What software to transfer video content from camcorder to PC

I have Windows XP Professional, with Windows Movie Maker. But no SP2 Movie Maker. The Firewire cable has already been ordered (the 4-to-6pin for USB connection).

I already have the document you linked. It doesn't tell me what software to use for create video clips from the camcorder, or whether or not the software is a compatible one.

not Computer manufacturer - I presume you have a 6-pin FireWire port.

So you have MovieMaker - that is good. SP2 = Windows Service Pack 2... That is when MovieMaker was made available to the Windows environment.

Connect the FireWire cable to the camcorder and the computer.
Connect the AC power adapter to the camcorder and the wall outlet.
If the computer is not on, power it up.
Power up the camcorder - you need to be in "Playback/Edit" mode.
Launch MovieMaker.
You will import the video to the video editor, do whatever editing you want and save the finished project to whatever format MovieMaker allows.

Dell Dimension 8400, if that makes any difference. I have USB ports (which I believe to be 6-pin), but Device Manager doesn't say that it's Firewire compatible.

USB is not Firewire. USB = Universal Serial Bus. A mid-speed, bursty, short-distance computer peripheral or networking scheme. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB

Firewire (also known as IEEE1394 or i.Link) is a high-speed streaming (not bursty) protocol used for transfering lots of data, really fast. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firewire

Apple Macintosh machines have had Firewire400 ports for years. Most traditional Windows machines do not have Firewire ports unless the were specified or added later - more traditional Windows machines (Sony Vaio, many of the top-end units) are starting to have Firewire ports as standard.

A Firewire400 cable will not fit in a USB port. If your Computer: Properties:Hardware does not indicate a Firewire port, it is likely because you do not have one. You need to install a card.

According to this article:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,117517-page,1/article.html
The third to the last paragraph indicates you will have a problem adding the Firewire port you require:
"You don't get a lot of room for expansion inside the 8400. Since the fan on the graphics board blocks the only open PCI Express X1 slot, there is no room for extra add-in cards."
And there is no indication of a Firewire port...

On the other hand, http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/dell-dimension-8400-pentium/4505-3118_7-30919189.html says "The usual list of legacy ports, plus Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire, and six USB 2.0 ports reside on the back panel."

I didn't spend much time at the Dell site - and could not find port detail for the 8400... Good luck!

If the card requires PCMIA connection, I have one on my Toshiba laptop.