# Stupid Little Tykes Digital Camera - why is my computer not seeing it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 28, 2007, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-little-tykes-digital-camera-why-is-my-computer-not-seeing-it/431434 "2007-12-28T02:50:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-little-tykes-digital-camera-why-is-my-computer-not-seeing-it/431434/1 "2007-12-28T02:50:51Z")
We bought our daughter a [Little Tykes Digital Camera](http://www.littletikes.com/toys/my-real-digital-camera.aspx) for Christmas and it has been a hit, except I can’t seem to download the pics - when I plug it in to the USB it’s like the computer is not even “seeing” the camera? Any thought? Little Tykes site has been [no help]([http://www.littletikes.com/pdf/602634\_LT](http://www.littletikes.com/pdf/602634_LT) My Real Digital Camera - Boy.pdf.) at all! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-little-tykes-digital-camera-why-is-my-computer-not-seeing-it/431434/2 "2007-12-28T03:02:36Z")
[QUOTE=Poysyn] We bought our daughter a [Little Tykes Digital Camera](http://www.littletikes.com/toys/my-real-digital-camera.aspx) for Christmas and it has been a hit, except I can’t seem to download the pics - when I plug it in to the USB it’s like the computer is not even “seeing” the camera? Any thought? Little Tykes site has been [no help]([http://www.littletikes.com/pdf/602634\_LT](http://www.littletikes.com/pdf/602634_LT) My Real Digital Camera - Boy.pdf.) at all! [/QUOTE] My friends’ kid just got a kids’ digital camera (a different model) and we had the same problem: we plugged it into my Mac and it was not seen by the computer. We plugged one of the adults’ cameras in, a Canon Powershot A550, and the Mac saw it immediately and download the pictures without fuss. There was software with the kids’ camera; the parents will install the software and see how it works. I suspect there’s some non-standard protocol for these cameras running over the USB connection. It would be interesting to find out which Chinese company made the guts of the camera. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-little-tykes-digital-camera-why-is-my-computer-not-seeing-it/431434/3 "2007-12-28T03:04:18Z")
Not my area of expertise, but…my Olympus requires the camera be turned on (as if to take photos) after connecting the USB cable. Possibly something similar here? ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-little-tykes-digital-camera-why-is-my-computer-not-seeing-it/431434/4 "2007-12-28T03:38:38Z")
We got the nieces kids’ digital cameras this Christmas, and had trouble downloading pictures, as well. Hm… Kidz Something was the brand. Kidz Digital Camera Kit. ---
**Author:** ![ladydisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@ladydisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladydisco)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-little-tykes-digital-camera-why-is-my-computer-not-seeing-it/431434/5 "2007-12-28T04:21:45Z")
Do you have any ‘mapped’ drives? If you have a drive letter already in use and the camera is wanting to use that drive letter, that could be the problem. Go to My Computer and see which drive letters you have in use. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-little-tykes-digital-camera-why-is-my-computer-not-seeing-it/431434/6 "2007-12-28T05:22:31Z")
[QUOTE=ladydisco] If you have a drive letter already in use and the camera is wanting to use that drive letter, that could be the problem. [/QUOTE] It should just assign itself the next available letter in the list (standard USB drive practice), and not only use a fixed specific letter. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-little-tykes-digital-camera-why-is-my-computer-not-seeing-it/431434/7 "2007-12-28T06:02:57Z")
[QUOTE=GuanoLad] It should just assign itself the next available letter in the list (standard USB drive practice), and not only use a fixed specific letter. [/QUOTE] Yes. A USB Mass Storage Device should just show up in the next available slot, on both the Mac and PC. It would be interesting to find out who made the particular models we’re looking at. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-little-tykes-digital-camera-why-is-my-computer-not-seeing-it/431434/8 "2007-12-28T14:45:15Z")
Does it have an XD type memory card? If so, that would tip you off that it’s an Olympus or Fuji internally, and it wouldn’t be the first time anyone wanted to throw their Fuji/Olympus out a frigging window! Oh, excuse me…just check to see if the pic card is an XD. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-little-tykes-digital-camera-why-is-my-computer-not-seeing-it/431434/9 "2007-12-28T15:21:16Z")
It _should_ assign itself a drive letter, but some USB devices don’t do that. If you have drive letters mapped to a network drive that definitely can conflict with USB device letters. With the camera plugged in, right-click My Computer, pick Manage, double-click Storage, double-click Disk Management. See if you see the camera on the list there, and if so assign it a different drive letter. You can also try another USB port on your computer if you haven’t already. Also experiment with having the camera on or off before you plug it in. ---
**Author:** ![Cleophus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@Cleophus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleophus)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-little-tykes-digital-camera-why-is-my-computer-not-seeing-it/431434/10 "2007-12-28T15:40:16Z")
Have you installed the software that came with the camera, if any? It is possible that the camera does not operate as a standard USB Mass Storage device. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-little-tykes-digital-camera-why-is-my-computer-not-seeing-it/431434/11 "2007-12-28T15:55:48Z")
[QUOTE=Cleophus] Have you installed the software that came with the camera, if any? It is possible that the camera does not operate as a standard USB Mass Storage device. [/QUOTE] That’s the problem - no software! AHHH ---
**Author:** ![Cleophus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@Cleophus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleophus)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2007, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-little-tykes-digital-camera-why-is-my-computer-not-seeing-it/431434/12 "2007-12-29T01:44:30Z")
From reading the instructions the camera seems to be a USB Mass Storage device. What OS are you running? If you are running Windows 98 there is practically no chance of this working. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-little-tykes-digital-camera-why-is-my-computer-not-seeing-it/431434/13 "2007-12-31T20:30:48Z")
[QUOTE=Cleophus] From reading the instructions the camera seems to be a USB Mass Storage device. What OS are you running? If you are running Windows 98 there is practically no chance of this working. [/QUOTE] Sorry - running Windows XP ---
**Author:** ![Cleophus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@Cleophus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleophus)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-little-tykes-digital-camera-why-is-my-computer-not-seeing-it/431434/14 "2008-01-02T00:11:31Z")
First try the standard USB stuff. Try all the available USB ports, try a different USB cable, unplug other USB devices other than the keyboard or mouse, and use the ports on the computer instead of a hub. Also check Device Manager (right-click on My Computer, choose Properties, then choose the Hardware tab, then Device Manager) to see if there are any devices listed with a question mark, after you plug in the camera. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6bbea6/32.png) [@The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Seventh_Deadly_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-little-tykes-digital-camera-why-is-my-computer-not-seeing-it/431434/15 "2008-01-02T00:43:53Z")
From the subject line, I was hoping there was a line of toys called “Stupid Little Tykes,” purveyors of gifts for children you don’t like. ---
**Author:** ![Amblydoper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@Amblydoper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amblydoper)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-little-tykes-digital-camera-why-is-my-computer-not-seeing-it/431434/16 "2008-01-02T05:38:55Z")
For the person with the Mac, try plugging the camera in, then opening the Disk Utility program (Applications - Utilities - Disk Utility) and see if the camera is listed. Some times, flash memory cards do not automatically “mount” and they will not appear on the desktop.