My Olympus Stylus 7030 won't focus and shuts off when I try to zoom.

Hello, Are you sure you have not turned off the LCD display by mistake. Check your settings.
Best Regards, Russell

The optical zoom will not work while recording video with sound. To use the optical zoom, turn the sound off. See pages 16 and 33 of this manual.

You have two choices: take advantage of the warranty or this:

Copy and paste this website into your browser for solutions:

http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/12/fixing-lens-error-on-digital-camera.html

Return it. It's defective.

Sound like a problem witj your LCD screen, some water could be damaged.

Most cameras will not be able to read pictures put on a card by a computer because of the different operating system....in fact, some cameras may even become corrupted by trying such a process. Are you sure you want to take the chance?

You can download Olympus software from
http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_support_downloads.asp?id=1486

The best way to download pictures from your camera to your computer involves removing the memory card from the camera and plugging it into a card reader (either built-in to the computer or connected via USB or FireWire). This is likely to be faster than connecting the camera to the computer, and won't run down your camera's batteries.

Once the card is plugged in, it will appear to your computer as a removable drive. You can use the operating system's drag&drop facility to copy pictures from the card to the computer's hard drive, the same way you copy any other files. Or you can use any photo cataloging program, such as Picasa ( http://picasa.google.com ).

shake/**** it with some force the camera while turning it off..the lense should go back in

Assuming the batteries are fully charged, as its a new camera take it back to the vendor and request a demonstration to your satisfaction or a replacment under warranty.

Yes, common problem, small plastic tab(s) connecting viewfinder to the zoom are broken.