The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Webcam Problem!

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by xscribble, Jul 25, 2010.

  1. xscribble

    xscribble Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Today I self installed a webcam and bezel.

    Things went smoothly except for the fact that it doesn't work... lol
    The webcam's LED lights up blue, except I can't get any video from it using ANY programs (Dell Webcam Center, Skype, etc.)

    I have no clue what is going on, I've already tried different drivers, and uninstalling/reinstalling.

    By the way: Currently running a Windows 7 Ultimate on a Vostro 1400.
     
  2. MrSpock2002

    MrSpock2002 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    153
    Messages:
    422
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I seriously want to see pics of this!
     
  3. xscribble

    xscribble Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    What do you mean?
     
  4. MrSpock2002

    MrSpock2002 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    153
    Messages:
    422
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Pictures of the Bezel and Camera if you can. Also where did you plug in the webcam cable? I thought it was all connected via the display cable to the motherboard, so I'm a bit confused how you installed it with a display with no webcam built in.

    Also Windows SHOULD detect it and use a generic driver if your using Windows 7. Dell's XPS 1640 used to have a driver for it and is on Dell's site. Now their 1645 does not use a Dell driver, instead it uses the Windows generic driver. What OS are you running?
     
  5. xscribble

    xscribble Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5

    Ahhh so you think i custom built it. Nah the vostro is nice because it is pretty generic, the webcam attaches to a cable right after you take the bezel off :p

    Anyway - hmmm is this probably a hardware problem then, assuming that what you say about Windows 7 is true?

    I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate.
     
  6. MrSpock2002

    MrSpock2002 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    153
    Messages:
    422
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I've build many desktops and worked on many laptops, and so fare with Win 7 any webcam that came from Dell, HP, etc always worked great with the generic driver.

    Go to your device manager, does it show anything there that says "unknown device"? Also look under (I THINK it's user input) to see if it lists it there.
     
  7. xscribble

    xscribble Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    No, the drives always load and recognize the camera, but whenever i open up a program to use the camera, it just doesn't work... it's sooooo weird...

    does this sound like a hardware or software problem?
     
  8. MrSpock2002

    MrSpock2002 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    153
    Messages:
    422
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    That's odd.... It sounds like Windows is seeing the camera fine... Maybe the camera is bad?
     
  9. xscribble

    xscribble Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Ok, i guess i'll order another one, and we'll see if that works :D
     
  10. niffcreature

    niffcreature ex computer dyke

    Reputations:
    1,748
    Messages:
    4,094
    Likes Received:
    28
    Trophy Points:
    116
    not incredibly relevant... but they tend to be USB right? maybe I heard that dells arent...

    When I had a sony Z series, I could never get the webcam to work. not on linux or windows. Later on I took the whole thing apart... guessed at the wires and spliced it to a USB plug... it worked great!

    If its not a ribbon cable :p give it a try. USB has 2 pins for 5v. maybe you're just missing the data pin
     
  11. xscribble

    xscribble Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    wow that's pretty damn ingenious and crafty, but the cable connecting to my webcam is a ribbon cable just as you said :p

    thanks for the advice though, really appreciate it!