Although I have a HTC Desire S, I dont use the HTC sync software when transferring photos, in fact Ive not even bothered installing it on this PC as I find it quicker to use Windows, so I'm not much help Im afraid.
1) I just plug in the USB cable,
2) select the option to browse (not charge) that comes up,
3) then Windows automatically picks it up as an external drive.
4) I just then drag and drop.
The important step is stage 2 and you have to be pretty quick to select the correct option, otherwise it defaults to 'charge only' and Windows cant find the photos.