any workaround to cameras without drive letters

Hi All,

Came across a program where it required that digital
cameras mounted as a drive letter. Of course, the
camera did not do "Mass Storage Device" so no
drive letter.

A card reader was the only work around. Problem: the
customer tends to crack these cards ejecting and inserting
them.

Is there any workaround that will give you a drive letter?

Many thanks,
-T

T wrote:
Hi All,

Came across a program where it required that digital
cameras mounted as a drive letter. Of course, the
camera did not do "Mass Storage Device" so no
drive letter.

A card reader was the only work around. Problem: the
customer tends to crack these cards ejecting and inserting
them.

Is there any workaround that will give you a drive letter?

Many thanks,
-T

Did the camera come with a software CD ?

That usually has a photo organizer you
can install.

Paul

On 08/11/2015 08:14 PM, Paul wrote:
T wrote:
Hi All,

Came across a program where it required that digital
cameras mounted as a drive letter. Of course, the
camera did not do "Mass Storage Device" so no
drive letter.

A card reader was the only work around. Problem: the
customer tends to crack these cards ejecting and inserting
them.

Is there any workaround that will give you a drive letter?

Many thanks,
-T

Did the camera come with a software CD ?

That usually has a photo organizer you
can install.

Paul

Hi Paul,

The customer likes Picasa. The program in question
does not. It wants a letter path to the camera.

The program in question really should have the facility
built in to read cameras, but ...

-T

On 8/11/2015 11:22 PM, T wrote:
On 08/11/2015 08:14 PM, Paul wrote:
T wrote:
Hi All,

Came across a program where it required that digital
cameras mounted as a drive letter. Of course, the
camera did not do "Mass Storage Device" so no
drive letter.

A card reader was the only work around. Problem: the
customer tends to crack these cards ejecting and inserting
them.

Is there any workaround that will give you a drive letter?

Many thanks,
-T

Did the camera come with a software CD ?

That usually has a photo organizer you
can install.

Paul

Hi Paul,

The customer likes Picasa. The program in question
does not. It wants a letter path to the camera.

The program in question really should have the facility
built in to read cameras, but ...

-T
Interesting!
The camera I have is like my cellphone.
when the cellphone power is off, it shows up as a storage device.
When it's on, it's a cell phone that requires a driver and support software.
The camera is similar, except there also is a remote operation function,
and support for developing a software application.

Charlie wrote:
On 8/11/2015 11:22 PM, T wrote:
On 08/11/2015 08:14 PM, Paul wrote:
T wrote:
Hi All,

Came across a program where it required that digital
cameras mounted as a drive letter. Of course, the
camera did not do "Mass Storage Device" so no
drive letter.

A card reader was the only work around. Problem: the
customer tends to crack these cards ejecting and inserting
them.

Is there any workaround that will give you a drive letter?

Many thanks,
-T

Did the camera come with a software CD ?

That usually has a photo organizer you
can install.

Paul

Hi Paul,

The customer likes Picasa. The program in question
does not. It wants a letter path to the camera.

The program in question really should have the facility
built in to read cameras, but ...

-T
Interesting!
The camera I have is like my cellphone.
when the cellphone power is off, it shows up as a storage device.
When it's on, it's a cell phone that requires a driver and support
software.
The camera is similar, except there also is a remote operation function,
and support for developing a software application.

When I connect my camera to the computer, USBTreeView
shows it is a PTP device (Picture Transfer Protocol),
a camera-shaped icon appears in File Explorer, and I
can drag and drop.

Storage

PTP - Picture transfer protocol
MTP - Media transfer protocol
UMS - USB Mass Storage
*******
Capture (webcam, scanner)

WIA - Windows Image Acquisition
TWAIN - (Came before WIA)

Paul

T wrote:
Hi All,

Came across a program where it required that digital
cameras mounted as a drive letter. Of course, the
camera did not do "Mass Storage Device" so no
drive letter.

A card reader was the only work around. Problem: the
customer tends to crack these cards ejecting and inserting
them.

Is there any workaround that will give you a drive letter?

