Hello - i have Sony sr42 handycan and i need to copy data from it to my laptop. i have usb data cable but unfortunately i have lost my software. when i connect handycam to my laptop through usb, i get the message for hours "Connecting - pls dont unplug usb or power" i believe i need software, can you please help. Thanks! Regards, Fahad

There is a tutorial for transferring video from tyhis camera to a computer on the Sony website. Unfortunately, you do not say what kind of computer (PC or Mac) or operating system you have, and you have to specify this on the website to get the right instructions.

The instructions for a Windows computer are as follows:

Movie player applications must support mpeg 2 playback to open these files properly. Refer to the software manufacturer for additional information and available updates.

1. Turn on the computer.
2. Make sure the camcorder is turned off.
3. Connect the camcorder to the computer using the supplied USB cable.
4. Plug the AC power adapter into an electrical wall outlet and then connect it to the camcorder.
5. Open the LCD screen on the camcorder.
6. Turn on the camcorder.
7. The USB SELECT screen will be displayed on the LCD; touch the HDD icon.
8. Open the My Computer window on the computer.
9. In the My Computer window, double-click the icon that represents the camcorder and then navigate through the folder structure to locate the video you want to transfer. Note: The camcorder will be listed in the My Computer window as an additional hard drive.
10. Click to select the video or image files you want to transfer. Note: If your are using a High Definition Handycam® Camcorder, Sony recommends copying and pasting the AVCHD folder to the hard drive of the computer before accessing its contents.
11. Type CTRL+C to copy the files.
12. Click on the computer folder to which you want to copy the video or still image files.
13. Type CTRL+V to paste the file into the computer folder.