Shooting tethered, Nikon D810 suddenly not recognised by laptop......

Hi All,

I've been shooting tethered through Cap One with no issues for 3 months when suddenly in the middle of a shoot my Nikon D810 disconnected from the laptop and has not been able to reconnect (despite 3 weeks of tech support from both Nikon and Capture One). After extensive testing of the camera, cables and software the issue clearly lies with the laptop. I've reinstalled all usb drivers, turned off internet security, logged in as a different user and still no joy. Has anybody come across this before? It's driving me mad, the laptop connects fine with my old Nikon D800, everything works fine on it's own or with other cameras / desktops / laptops, just this particular camera and this particular laptop have stopped talking to each other.....

Thanks in advance if you have any ideas,

Jamie.

P.s Laptop OS is Windows 10 64bit, it's updated as is the camera firmware. Laptop spec attached.
 

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ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
The first thing I'd try is to open Device manager, click the View menu item and check 'Show hidden devices'. Anything greyed out is not currently connected, so delete them all - including the D810 if it's there. Note that this won't stop you reconnecting any of them again.

I'd also open an elevated command prompt of PowerShell session and run the sfc /scannow command. Post the output of that command here.
 
Thanks for the quick reply!

In device manager the USB Root Hubs were greyed out so I uninstalled them then restarted the computer, they came back but it's still not connecting. Does the fact that they were grey point to a fault?

Can you talk me through how to run a command prompt of the PowerShell session and run that command please?
 
No not at all. When it first happened there was an error message 'this usb device has malfunctioned' which appeared, but even that doesn't happen now. Looks like I'm sending it back to PCSpecialist so they can have a look at it.
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
No not at all. When it first happened there was an error message 'this usb device has malfunctioned' which appeared, but even that doesn't happen now. Looks like I'm sending it back to PCSpecialist so they can have a look at it.
It’s likely the cable, not the PC. That error is not the port that’s failing, but the device attached to it. Try another cable.
 

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
No not at all. When it first happened there was an error message 'this usb device has malfunctioned' which appeared, but even that doesn't happen now. Looks like I'm sending it back to PCSpecialist so they can have a look at it.
It could be the laptop but your problem will proving that it is. If PCS plug a range of devices in and get no errors they'll likely send it back.

Could it be a setting in the camera? It's well worth checking all the settings. Is the camera capable of connecting via WiFi?

It could be (as @SpyderTracks suggests) the cable. What connector does the camera use, is it something special? Using a different cable would be a wise move.

Does it fail to connect on any port? Do you have a range of different port types on there and does it fail on them all?

What specs does the camera require of the port?

Before even considering RMAing it you need to show that it's the laptop at fault and document a procedure for PCS to see it fail.

Since it used to work perhaps it's a Windows Update that's fouled things up? A clean reinstall of Windows would be a good test of that.
 
Thanks but I've tried several cables including the Nikon supplied one. All of the cables I have work when connecting my other camera (Nikon D800). The Nikon D810 connects with no problem to another latop I have plus my desktop computer, it's just this particular laptop that is the problem!

To be clear the camera worked fine with the laptop for several months without fail, it stopped working mid shoot when the laptop waasn't connected to the internet. I've reinstalled windows.

Thanks for all of your suggestions, I really appreciate you taking hte time tio repsond :) However, I'm sending it for an RMA this week, if they don't find a fault I'm selling the D810 and trying another camera. As it's part of my work setup I need to get this sorted asap.
 

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
Thanks but I've tried several cables including the Nikon supplied one. All of the cables I have work when connecting my other camera (Nikon D800). The Nikon D810 connects with no problem to another latop I have plus my desktop computer, it's just this particular laptop that is the problem!

To be clear the camera worked fine with the laptop for several months without fail, it stopped working mid shoot when the laptop waasn't connected to the internet. I've reinstalled windows.

Thanks for all of your suggestions, I really appreciate you taking hte time tio repsond :) However, I'm sending it for an RMA this week, if they don't find a fault I'm selling the D810 and trying another camera. As it's part of my work setup I need to get this sorted asap.
If it used to work and now it doesn't then something has changed. That could be hardware or software, and it could be in the laptop or the camera.

How did you reinstall Windows? From where did you source the drivers?

TBH I don't see how PCS have a hope reproducing this issue unless you're prepared to let them have the D810 as well. Are there any other devices that fail to stay connected to this laptop? PCS have to be able to reproduce the problem on their test bench or they have nothing to fault-find with. There really is no point in your RMAing it unless you can tell PCS how to make it fail.
 
This is the thing, what could possibly have changed mid-shoot with nothing connected to wifi? If its' the camera how does it still work and connect my desktop? If it's the laptop how can i connect other cameras to it with no problem?

PCS sent me links to download the chipset drivers, I used the auto update to reinstall the usb drivers. THe windows install was done without removing the files from the computer, maybe I should try a complete refresh.
 
No, it came with windows, I found a way of reinstalling the OS without removing my work files. I've now got a live call booked for tomorrow with PCS instead of an RMA, hopefully they can see what's going on remotely.
 

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
No, it came with windows, I found a way of reinstalling the OS without removing my work files. I've now got a live call booked for tomorrow with PCS instead of an RMA, hopefully they can see what's going on remotely.
Do keep us in the loop please. I'd love to know what the problem turns out to be. :)
 
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