PTPdrive can create a drive letter and translate accesses
to the PTP protocol:
http://www.ptpdrive.com


Uwe

On 8/12/2015 6:20 AM, Paul wrote:
Charlie wrote:
On 8/11/2015 11:22 PM, T wrote:
On 08/11/2015 08:14 PM, Paul wrote:
T wrote:
Hi All,

Came across a program where it required that digital
cameras mounted as a drive letter. Of course, the
camera did not do "Mass Storage Device" so no
drive letter.

A card reader was the only work around. Problem: the
customer tends to crack these cards ejecting and inserting
them.

Is there any workaround that will give you a drive letter?

Many thanks,
-T

Did the camera come with a software CD ?

That usually has a photo organizer you
can install.

Paul

Hi Paul,

The customer likes Picasa. The program in question
does not. It wants a letter path to the camera.

The program in question really should have the facility
built in to read cameras, but ...

-T
Interesting!
The camera I have is like my cellphone.
when the cellphone power is off, it shows up as a storage device.
When it's on, it's a cell phone that requires a driver and support
software.
The camera is similar, except there also is a remote operation
function, and support for developing a software application.

When I connect my camera to the computer, USBTreeView
shows it is a PTP device (Picture Transfer Protocol),
a camera-shaped icon appears in File Explorer, and I
can drag and drop.

Storage

PTP - Picture transfer protocol
MTP - Media transfer protocol
UMS - USB Mass Storage
*******
Capture (webcam, scanner)

WIA - Windows Image Acquisition
TWAIN - (Came before WIA)

Paul

The only serious problems I had over various windows versions, Twain,
and WIA had to do with the rather primitive Twain scanner program?
user interface that could not be set to ignore warmup time for scanners
that did not require it.
There were some minor issues when the scanner was compatible with both.

For what I do these days, I generally use the built in scanner on my
Epson Workforce 635. Somewhere around here is an old HP scanner that has
the extra light source to scan 35 mm film images. Haven't used it in
several years.

Viewscan Pro is one of the better scanner programs I've used, and, it
works with quite a few scanners. Even back when it was not supposedly
capable of working over a network, it would, if set up with a fair
amount of fiddling around.

The only time I was really happy with a scanner involved one that I
bought at W-mart about 3 scanners ago. It quit, in warranty, and I
returned it for replacement. I was surprised to get a refund on the
original sale price difference and a new scanner besides! Turned out
that the scanner used the same connectors on each end of the I/O cable,
and if you happened to swap ends, look out!

On Wed, 12 Aug 2015 09:55:50 -0400, Wolf K
wrote:

On 2015-08-11 21:23, T wrote:

A card reader was the only work around. Problem: the
customer tends to crack these cards ejecting and inserting
them.

????

The cards eject, you just slide them out. Does (s)he try to force them
in the wrong way round? If so, draw a little arrow with a fine tip
Sharpie to remind the user which way the card should face.


I'm with you. I *never* connect my camera to the computer. I always
prefer to use a card reader, and that's what I always recommend to
others, in part because doing so doesn't use the camera's battery.

And despite the hundreds of tines I've done this, I've never cracked a
card. I also don't know anyone else who has ever cracked a card.

T wrote:

Came across a program where it required that digital cameras mounted
as a drive letter. Of course, the camera did not do "Mass Storage
Device" so no drive letter.

There is no DSC (Digital Still Camera) mode the user can select? Just
because there is no mode specifically named "Mass Storage Device" does
not mean the camera does not support that mode. Maybe the customer has
the camera's USB communications set to PC-Cam (PC-Camera, used for video
conferencing between Internet-connected PCs or to record video). DSC
mode is the standard protocol for downloading image files. PC-CAM mode
is the USB protocol when using the camera as a web cam (and may require
software specific to brand and model). DSC mode is the "Mass Storage
Device" mode. PC-CAM is the web cam mode (and may require specific
software to function in videoconferencing mode with the camera).

So you expect detailed responses that focus on how to get the camera to
connect in DSC mode without any details about brand and model of camera.
Uh huh.

Brand?
Model?
What USB modes are available?

Did the customer (this isn't a personal inquiry for yourself) turn off
power, connect the USB cable between camera and computer, and then turn
on the camera?

