Vista - Sony DCRHC21 camcorder not compatible with vista?

Hey my friend has a Sony DCRHC21 Camcorder and we recorded a whole lot of video on it that we would like to put on my computer to edit because he doesn't have a computer (shocking I know). So heres the deal, the only cable he has for it is the usb, when I plug it into the computer it recognizes it and sais "Locate and install driver software?" so I click it and it searches and doesn't find anything...So then it sais "Check for a solution" I click it and it sais "Sony Handycam DCR-30 is not compatible with this version of windows" I've tried going to "My Computer" and then scrolling down to a folder that sais "Sony usb" its the folder and it has a setup and installation. When I finish the installation it sais "Do you want to restart you computer now or later?" I click now, it restarts, and nothing changes. I've also seen alot of different software downloads around but I dont know what they mean so I dont wanna go downloading a bunch of stuff I dont need. Now I've looked all over the internet and theres lots of people who have this problem too, in fact theres some old threads on this website. But they're all very confusing, I'm not the most techy person but I do understand some stuff. So does anyone know the answer to this problem and can explain it slowly and simply? Im assuming that it doesn't work with vista because the model might have come out before vista did...I cant find it on the sony website either although there are quite similar camcorders. Im getting pretty frustrated with this , please help me.

Thanks, we just wanna edit our biking video...

Hello Clamer,
These two links will explain all.

Windows Vista Compatibility Sony DCR-HC21 MiniDv 2.5"LCD Firewire 20X/800X

Sony eSupport - DCR-HC21 - Software Updates & Drivers

There are links to the Sony site on these pages too.
It does say that "The USB streaming feature is not supported with the Windows Vista operating system"
I hope this helps in some way, good luck.

Thanks very much, I dont know if my computer is 32 bit or 64...how can you tell, what is it? and is it even important?

It is important if it's x32 or x64, a lot of the software is written for either x32 or x64, theres not much mix and match here, lol. (Drivers tend to be either/or).
If you right click My Computer and go to Properties, it will show you under "System Type", about half way down the page.
Good luck.

aaaahh, thankyou very much. im 64-bit...lol, hopefully this will solve all my problems.



which one do i need? or just all of them?

k so now when i try to download the first one it says "cannot apply the update because sony pictures utility is not installed" can I download sony pictures utility?

*edit*
i think its also called picture motion browser, but i cant find it anywhere.

Sony picture browser is in this link. There are 3 files for it.

Sony eSupport - DCR-HC21 - Software Updates & Drivers

But it does say that, "The USB streaming feature is not supported with the Windows Vista operating system"

so does that mean i cant do it? or can i still do it with a fire wire? (that i dont have)...

Good question, both Sony, and the Vista site, say that the camcorder is Vista compatible, so, you would have to assume that firewire would be the way to go, but in my experience, it doesn't mean a thing.
I would say that you could load your pictures to your HDD and play back, but not play them direct from the camcorder itself.
The best place to get an answer would be the Sony owners forum, where I'm sure somebody already has it up and running.
Of-course, if you don't mind the expense of firewire, you could experiment with it yourself, costly, but much more rewarding.
Here is the link to the Sony owners forum in case you decide to go that way.
Please post your results when you get this fixed, one way or the other.

Thanks and good luck.


Sony Owners' Forum - AVForums.com

Ok, thanks for all your help! Hopefully I can finally solve this pesky problem! And I definetly will post my results.