Why doesn’t my laptop recognise my camcorder?
Q After many years stashed away, I decided to make use of my old JVC GR- DVL9700 digital video camera. The problem is that my Asus Zenbook, running Windows 11 Pro, doesn’t recognise it. Is there any way to solve my problem?
Ray Mason
A The nub of the problem is that your camcorder uses FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link on Sony devices). This is effectively an obsolete connection standard. Cheap FireWire-to-USB cables can be found online but they have a very specific, niche usage – and are useless for capturing video digitally. Plenty of people buy them unwittingly, and we suspect that’s how you’ve tried to connect.