Are there batteries in the camera? Many do not use the 5VDC available
with the USB connection and instead rely on the batteries in the camera
to power the interface logic.

Instead of using us to make you look good to your customers, have your
customers come here to ask for themselves. Oops, that means they will
know that you don't know.

A card reader was the only work around. Problem: the customer tends
to crack these cards ejecting and inserting them.

Then that user is likely to also damage the USB ports when roughly
inserting the plug into the socket. If they damage card slots, they'll
damage USB ports. Install a USB daughtercard and have them use that
since it can be easily replaced. Replacing the case-mounted USB ports
could mean having to replace the case or salvaging from other cases.

Is there any workaround that will give you a drive letter?

Check what USB connection mode is selected in the camera.

On 08/12/2015 03:20 AM, Paul wrote:
Charlie wrote:
On 8/11/2015 11:22 PM, T wrote:
On 08/11/2015 08:14 PM, Paul wrote:
T wrote:
Hi All,

Came across a program where it required that digital
cameras mounted as a drive letter. Of course, the
camera did not do "Mass Storage Device" so no
drive letter.

A card reader was the only work around. Problem: the
customer tends to crack these cards ejecting and inserting
them.

Is there any workaround that will give you a drive letter?

Many thanks,
-T

Did the camera come with a software CD ?

That usually has a photo organizer you
can install.

Paul

Hi Paul,

The customer likes Picasa. The program in question
does not. It wants a letter path to the camera.

The program in question really should have the facility
built in to read cameras, but ...

-T
Interesting!
The camera I have is like my cellphone.
when the cellphone power is off, it shows up as a storage device.
When it's on, it's a cell phone that requires a driver and support
software.
The camera is similar, except there also is a remote operation
function, and support for developing a software application.

When I connect my camera to the computer, USBTreeView
shows it is a PTP device (Picture Transfer Protocol),
a camera-shaped icon appears in File Explorer, and I
can drag and drop.

Storage

PTP - Picture transfer protocol
MTP - Media transfer protocol
UMS - USB Mass Storage
*******
Capture (webcam, scanner)

WIA - Windows Image Acquisition
TWAIN - (Came before WIA)

Paul

Customer's works the same way. The $$$ specialty software
she has is not that smart.

On 08/12/2015 08:25 AM, Wolf K wrote:
On 2015-08-12 11:16, Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
On Wed, 12 Aug 2015 09:55:50 -0400, Wolf K
wrote:

On 2015-08-11 21:23, T wrote:

A card reader was the only work around. Problem: the
customer tends to crack these cards ejecting and inserting
them.

????

The cards eject, you just slide them out. Does (s)he try to force them
in the wrong way round? If so, draw a little arrow with a fine tip
Sharpie to remind the user which way the card should face.


I'm with you. I *never* connect my camera to the computer. I always
prefer to use a card reader, and that's what I always recommend to
others, in part because doing so doesn't use the camera's battery.

And despite the hundreds of tines I've done this, I've never cracked a
card. I also don't know anyone else who has ever cracked a card.

After ruining a camera with Compact Flash memory card, we've gone to
Always Connect the Camera to the computer. Faster, for one thing. The
battery drain is minimal.

The only time the card comes out is when it's replaced with another one.
We keep the cards as another layer of backup.

Have a good day,


The camera has no "mass storage device" option. It is a cheap
camera. The customer like it that way, because she wants low
res picture for her application.

On 08/12/2015 10:31 AM, VanguardLH wrote:
T wrote:

Came across a program where it required that digital cameras mounted
as a drive letter. Of course, the camera did not do "Mass Storage
Device" so no drive letter.

There is no DSC (Digital Still Camera) mode the user can select? Just
because there is no mode specifically named "Mass Storage Device" does
not mean the camera does not support that mode. Maybe the customer has
the camera's USB communications set to PC-Cam (PC-Camera, used for video
conferencing between Internet-connected PCs or to record video). DSC
mode is the standard protocol for downloading image files. PC-CAM mode
is the USB protocol when using the camera as a web cam (and may require
software specific to brand and model). DSC mode is the "Mass Storage
Device" mode. PC-CAM is the web cam mode (and may require specific
software to function in videoconferencing mode with the camera).

