@barneboy: According to your description I recognize the behavior from when the camera isn’t connected (or when it’s connected but not turned on). First thing to check is that you have the camera switched on.

@Busted Knuckles: I had only EOS Utility/DPP for a year or so until I installed Lightroom. Today LR has replaced the RAW file editing, but I still use EOS Utility/DPP for downloading to the computer, for a first quick sorting out failed photos, and for tethered shooting. I simply like Canon’s software better for these tasks, otherwise LR is superior in most aspects.