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    M17x WebCam is no longer working

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by avillabon, Feb 22, 2010.

  1. avillabon

    avillabon Notebook Evangelist

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    Weird thing.. I do a lot of video conferencing via skype, out of the blue the camera stopped working the system thinks that it has no camera.

    Im guessing it is a driver issue, where can i get the offcial drivers for the camera.

    Oh yeah, there are no yellow icons on the device manager..

    Alex
     
    avillabon, Feb 22, 2010
    #1
  2. f4ding

    f4ding Laptop Owner

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    Fn+F9 won't do it? Drivers should be available on Dell website.
     
    f4ding, Feb 22, 2010
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  3. avillabon

    avillabon Notebook Evangelist

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    nope.. it pops the little splash screen of a camera and then nothing happens.

    Alex
     
    avillabon, Feb 22, 2010
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  4. avillabon

    avillabon Notebook Evangelist

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    Reinstalled drivers.. still nothing..

    Alex
     
    avillabon, Feb 26, 2010
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  5. stamatisx

    stamatisx T|I

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    If you go on the device manager and look under the Imaging Devices is everything working properly?
    If yes did you try to uninstall Skype and install it again? Did you install any other application at that period of time that could interfere with the webcam? like a messenger application?
     
    stamatisx, Feb 26, 2010
    #5
  6. BatBoy

    BatBoy Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Open up the app you use for web cam then try the FN+F9. Make sure the webcam app is set to the right camera. In some apps, cyberlink youcam is one, there are a couple of choices. FA, integrated webcam and another I can't recall right now. See if that works.
     
    BatBoy, Feb 26, 2010
    #6
  7. avillabon

    avillabon Notebook Evangelist

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    WOW you are a life saver batboy! This was driving me crazy! I never knew FN+F9 was to disable-enable the webcam... I opened the device manager and noticed the "facap, FastAcces....." was disabled so i enabled it, then i hit FN+F9 and bam the webcam is back! WOOT!

    I find it hard to believe that FN+F9 is so powerful that it doesnt reset after a new driver was installed.

    Thanks again!

    Alex
     
    avillabon, Feb 26, 2010
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  8. SillyHoney

    SillyHoney Headphone Enthusiast

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    I didn't even know Fn + F9 has thing to do with webcam lol.

    Thanks, BatBoy!
     
    SillyHoney, Feb 26, 2010
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  9. BatBoy

    BatBoy Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Basically, FN+F9 will enable or disable the webcam. You still have to launch the webcam app for it to 'go live'.

    Glad its fixed. Enjoy Skype!
     
    BatBoy, Feb 26, 2010
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  10. silverghost123

    silverghost123 Notebook Geek

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    Hi,

    I had a similar problem yesterday where my webcam was no longer working. I tried everything I could think of to get it working again, and even resorted to reloading factory settings via Alien Respawn.

    Even after reloading the factory settings, it still didn't work, so I called Dell and sat on the phone for an hour with them while they reinstalled the drivers and also a new version of the command centre.

    Anyway, I really should have read the manual :eek: :eek: :eek:

    As the lappie is only a few days old, I haven't had time to read the manual, so didn't realise that Function / F9 stops and starts the webcam, and I must have inadvertantly pressed it at some point yesterday.

    The reason for posting this, is that once the webcam has been switched off, it appears that the only way to get it working again is via the Function/F9 keys, I was very suprised that reinstalling the factory settings didn't reset it.

    Hopefully this will help someone out in the future ;)

    PS. Dell didn't mention anything to me about pressing Function/F9 during the hour's phone call, it was only by Googling 'M17X webcam not working' that I found this post and resolved the issue.

    Cheers all and happy new year
     
    silverghost123, Dec 30, 2010
    #10