Help with transfering video to computer?

I have a JVC digital video camera and it's a model GR-D270. I've had the camera for two years and forgot about it until recently. I want to do some filming with it, but when I plug the USB cord into the camera and then the computer, the computer doesn't recognize that the camera is there. What I want to know is, is this a problem with the USB cord or is there some setting/function I have to set on the camera or something that I don't know about? Any help or advice would be most appriciated.

Even when I go to My Computer, and check for the "Device" It just doesn't know that something is there. I did download the software it came with which was just Digital Photo Navigator ver 1.0.

If you have a mini dv (cassette) camcorder鈥?
Your dv camcorder needs a firewire connection (ieee 1394) in order to download video, your PC probably did not come with a firewire port, so you will have to buy one and install it, since most computers (except possibly brand new) don't come with a firewire port, your camcorder did not come with a firewire cord so you have to purchase a cord too. Your camcorder did come with a USB cord and that is used for downloading stills from your camcorder. Make sure your camera is in playback mode.

You'll need to download the USB driver from JVC. Without that driver it won't recognize the camera nor will it transfer the video at the proper sync rate.

When you plug it in you have to turn the device on. Have you looked in "My Computer" to see if it is there?

A person with a similar problem found this helpful:
http://www.fixya.com/support/t151349-jvc...

take the memory card out and plug it into the computer and go to my computer and click on all the drives until u find it