Solved Laptop webcam not working

Hi folks
latest build Rs_preview W11 pro -- built in laptop camera not working - an external USB one works perfectly - and actually is a better one but that means an extra piece of kit when travelling. Microphone works from either the laptop or the external camera. Get msg : No video capture device found if only using the built in camera.


Note even trying to copy drivers from W10 is no good if Windows doesn't recognise the device in the first place.

W10 -- No issue both work

W2K22 Server Also both work. - Even on a VM - then you have to physically attach or re-direct the external webcam.

No specific drivers are needed normally for these things.

Cheers
jimbo

Have you tried the troubleshooter?

I would try to update the chipset drivers first. These drivers are for the motherboard and its components and help Windows detect other devices connected on the motherboard. I had seen a case in Windows 10 when a certain update messed with the chipset and I could not access my audio card (no audio devices detected) or my video capture card (no video devices detected). The solution was to find and uninstall the specific update, then hide it (block it) with Windows Update Show/Hide Tool.

Fabler2 said:

Have you tried the troubleshooter?

Click to expand...

Hi there
The troubleshooter is usually a total waste of time (at least in my experience).

I fixed it finally -- running a Native linux distro with the "Cheese" app installed it found the internal laptop webcam and worked OK.

I then started up a windows VM device and "redirected" the hardware device (from linux command lsusb)
to show usb ID etc of all attached usb devices / hardware. Then it worked. Saved the VM image, reloaded to a physical machine and all OK -- but a bit of a crazy way to solve a Windows problem that Windows should easily have been able to detect.

Still a bit bonkers when 2 other versions of Windows on the same physical machine had no problem with it !!!!.

Will mark as Solved - although probably not in a method a lot would do here though - still a solution in my book is a solution !!!!

Cheers
jimbo

If updating the chipset drivers doesn't help, try to run the sfc /scannow command in a Command Prompt as Administrator. As a last resort I would reinstall Windows and make sure I install the chipset drivers before any other drivers.

I think I enountered what sounds like a similar issue: Somehow during the process of setting up a new W11 laptop, after I had upgraded to w11 pro and updated and installed many apps, I somehow in the process had entirely lost access to the integrated camera. It was gone from device manager, not working at all, and nothing I tried (tried many things) worked to get it back, until I booted from another drive that had the relatively unmodified and only slightly updated original manufacturer factory install of windows 11. In that version of win 11 the integrated camera was back in device manager and still working properly. I copied all the 4 integrated camera drivers onto a flash drive. I then rebooted into the highly modified and upgraded version of win 11 that had lost access to the integrated camera and (without my using or doing anything with the copied drivers), the webcam was already back in device manager and working properly again to my great relief because I was not looking forward to starting over again to configure a clean install of W11 to my liking to get the integrated camera back. Hopefully, it stays back.

Probably Windows Update messed with the camera driver but fortunately later another update fixed it.