Can't seem to connect my Canon 1100D cameras any more!!

[Bizibilder]

I think I may have made a booboo!  I've tried using a piece of software called freeshuttercount to get a shutter count of my Canon 1100D camera body.  Now I find that I cannot connect the body of the camera to my laptop.  The EQ6 connects, as do my ZWO imaging camera, Canon point and shoot camera and an old webcam - its just the 1100D that the computer won't recognise.  I have been having a look on the net and have tried reloading the drivers but Windows 10 says "you already have the best drivers installed".  The Canon site does not provide a driver to download as "the camera should be automatically detected".  When plugged in (with a known to be good USB cable) I cannot see any "portable devices" in device manager even though I get the ususal "beeps" when I connect and switch on.  Canon utilities keeps telling me to "connect an EOS camera".  I think that is all the diagnostics I can think of.

Anyone got any ideas as to how next to proceed as I'm out of ideas!

Thanks, Bizibilder

[Dr_Ju_ju]

Try removing the memory card, re-formatting it, on a computer, then re-insert.

[Bizibilder]

No effect.

P.S.  I also have APT installed and this doesn't recognise the camera either - if you click "connect" nothing happens.

[Dr_Ju_ju]

Does the camera actually work & is able to save images to the memory card ? also have you tried connecting the camera to a different computer ?

[Bizibilder]

Yes the camera works and i can use it normally.  Whilst not recognised by my laptop it DOES appear on my desktop under device manager as a portable device called Canon DC.  I suspect this is a left over from using "freeshuttercount".

[Dr_Ju_ju]

Sounds like you'll need to un-install the driver that freeshuttercount installed...  

[Bizibilder]

OK - I now have a "removable disk" when the camera is attached to the computer.  But still no recognition that it is a camera from either the desktop or Canon utilities or APT.

BTW thanks for your help so far.

[Dr_Ju_ju]

Do you have the EOS utilities installed ?? if so, then you should be able to connect & control the camera via a USB connection

[Bizibilder]

Unfortunately EOS utility cannot see the camera either - it just forlornly asks me to "connect an EOS camera"

[carastro]

Are you using the correct csnon Utilities drivers for you camera on this PC? 
 

l have had 2 different DSLRs and got the same problem when l tried to use the 450D software on the 1100D. 
 

Carole

[Bizibilder]

I only have the EOS utilities that came with the camera - these are the ones that worked OK yesterday!  Thanks for the idea though.

[michael8554]

You could try loading an earlier firmware v1.05 :

https://web.archive.org/web/20160324160449/http://pel.hu/down/eos1100d-v105.zip

Michael

[Dr_Ju_ju]

I don't know 'freeshuttercount' (I use Magic Lantern which is free & much more useful, and easily removed (https://magiclantern.fm/)) so don't know if it loads\modifies the boot software on the camera ?? 

If it does, as well as updating the computer drivers, then you'll need to reverse all changes\updates made to the camera, this can usually be done by booting the camera and holding specific keys down while powering up (follow this guide https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1205511)....  

[Bizibilder]

I've now tried loading new firmware (v1.06) and the laptop now sees "EOS camera" but I still can't connect to it with either EOS utility (which has been uninstalled/reinstalled) or APT.  So a small change but not yet the complete solution.  I can't "boot" the camera (even taking the battery out for an hour) as I think there may be an inaccessible small "memory" battery within the camera that it is impossible to get at?  Some sites seem to say there is one and some say the 1100D doesn't have one!

Still stumped.

[Bizibilder]

Progress!!  I thought I would try my old astro-mofdified 1000D to see what would happen.  So I set it up and recharged its batteries (not used it for 4-5 years!) and uninstalled EOS utilities again, rebooted and re-installed.  Connected the camera (1000D) which I knew to be working off the computer and Hey Presto!!  full camera control via EOS utility.  Now all I have to do is collect all the settings/attributes of the 1000D and see where they differ from the 1100D.  Hopefully this is progress.