Digital cameras 101

[tracy]

I have a Vivitar 5385 digital camera.  I have not had any luck getting my computer to recognize my camera when I plug into the usb port.  I have down loaded the driver and the software that came with it.  I have an older computer with windows 98 and only a pent II processor.

I have taken the camera to my dad's house.  He has a newer computer and we just had to plut it into the usb port and the pictures popped right up.

but I tried to do that again a few weeks ago and we got an error message saying the device exceeded the power limit.  

Can anyone please help me?  I've contacted vivitar's customer support from their website and I have not heard a word from them....and it's been a couple of weeks.  

I would REALLY like to use the camera on my own computer so if someone has any idea why my computer is not recognizing the camera I would really appreciate it.

Thanks so much,

Tracy

[ShutterbugGail]

Hi Tracy and welcome to Digicamhelp!

Sorry to hear about the transfer problems you're experiencing with your camera.

Do you have Windows 98 or Windows 98SE? If you have W98 only, seems the driver will not work with it. According to the specs for the camera, the USB transfers only work with the following Windows operating systems:

Windows ME
Windows XP
Windows 2000
Windows 98 SE

If you have W98 SE, trying uninstalling and reinstalling the driver. This is not always a straightforward task so if you're not technically inclined, get someone to help you who is, or try again to contact Vivitar support.

Have you considered buying a memory card reader? I believe your camera uses Secure Digital Memory cards so get one that accepts SD.

The reader will probably also require a driver, so make sure it is compatible with your operating system. Since you have an older computer, the USB ports may be USB 1, not the newer USB 2. Make sure the reader is compatible or backwards compatible USB 1 compatible.

Most of this information is listed on the outside packaging.

Let us know how it goes.

Related reading: Memory Card Readers
http://www.digicamhelp.com/memory-card-readers/index.htm