“Busy“ on screen of 550D when USB cord pluged into my computer

[nuku]

In the past I’ve had no problems downloading images to my computer. Now I get the text “BUSY” on the 550D camera screen as soon as I plug the USB cord from the camera into any computer. When this happens, the camera freezes and no camera buttons work. On the Mac I normally use the Canon software Image Utility 2.13.40. With that software running, I get the BUSY text on the camera, and all options on the software window are greyed out. I have not changed anything on the computer.

I normally use a iMac desktop machine running OSX 10.6.8, but I have tried OSX 10.8.0, as well as Windows 7 on a laptop PC: same problem. As soon as the cord from the camera is plugged into a USB slot on the computer, the camera says BUSY and freezes. As soon as the cord is removed from the computer, BUSY dissapears and the camera unfreezes. The camera works perfectly as long as it is not connected to a computer, and I am able to take out the SD memory card and download the images using a card reader.

I have tried connecting the camera to both the Mac and PC with no image capture software running and I still get the BUSY text. I have tried using a different cord with both Mac and PC the computers: same problem.

I do NOT think this is a computer software problem.

It has been suggested that this might be a physical problem with the camera’s USB slot...

Any suggestions?

[Tronhard]

The first obvious question is have you made any changes to the camera since it last worked? Even if you are not aware of that, I would suggest a camera reset and then try to connect again.

[nuku]

Thanks for your reply. I didn’t make any changes to the camera prior to this problem, but I’ve now done a full reset of the camera, returned all settings to factory default, and the problem still persists.

[Tronhard]

Well at this point one must consider having the camera at least evaluated by a technician - but that will be at a cost.  Frankly, considering the age of the camera it would seem more cost effective to remove the card and plug it into your computer directly if everything else is working.   If you are really desperate to have a camera plug into a computer directly then you might want to consider an upgrade (perhaps to a refurbished unit), as you could probably get a newer unit for not much more than the cost of a repair and you can still keep the 550D as a backup/secondary camera.

To be honest I have never used the USB to transfer to a computer direct.  I found it just as convenient to remove the card and transfer the files,: these days the transfer rates will be higher than your 550D can accommodate, and you don't drain your battery in the process.

[Waddizzle]

After a reset. Remove the card. Test it. Try a new card that has been formatted the camera. Test it again.

[nuku]

Thank you for your suggestion. I dd the reset, then reformated the memory card. Now when I plug in the USB cord from the Mac computer to camera, the camera screen goes totally black and the camera basically shuts down. As soon as I unplug the camera, the camera screen instantly lights up and all camera functions work again.

[Waddizzle]

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@nuku wrote:

Thank you for your suggestion. I dd the reset, then reformated the memory card. Now when I plug in the USB cord from the Mac computer to camera, the camera screen goes totally black and the camera basically shuts down. As soon as I unplug the camera, the camera screen instantly lights up and all camera functions work again.

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If a new cable does not fix the problem, then you probably have a camera problem.  It could also be a computer port problem, so it would not hurt to try a different USB port.

[Tronhard]

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@Waddizzle wrote:

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 It could also be a computer port problem, so it would not hurt to try a different USB port.

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I seem to recall that the OP has tried it on at least two computers: one a PC and a Mac.  If so I think that rules out the port, and if the cable has also been switched (as indicated) then I think we are down to the port on the camera.

[nuku]

Thank you all very much for your suggestions.

I’ve talked to the camera shop where I bought the camera, and to a good friend who is a professional photographer using Canon products for many years. The consensus is that most likely it‘s a problem with the USB socket on the camera, which is unfortunately quite time consuming (=lots of $) to troubleshoot and if faulty to replace.

I’ve bought a $15 card reader which works fine and I’ll just use that to transfer images. Although the camera is “old”, it still works just fine and there’s no need to “upgrade” to a newer model. Often newer isn’t better, that’s why I’m 6 operating system upgrades behind the latest Mac OS! In any case, as you all know, its the lenses that really count and my lenses (not the cheap “kit” ones) cost way more than the body and are very good quality.

Cheers,

Nuku

[Tronhard]

I think you are making a good decision there.  It's way more cost effective to use the USB adaptor than spend money to get an older camera fixed for something that is not critical to taking photos.  I hope your camera gives you good service for years to come and glad you have good glass.