So you expect detailed responses that focus on how to get the camera to
connect in DSC mode without any details about brand and model of camera.
Uh huh.

Brand?
Model?
What USB modes are available?

Did the customer (this isn't a personal inquiry for yourself) turn off
power, connect the USB cable between camera and computer, and then turn
on the camera?

Are there batteries in the camera? Many do not use the 5VDC available
with the USB connection and instead rely on the batteries in the camera
to power the interface logic.

Instead of using us to make you look good to your customers, have your
customers come here to ask for themselves. Oops, that means they will
know that you don't know.

A card reader was the only work around. Problem: the customer tends
to crack these cards ejecting and inserting them.

Then that user is likely to also damage the USB ports when roughly
inserting the plug into the socket. If they damage card slots, they'll
damage USB ports. Install a USB daughtercard and have them use that
since it can be easily replaced. Replacing the case-mounted USB ports
could mean having to replace the case or salvaging from other cases.

Is there any workaround that will give you a drive letter?

Check what USB connection mode is selected in the camera.


I poured over her manual, but found no such animal. The camera
is a Canon PowerShot A3500 IS.

It constantly turns itself off when plugged into the USB port.

I have her plugging her mobile USB devices into a powered
front panel USB 3 hub. I told her these where her abuse
it ports.

T wrote:
On 08/12/2015 10:31 AM, VanguardLH wrote:
T wrote:

Came across a program where it required that digital cameras mounted
as a drive letter. Of course, the camera did not do "Mass Storage
Device" so no drive letter.

There is no DSC (Digital Still Camera) mode the user can select? Just
because there is no mode specifically named "Mass Storage Device" does
not mean the camera does not support that mode. Maybe the customer has
the camera's USB communications set to PC-Cam (PC-Camera, used for video
conferencing between Internet-connected PCs or to record video). DSC
mode is the standard protocol for downloading image files. PC-CAM mode
is the USB protocol when using the camera as a web cam (and may require
software specific to brand and model). DSC mode is the "Mass Storage
Device" mode. PC-CAM is the web cam mode (and may require specific
software to function in videoconferencing mode with the camera).

So you expect detailed responses that focus on how to get the camera to
connect in DSC mode without any details about brand and model of camera.
Uh huh.

Brand?
Model?
What USB modes are available?

Did the customer (this isn't a personal inquiry for yourself) turn off
power, connect the USB cable between camera and computer, and then turn
on the camera?

Are there batteries in the camera? Many do not use the 5VDC available
with the USB connection and instead rely on the batteries in the camera
to power the interface logic.

Instead of using us to make you look good to your customers, have your
customers come here to ask for themselves. Oops, that means they will
know that you don't know.

A card reader was the only work around. Problem: the customer tends
to crack these cards ejecting and inserting them.

Then that user is likely to also damage the USB ports when roughly
inserting the plug into the socket. If they damage card slots, they'll
damage USB ports. Install a USB daughtercard and have them use that
since it can be easily replaced. Replacing the case-mounted USB ports
could mean having to replace the case or salvaging from other cases.

Is there any workaround that will give you a drive letter?

Check what USB connection mode is selected in the camera.


I poured over her manual, but found no such animal. The camera
is a Canon PowerShot A3500 IS.

It constantly turns itself off when plugged into the USB port.

I have her plugging her mobile USB devices into a powered
front panel USB 3 hub. I told her these where her abuse
it ports.

http://www.photographyblog.com/revie...pecifications/

INTERFACE

Computer Hi-Speed USB (MTP, PTP)
dedicated connector (Mini-B compatible)
Other A/V output, dedicated connector (PAL/NTSC)
Computer/Other Wi-Fi (IEEE802.11 b/g/n), (2.4 GHz only)

So it doesn't have USB mass storage. But like my camera,
when you cable up the camera and switch the camera on,
you should see a camera icon in File Explorer, navigate
inside the icon to get your files.

