My Canon Rebel XT is no longer being recognized by my windows 8

[JacquelineVenus]

I've had my Canon Rebel XT for a long while now. I've had this computer the same amount of time, about two years or more. The whole time I've plugged the Canon into my USB port to upload the photos from the camera and never had an issue. Then all the sudden it's stopped working. I've tried all of my USB ports and still won't show up. I look on my drive location to see if it shows up and I just need to click on it manually, and it doesn't show up there either. Oddest thing is it makes the "ding duhda ding" sound when I plug it in like it's going to show up... If I leave it plugged in and the camera auto shuts off after a while it makes the ding sounds that it's turning off. But I can't access the camera at all when plugged in. I'm not sure if there's been any recent updates to windows that might be causing conflict. I'm not sure how to resolve this issue after everything I've tried. I also should mention I don't have any SD slots on my computer so I can't get the pictures from the card. USB is pretty much my only option unless I buy an external slot port, but I'd like to try other options first since it's worked for almost 2 years with no issues! 

[Waddizzle]

" I'm not sure how to resolve this issue after everything I've tried. I also should mention I don't have any SD slots on my computer so I can't get the pictures from the card."

You can use a USB adapter to read the card with your computer. 

It sounds like the camera's device drivers could simply be taking a long time to load.  It's taking so long that the camera is going into sleep mode.  Try turning that off, in order to determine whether or not you have an issue with the camera's USB port.  Remember give it some time to load up, and make sure you have an active internet connection in case the system wants to download an updated driver.. 

I just recently plugged a USB stick into a Windows 7 machine, and it took a while [something on the order several minutes] for the device drivers to load up. 

[JacquelineVenus]

"You can use a USB adapter to read the card with your computer."

Was my initial response not clear that was what my issue is? I'm confused why you're saying that from how I'm interpreting your comment. I've always used the USB cord plugged into my camera into my computer and never had any issues. 

My internet connection is always up and going and from what I've been reading it says the Canon Rebel XT does not have any drivers to download, so I'm confused there as well. Do you happen to know where I can find them? Because everything I've looked up says they don't exist.

I'm attempting your method of leaving it alone so it doesn't auto shut off. It's been 5 minutes now, it's not powered off, and it's still not loading the camera's contents up on my computer in any way, shape, or form. There's only two pictures on the camera so it shouldn't take more than a minute anyway to load up. 

[Waddizzle]

"'ve had my Canon Rebel XT for a long while now. I've had this computer the same amount of time, about two years or more. The whole time I've plugged the Canon into my USB port to upload the photos from the camera and never had an issue. Then all the sudden it's stopped working. I've tried all of my USB ports and still won't show up"

"Was my initial response not clear that was what my issue is? I'm confused why you're saying that from how I'm interpreting your comment. I've always used the USB cord plugged into my camera into my computer and never had any issues. "

I am not sure if you understood what it was that I suggested.  I was suggesting removing the card from the camera, and using a card adapter, which typically plugs into your USB port, to read it.  I forgot to ask what type of computer are you using.  Do a web search for " memory card reader "

1.  Your camera could have had a hardware failure of some sort associated with the USB port.

2.  Your USB cable could have failed.

3.  You could try connecting the camera, turning it on, and then manually starting the EOS Utility.

Your camera is an older model, and I am uncertain if Canon still repairs it.  Even if they do still repair the Rebel XT, the cost to repair would likely exceed the cost to purchase a used camera of the same model by far, something which I do not advise doing. 

As long as your camera is still taking pictures that you like, I see no reason to retire it.  A memory card reader is not expensive, and should allow you to get more years of use from your camera.   Although, an upgrade to new one would be nice.

[JacquelineVenus]

"I am not sure if you understood what it was that I suggested.  I was suggesting removing the card from the camera, and using a card adapter, which typically plugs into your USB port, to read it.  I forgot to ask what type of computer are you using.  Do a web search for " memory card reader "

I didn't understand that's what you meant. That was one of my options to try out, and I think you've validated that's probably my best option to try out. And yeah they are pretty cheap to buy. Just never had a reason to really use one. The camera is still working great other than not being read by the computer.

Thank you for the input. I'll try buying a port and update here if it works! 

[ScottyP]

Yes. Nothing good comes from plugging the camera into the computer. Doing that requires all kinds of things to talk together right.  It also runs the camera battery down. It is also a slower upload. 

If your computer has a built in card reader slot take the card out of the camera and plug it into the slot. If not, you just buy a plug-in card reader.  This lets you drag and drop,the image files to the place you want them to go and gives you more control.