds to appear in device manager.]
As classicsoftware said, the cameras' memory is treated like a hard disk drive, which is quite handy. I bought 128 MB of extra SD memory [for £34] and it has clicked in my brain that this could be used to copy information from one PC to another. Quite useful wot?

My camera is effectively a card reader. What's the difference?

Hi...thanks to all that replied...answer to one of the replies is that the camera is new..Minolta Dimage Z1..I finally got the usb thing going agian...but when i try and install the driver it says" device status....The drivers for this device are not installed (code 28) (even though when I put the cd in that came with the camera it says it installed)to reinstall the driver for this device, click reinstall driver...well i try (the best i know how) and it still says not installed..more detailed but cant go into all that...I shut down and rebooted....still not working...it just sits there saying "initializing usb connection" If someone will...theres a site about my camera and almost at the bottom...it talks about the driver if someone could give me some advice after reading it...it is at http://www.a-digital-eye.com/MinoltaZ1.html Thanks to all of you nice, SMART people for any help at all!!!

After reading the link you supplied, I renew my suggestion.Normal operation may not be possible even when all the system requirements are met..

I think your best bet is to get a card reader. The advantages, you don't need unnessecary software and you don't waste camera battery life while transferring images from the camera to the PC. The disadvantage is the extra cost.

Thats the whole deal.....after buying the camerea...I cant afford to buy much of anything else to go with it...might just have to take it back and try something else that might not be so complicated...by the way...does anyone know anything about this camera and if it does a great jjob or not????? or what would be a good digital in the $3oo.oo range?????Thanks again!!!

I don't have any experience with that particular camera. I have been looking at getting a new one, and I really like the features and look of the same one you have.

One of the first things to do if you cant get it to work with the software supplied with your camera, is to get the latest updates for it. Go here (http://www.minoltausa.com/eprise/main/MinoltaUSA/MUSAContent/CPG/CPG_SupportCenter/CPGSupport_Software) and get the latest updates for your OS. Just put in your info and it will take you where you need to be.

I also would take Classicsoftware's advice on the card reader. You just plug it in to your usb port (and maybe load a little software depending on your OS), then it acts just like a floppy/cd-rom drive, allowing you to put your photos on your HD without using up the batteries, or having to connect your camera each time. Here (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=69&manufactory=1453&DEPA=7&sortby=14&order=1) is one I found that is very affordable. There are others also that are also affordable, just look around in that site under card readers and you will have more than enough to choose from. You can also go to a local Wal-mart and they have them there also. That is the way I went with my old Digital Camera and I don't regret it one bit.

Have you tried connecting the camera [and here's the important bit] SWITCHING IT ON?
It won't be detected unless you do that.

We are short of some vital information:
1. Which Operating System are you using?
2. What exactly is the nature of the problem?
Is the camera not showing up in device manager?

On the site you linked to it says:
System Requirements
IBM PC/AT compatible computers with Windows XP Home, Windows XP Professional, Windows Me, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 98*, or Windows 98 Second Edition* and with a USB port as standard interface.
* Users with Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition must install dedicated driver software included in the DiMAGE Z1 package.

This implies that you only need to install drivers off the supplied disk IF your OS is Win98.
Otherwise they should be on the Windows disk.
If you installed the drivers off the disk supplied, [and you don't have Win98] then they are the wrong drivers, so Windows is correct when it tells you "The drivers for this device are not installed (code 28)". There are drivers installed, but they are the wrong ones.
You need to either:
1. "Remove" the USB device in device manager, then restart the PC and when Windows finds the USB hardware, direct the wizard to search for a suitable driver on the Windows disk.
2. Go to "Device Manager->USB Open Host Controller->Properties->Driver->Update Driver" and direct it to search the Windows disk.

What the wizard will be looking for is an ".inf" file.
It could be interesting and useful to try to "Find" it [ find "*.inf"] yourself.
If you knew exactly which ".inf" file was the correct one you could point the wizard at it ["browse" to it].
It may be in "Drivers\USB" for example.