Paul

T wrote:

On 08/12/2015 10:31 AM, VanguardLH wrote:
T wrote:

Came across a program where it required that digital cameras mounted
as a drive letter. Of course, the camera did not do "Mass Storage
Device" so no drive letter.

There is no DSC (Digital Still Camera) mode the user can select? Just
because there is no mode specifically named "Mass Storage Device" does
not mean the camera does not support that mode. Maybe the customer has
the camera's USB communications set to PC-Cam (PC-Camera, used for video
conferencing between Internet-connected PCs or to record video). DSC
mode is the standard protocol for downloading image files. PC-CAM mode
is the USB protocol when using the camera as a web cam (and may require
software specific to brand and model). DSC mode is the "Mass Storage
Device" mode. PC-CAM is the web cam mode (and may require specific
software to function in videoconferencing mode with the camera).

So you expect detailed responses that focus on how to get the camera to
connect in DSC mode without any details about brand and model of camera.
Uh huh.

Brand?
Model?
What USB modes are available?

Did the customer (this isn't a personal inquiry for yourself) turn off
power, connect the USB cable between camera and computer, and then turn
on the camera?

Are there batteries in the camera? Many do not use the 5VDC available
with the USB connection and instead rely on the batteries in the camera
to power the interface logic.

Instead of using us to make you look good to your customers, have your
customers come here to ask for themselves. Oops, that means they will
know that you don't know.

A card reader was the only work around. Problem: the customer tends
to crack these cards ejecting and inserting them.

Then that user is likely to also damage the USB ports when roughly
inserting the plug into the socket. If they damage card slots, they'll
damage USB ports. Install a USB daughtercard and have them use that
since it can be easily replaced. Replacing the case-mounted USB ports
could mean having to replace the case or salvaging from other cases.

Is there any workaround that will give you a drive letter?

Check what USB connection mode is selected in the camera.


I poured over her manual, but found no such animal. The camera
is a Canon PowerShot A3500 IS.

http://pdisp01.c-wss.com/gdl/WWUFORe...=ABR &lang=EN

Under chapter 7, Setting Menu, I did not find a USB mode select. Maybe
it selects the USB mode (DSC or PC-CAM) based on which input mode (pic
or movie) the camera is currrently configured. Else, could be the user
is stuck using the software that comes with the camera.

If she is stuck having to use the included software, use that to
download the pics from the camera and then import into her preferred
viewer app (Picasa). Having to use the camera's software does not
obviate the user can still choose which image viewer app to use. The
direct access method may not be possible with this camera.

Sometimes the included software is not just a viewer app but also
includes a driver. DSC is a generic protocol to file transfer and some
digital cameras support it. I had a FinePix camera that could not be
accessed until its driver got installed via the software install. DSC
assumes generic operation but there is still a built-in mini-driver to
provide the interface between the OS and the hardware device. The OS
does not communicate directly with the hardware but instead either
through a driver or a device definition (for generic devices). The OS
needs something to interface with the hardware. In this case, a driver
may be required (which would probably add an enumeration in the registry
defining it as a USB-attached mass storage device).

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consum...ersAndSoftware
and pick Windows 7. Says no driver required. So the interface between
OS and hardware is already included as an embedded generic camera driver
or device definition within the OS and that is what this camera relies
to access it. That does not preclude that this camera is unusable
without the software specifically for it.

It constantly turns itself off when plugged into the USB port.

Which means it is running on batteries (and using its power save mode
that triggers after a period of idleness) instead of using the 5VDC
available via the USB connection.

Can a USB cable be used to charge the camera`s battery?
http://preview.tinyurl.com/nlz6aw3

The Auto Power Down function is configurable. If the camera is powering
down too soon then perhaps the setting is too short. Alas, from what I
saw in the manual, there is no N minutes setting to let the user decide
how long when idle for when to power down, just Auto Power Down as On or
Off (and uses whatever algorithm that Canon decided to implement). So
she might want to consider disabling Auto Power Down.

I have her plugging her mobile USB devices into a powered
front panel USB 3 hub. I told her these where her abuse
it ports.

If she's a rough electronics user, having her use an external hub is
safer as that can easily be replaced when she breaks it.
(Didn't quite figure out your last sentence, though.)

