Capture not working today – please help

jcg wrote on 12/4/2003, 11:04 AM

I’ve been very focused on editing and it’s been a while since I’ve captured from tape. I’m having a problem and hope it is easy for the Forum to solve. I have made some system changes since I last captured (e.g., hard drive crashed and replaced, added external monitor) but I don’t think these could be the cause, and it has all been working very well with editing. Today when I go to capture tape from my camera (always done successfully with this particular camera, firewire and computer combination), my computer recognizes the camera and Vegas goes so far as to ask for the name of the tape. But the capture screen is black and nothing gets captured. When I press the “stop” button, Vegas asks me if I want to stop the capture session. Then it tells me I have captured zero frames. Any ideas about what I’m doing wrong? Thanks a million.

JCG

Comments

johnmeyer wrote on 12/4/2003, 12:54 PM

Do you have device control disabled (Tools -> Options)?

Former user wrote on 12/4/2003, 1:06 PM

Make sure DMA is enabled on the new drive, although this doesn't really sound like the problem.

Dave T2

jcg wrote on 12/4/2003, 1:44 PM

Thanks for the replies. I double checked to make sure device control is enabled and it is. I've checked the camera and firewire by using another capture program and all is well there. I also updated to 4.0e in the last hour, rebooted, etc., and this did not help. For some reason Vegas is seeing the camera and thinks it is controling it, but it's not. Any other suggestions?

BTW, I've tried reaching the Help line at Sony all day (they one I pay for!) and have gotten a busy signal all day. I'll try mailing them.

JCG

kruz wrote on 12/4/2003, 4:06 PM

Do you have any other capture programs that you could test to see if it is something to do with your cam/firewire or Vegas?

jcg wrote on 12/4/2003, 4:30 PM

Yes, I can capture fine with another program (Roxio VideoWave Movie Creator) so the camera and firewire are OK. In case it may help someone else, I've copied below the response I received this afternoon from Sony support. Even if some of the tasks are already done (e.g., care of hard drives), it's still a pretty daunting list! I'll have to rest up before I start on it...

JCG

SONY SUPPORT RESPONSE
As for your capture issue, here are a couple of things to try. First would be find what is running in the background. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del at the same time and you will see a list of the programs currently running (some users will have to hit the "Task Manager" button). Move over to the Processes Tab and click the "Image Name" heading at the top left of this window , you would be able to view these items by alphabetical order by user/system. Once all these items are arranged, look under the User Name column for items that are listed as belonging to your User Account. You would only need to leave running the following;

explorer.exe
taskmgr.exe
Under the User Name "SYSTEM"
System Idle Process
System
smss.exe
csrss.exe
winlogon.exe
services.exe
lsass.exe
svchost.exe
spoolsv.exe

You may have other Users logged into the system and displayed on this list, but make sure you log them off and close down on their processes as well.
How long has it been since you have ran Scan Disk on your hard drive? Try running a Thorough Scan Disk, followed by Disk Defragment to see if you have any drive errors. These tools can be found in Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools.

Do you have any Anti-Virus Software on your computer? Make sure you update this software from the manufacturer, then run a full system scan. If you do not have any Anti Virus Protection, it is suggested to either purchase or download a copy and install it onto your system as a preventive maintenance.

When was the last time you had updated your Computer's Drivers from the Manufacturer's Web Site? You would be able search for any newer, updated Motherboard, Sound Card, and Video Card drivers. Also check for any Peripherals that would be installed (i.e. Printers, Scanners, Card Readers). If you have an outdated or improper driver loaded, you may not be using that device correctly and it could potentially be causing problems.

Check for shared IRQs, go to Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Information. Click on the plus next to Hardware Resources, then click on Conflicts/Sharing. While you may see "place holders" sharing numbers with real devices, you do not want your sound card sharing an IRQ with another card (especially not a SCSI or Firewire card). If you find that this is the case, you will need to try moving the card to various PCI slots to change the bus assignment. If you know how to change IRQ settings in the BIOS, you might try this as well.

Disconnect all USB and firewire devices from the system, along with all dongles.

Finally, Once you have exited out of all extra programs (CTRL+ALT+DEL), try running the program again. If no luck, Un-Install the software from the Add/Remove Programs, then Re-Install from the latest update available here:

http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/download/step2.asp?DID=465

If the information provided does not completely answer your question, please update your incident so I may further assist you.