Digital Camera Problem
 

Hello,
I have a Minolta Dimage Z20 which has worked beutifully for the past year. However tonight when I plugged it in to the USB port I got an error message telling me 'Power Surge on Hub Port - a USB device has exceeded the power limits of its port'.
Strangely its not plugged into a hub, but directly into the USB in the pc. I've tried the camera in a different pc and it doesn't even recognise it (both are running XP). I will try it on a Linux machine later but in the meantime has anyone got any ideas what could cause this? Or is my camera kaput?
Cheers

I can only really comment on the PC side of things as I'm still a 35mm chap !

The PC is simply protecting itself. USB ports are limited to 500mA each. The PC effectively has a USB hub inside as part of the USB controller so the message you received refers to that.

It would seem to me that the camera has a fault causing it to attempt to drawn more than it's allowance of 500mA.

Just as a sanity check it is worth checking that any other USB connected devices on the PC are working OK.

Apologies if that was a Grandmother & eggs response as I suspect it was !

Good Luck !

To be honest, I wouldn't plug the camera in at all. It can be time consuming and also can hit the camera batteries too. Best tip I can pass on, is to splash a fiver on a card reader. You will never look back.

Conan

I got that message when setting up a new Dell for a friend.

It took exception to the (Dell) USB keyboard & mouse!

Sorted by uninstalling and reinstalling - worth a try!

Summer Heat?
 

USB Hubs can also report a current overload if they are left in bright sunlight.
The self-preservation circuit registers an overcurrent by heat sensing.

Unplug it, remove power supply, let it cool off, replug it in a different location out of sun.

Funnily enough I got the pictures off the camera by swapping the card into my pda and copying them across from there.

Thanks for all the replies, methinks next stop is ebay for a card reader.