Sudden Problem Downloading Olympus C-2020

I've been using my Olympus C-2020 for about 5 years now, and
downloading the pictures to my computer's hard drive with the Camedia
Master softwear through the RS-232C serial cable. It's always worked
great, albeit a little slow since I'm not using USB.

Today, I attempted to download the pictures the same way. I can view
the pictures on the camera's display screen so I know they're there.
The camera's batteries are fully charged, the camera's Mode dial is set
to display (), the Camedia Master is booted up, the serial cable is
connected (and I'm sure working because when I select "download all
images" in Camedia the camera's lens extends after a few seconds) but
now it won't download. A warning box appears on the monitor which says
"Cannot Connect to the Camera. Confirm or Try the Following:"

1. Camera is plugged in and power is on.

2. Change the Port Setting.

3. Lower the connection speed.

4. Camera's mode dial is set to the outer connection mode.

Well, it's definitely plugged in, and by number 4's "outer connection
mode" I assume they mean the display setting on the mode dial. So that
leaves number's 2 and 3. I have no idea of how to change the port
setting or lower the connection speed. How do I check these? Is there
anything else that could be causing my computer to not communicate with
the camera? I'm using Windows 98, and I don't think I've made any
changes to its settings recently. Anything in the camera settings that
would cause it to not download?

One possibility is that the serial connection has gone bad - either a
damaged cable or if you are going through a serial port switch box (to
share a serial port with a number of serial devices) that box has
developed dirty switch contacts or other fault. This happened to me and
by turning the switch knob back and forth a few times to wipe the switch
contacts clean again I got it working (but not before exiting Camedia
and restarting it.)

wrote:
I've been using my Olympus C-2020 for about 5 years now, and
downloading the pictures to my computer's hard drive with the Camedia
Master softwear through the RS-232C serial cable. It's always worked
great, albeit a little slow since I'm not using USB.

Today, I attempted to download the pictures the same way. I can view
the pictures on the camera's display screen so I know they're there.
The camera's batteries are fully charged, the camera's Mode dial is set
to display (), the Camedia Master is booted up, the serial cable is
connected (and I'm sure working because when I select "download all
images" in Camedia the camera's lens extends after a few seconds) but
now it won't download. A warning box appears on the monitor which says
"Cannot Connect to the Camera. Confirm or Try the Following:"

1. Camera is plugged in and power is on.

2. Change the Port Setting.

3. Lower the connection speed.

4. Camera's mode dial is set to the outer connection mode.

Well, it's definitely plugged in, and by number 4's "outer connection
mode" I assume they mean the display setting on the mode dial. So that
leaves number's 2 and 3. I have no idea of how to change the port
setting or lower the connection speed. How do I check these? Is there
anything else that could be causing my computer to not communicate with
the camera? I'm using Windows 98, and I don't think I've made any
changes to its settings recently. Anything in the camera settings that
would cause it to not download?

junktin wrote:
One possibility is that the serial connection has gone bad - either a

damaged cable or if you are going through a serial port switch box
(to
share a serial port with a number of serial devices) that box has
developed dirty switch contacts or other fault.


I'm not going through a switching box, just a serial cable straight
from the camera to the serial connector on the back of my computer. I
think the cable is OK because a few seconds after I click on "download
all images" in Camedia the camera's zoom lens extends, like it always
has. But a few seconds later, instead of getting the prompt to select
the file to download the pictures into, I get the "Can Not Connect to
the Camera" window, with suggestions to lower the connection speed
and/or change the port.

junktin wrote:
One possibility is that the serial connection has gone bad - either a

damaged cable or if you are going through a serial port switch box
(to
share a serial port with a number of serial devices) that box has
developed dirty switch contacts or other fault.


I'm not going through a switching box, just a serial cable straight
from the camera to the serial connector on the back of my computer. I
think the cable is OK because a few seconds after I click on "download
all images" in Camedia the camera's zoom lens extends, like it always
has. But a few seconds later, instead of getting the prompt to select
the file to download the pictures into, I get the "Can Not Connect to
the Camera" window, with suggestions to lower the connection speed
and/or change the port.