I hooked the VCR up to the TV and it works fine. I think what Nero is referring to is the "SAA7130 Analog TV Card" inside the PC, not the USB connector that I bought later and which worked for awhile. I don't think the USB connector is being detected at all, not even by its own software (Honestech). I hope I'm using the right terminology. I know how to use video and audio editing software, but I don't know anything about opening up a PC or installing chips, etc. But when I asked the builder of the PC for video capture capability, he installed this "SAA7130 Analog TV Card", which has RCA and other connectors coming out the back of the PC. I think it's also designed to record off of cable TV, but it's got the RCA plugs for VHS input. Not that it matters; that's the unit for which the software is incompatible with Windows 7 (after some research, I found that it's about 5 years old), and so I don't have anything hooked up to it. I don't know if this "SAA7130 Analog TV Card" is just an interface that is in turn connected to another video card or chip inside the PC, or if I'm dead in the water until I have that thing completely replaced.
To summarize, the "SAA7130 Analog TV Card" is installed inside the PC, with plugs coming out the back. Nero, Vegas, and Honestech all detect this thing, but cannot communicate with it or configure it. I don't have the VCR connected to it, because the capture software won't function with Windows 7 and so I've uninstalled it. As far as I can tell, it's worthless for the purpose of capturing video.
Back in February, after getting fed up with the SAA7130 Analog TV Card not working, I bought and used an SIIG USB 2.0 capture device for a little while, but then it inexplicably quit working, too. The software for this device has always been clunky, even when it was working. Whether it's software or hardware issues, none of the video software even recognizes the fact that the SIIG USB capture device is plugged into the PC. The PC does beep when I plug it in, so it does realize there is a connection. But the Honestech software tries to give me a choice of which video input to use, and (I can't remember this for sure) I think that in the past I had to hit the dropdown menu and select the SIIG USB capture device as the input to use. Now I don't have that choice: the "SAA7130 Analog TV Card" is the only option, and as I mentioned, it's worthless.
Sorry for the newbie-sounding questions here. For my last PC, bought in 2003, we just grabbed a video capture product off the shelf at the time of purchase and had them install it before we took it home. It worked fine until the PC died in December 2011. Since then, it's been a nightmare finding something that will work. The thing is, I don't want to take the PC into the shop where it was built. They sit on it for days, they haven't fixed it yet after two tries, and in any event I can't go without it for that long. If I need to pay a consultant to come to my house, I'll do so. But if there are some simple things I can check out to narrow it down, please let me know. If you think it might be worth buying the Black Magic USB device and software first, I'll try it. I appreciate your patience, but this has really been a thorn in my side for quite awhile.