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    webcam driver open fail. NEED SERIOUS HELP PLEASE!!!!

    Discussion in 'Gateway and eMachines' started by itskp, Jan 24, 2010.

  1. itskp

    itskp Newbie

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    okay. so i dont know much about computer but i got a gateway MD7818u almost a year ago. has vista and what not. my webcam does not work. when i go to start it up it says, "webcam driver open fail. please restart camera or computer." ive reinstalled the driver a million times, restarted my computer. downloaded newer drivers. everything. i don't know whats wrong. it works once in a blue moon. probably worked about a dozen times so far. i cover music and the webcam is the best way for me to do it. i really need to get this to work. someone please help asap.

    dont tell me to bring it to best buy or something cause im on house arrest and cant go there. and if someone knows that answer i need a really good walk through since i suck at using computers. hence the reason my webcam still doesnt work!

    thanks.
     
    itskp, Jan 24, 2010
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  2. Omexis

    Omexis Notebook Consultant

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    Did you buy this laptop new? If your bought it used, it might be that the webcam cable connected to the motherboard could be loose. Have you tried to check that?
     
    Omexis, Jan 24, 2010
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  3. itskp

    itskp Newbie

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    i bought it new. i have no idea how to check if its loose. is it easy to do?
     
    itskp, Jan 24, 2010
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  4. Omexis

    Omexis Notebook Consultant

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    Well there is a guide at the top of the forum for disassembly for all 17" fx laptops. Read through that and see which stages you will need to do. I don't know if your laptop has the same way of taking apart. But i'm afraid thats all i can help you with. Someone else might be able to help you further. Just wait and see what other people have the say about it.
     
    Omexis, Jan 24, 2010
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  5. nitewulf

    nitewulf Notebook Enthusiast

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    I recently installed Win 7 pro on a P-7811FX that previously came with Vista Home Premium 64. The webcam worked fine in Vista. I found that Win 7 camera software was now available from Gateway so I downloaded and installed it. I got the same error message that "the driver failed to open". I located and installed some free webcam software on the net and the webcam is fine so I don't think the other person's problem is a non-working webcam (although it could be). There is definitely something wrong with the win 7 driver for the camera assistant software, at least in some configurations.
     
    nitewulf, Feb 1, 2010
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