By the way, with speakers available, powered on, and unmuted, and with
the camera powered up and then she plugs a USB cable from the camera to
the computer (so she is adding a powered and ready USB device), does she
head the bong-bing sound event when she plugs in the USB cable? The USB
device has to be recognized and ready before she can access it (directly
via generic mini-driver for DSC or via device-specific software).

http://preview.tinyurl.com/pdnsq5p shows what should happen when the USB
camera becomes visible to the OS as a new device. Win8's wizard is
different than for Win7 but something should show the camera was
discovered by the OS, like the bong-bing sound event, double-clicking
the Remove USB Safely tray icon to see the device, or using Microsoft's
USB Viewer or the one from SysInternals to see the camera is listed.

"the camera did not do "Mass Storage Device" doesn't really say if the
USB-attached camera is even visible to the OS.

On 08/12/2015 11:39 AM, Paul wrote:
T wrote:
On 08/12/2015 10:31 AM, VanguardLH wrote:
T wrote:

Came across a program where it required that digital cameras mounted
as a drive letter. Of course, the camera did not do "Mass Storage
Device" so no drive letter.

There is no DSC (Digital Still Camera) mode the user can select? Just
because there is no mode specifically named "Mass Storage Device" does
not mean the camera does not support that mode. Maybe the customer has
the camera's USB communications set to PC-Cam (PC-Camera, used for video
conferencing between Internet-connected PCs or to record video). DSC
mode is the standard protocol for downloading image files. PC-CAM mode
is the USB protocol when using the camera as a web cam (and may require
software specific to brand and model). DSC mode is the "Mass Storage
Device" mode. PC-CAM is the web cam mode (and may require specific
software to function in videoconferencing mode with the camera).

So you expect detailed responses that focus on how to get the camera to
connect in DSC mode without any details about brand and model of camera.
Uh huh.

Brand?
Model?
What USB modes are available?

Did the customer (this isn't a personal inquiry for yourself) turn off
power, connect the USB cable between camera and computer, and then turn
on the camera?

Are there batteries in the camera? Many do not use the 5VDC available
with the USB connection and instead rely on the batteries in the camera
to power the interface logic.

Instead of using us to make you look good to your customers, have your
customers come here to ask for themselves. Oops, that means they will
know that you don't know.

A card reader was the only work around. Problem: the customer tends
to crack these cards ejecting and inserting them.

Then that user is likely to also damage the USB ports when roughly
inserting the plug into the socket. If they damage card slots, they'll
damage USB ports. Install a USB daughtercard and have them use that
since it can be easily replaced. Replacing the case-mounted USB ports
could mean having to replace the case or salvaging from other cases.

Is there any workaround that will give you a drive letter?

Check what USB connection mode is selected in the camera.


I poured over her manual, but found no such animal. The camera
is a Canon PowerShot A3500 IS.

It constantly turns itself off when plugged into the USB port.

I have her plugging her mobile USB devices into a powered
front panel USB 3 hub. I told her these where her abuse
it ports.

http://www.photographyblog.com/revie...pecifications/


INTERFACE

Computer Hi-Speed USB (MTP, PTP)
dedicated connector (Mini-B compatible)
Other A/V output, dedicated connector (PAL/NTSC)
Computer/Other Wi-Fi (IEEE802.11 b/g/n), (2.4 GHz only)

So it doesn't have USB mass storage. But like my camera,
when you cable up the camera and switch the camera on,
you should see a camera icon in File Explorer, navigate
inside the icon to get your files.

Paul

Hi Paul,

Yes, what you say is correct. The problem is that one
critical program wants to read her camera directly
as a drive letter and can not see the "camera" icon.

It is an oversight in the program. I have asked the
publishers to fix it. The likelihood of them doing so
is very little -- it is not open source.

Copying the data from her camera (icon) to a folder
on her hard drive is also an option. This is something
you or I would not think twice about, but it is
technically over her head.

So she uses pops out her memory card and uses an
external card reader. She has cracked these cards
in handling before (was a disaster for her).

In the mean time, do you know of a workaround that
will give her a drive letter for her camera?

Many thanks,
-T