Casio QV-3000 Digital Camera and Windows 2000 compatibility
Although the Casio QV-3000 is one of the best 3 megapixel digital cameras on the market, there's an issue with getting the USB connection working under Windows 2000. This page is to inform you and also show you how to get around the problem. Since I have a Windows 2000 machine and wanted to buy this camera, I held back my purchase until I was convinced that I could get the camera's USB interface to work properly. Otherwise, why should I use a serial port, which is very slow?
The issue with Windows 2000

If you accidentally install the Windows 98 USB information file on your Windows 2000 system, you will experience system crashes and the dreaded BSOD - Blue Screen of Death. The fix for the problem is a real mess, based on what I've already found on several bulletin boards.

The problem with Windows 2000 is that the software CD disk that comes with the camera may or may not have a Windows 2000 USB information file on it. My CD didn't have one for some reason, and was able to obtain the necessary file.

How to resolve the problem

My first recommendation would be to check out the Casio camera forums up on the web site Imaging Resource, which has a lot of nice information about cameras, scanners and other imaging technology.

There are two ways to resolve this problem. Both appear to work just fine, at least with my expereience.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have reinstalled Windows 2000 because of the BSOD problem, then make sure that you remove the following files from your system before continuing. This was recommended to me by another user who had to do this extra step before getting everything to work. Apparently he encountered the BSOD problem again when he attempted to reconnect the camera, and this was required to fix that problem. The three files he mentioned were usbdsc1.sys, usbdsc2.vxd and usbdsc.inf. If you want to remove them, I found first recommend renaming them. (You might have to do this in Safe Mode, however)


Procedure 1: Using the drivers for the QV-2000/QV-8000 camera from Casio's web site

I've actually had luck using this driver for the QV-3000 camera, in spite of the fact that they say it's only for the QV-2000/QV-8000 models. I currently use it for downloading pictures, and so far there have been no problems. You can go to Casio's download site, where you can get the driver. Simply follow the installation instructions and everything should be fine.


Procedure 2: Using an .inf file that utilizes the Windows 2000 USB driver

WARNING! Perform these step AT YOUR OWN RISK. There should be no problems while performing these procedures, as these worked for me. If you don't feel comfortable doing this, then try the first procedure.

1) Download the USB information file by clicking here, and download it to a folder on your computer.
2) Connect the USB cable to the camera and your computer.
3) Turn the power switch on your camera to Play.
4) When the 'Found New Hardware' Wizard appears, click on the 'Next' button.
5) Click on the radio button for 'Search for a suitable driver for my device' and click on the 'Next' button.
6) Click in the checkbox for 'Specify a location' and click on the 'Next' button.
7) Click on the 'Browse' button. This will bring up a dialog prompting you for the location of the .inf file.
8) Select the folder that you downloaded the usbqv.inf file to, and click on the 'OK' button.
9) Click on the 'Next' button.
10) After the 'Found New Hardware' wizard is finished, click on the 'Finish' button.

At this point, the computer should now be detecting your camera. You may have to reboot your computer.