# WebCam not detected



## kountryking (Apr 27, 2010)

HP Pavilion dv9815nr Notebook PC, Windows Vista. I don't know if you can help me with this. The Indians who work for HP and the Cyberlink techs in Taiwan are useless. When I click on the WebCam I get a message that says WebCam not detected. After months of following directions from people who don't know their you-now-what from a hole in the ground, I've about given up. I live in El Salvador where there is no HP dealer and no one who knows beans about the connection between the camera and its blue light on the screen panel and whatever it connects to via the hinge in the base of the machine. If someone can help, it would be greatly appreciated.


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## parttimetechie (Jan 9, 2010)

Is it a built in camera or a USB device? What kind of camer if its USB?


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## kountryking (Apr 27, 2010)

The camera is a Cyberlink YouCam built in to the laptop.


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## parttimetechie (Jan 9, 2010)

So if you double click the icon for the webcamera, what do you get? An error message or just nothing at all?


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## kountryking (Apr 27, 2010)

After uninstalling and reinstalling free upgrade versions thanks to the techs at Cyberlink, the YouCam folders are all present at C:\Program Files\CyberLink\YouCam. It is on Programs and Features in the Control Panel. It is NOT listed on the Device Manager where it used to be, but under Sound, Video, and Game Controllers CyberLink WebCam Virtual Driver is shown.
When I click on the icon, I get the message that my 30-day trial has expired. I tried to install one of the other versions I have in "Downloads" from my time with the Taiwan techs but since I already have a version, albeit expired, it won't let me reinstall. Probably the passwords I have wouldn't work after all this time anyway.


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## parttimetechie (Jan 9, 2010)

It sounds like the program is giving you the trouble, not the actual hardware device. What about if you down load something like YAWCam, can you see your webcamera then?


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## kountryking (Apr 27, 2010)

I downloaded YawCam. It got to the point where it showed a logo for YouCam 3 on its screen with the note to Open YouCam. I double clicked my YouCam icon and got the same "trial expired" message. I even uninstalled v3.1 and reinstalled the older v3.0 and get the message to buy it. I downloaded another trial version from Cnet and it also opened to the message to buy it. V1.0 came with the computer. Working with the techs in Taiwan, they sent me free upgrades for my troubles, but they couldn't get any version to detect the camera they or HP installed.


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## parttimetechie (Jan 9, 2010)

Ive never heard of hardware being a "trial version" this really sounds like a software problem


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## kountryking (Apr 27, 2010)

The hardware is not a trial version. Of course it's software. The problem is the software not recognizing the presence of the hardware. 
As I stated in my first post, there is a breakdown in communication between the actual camera in the laptop's screen panel (the part you open) and the software residing in the keyboard panel (base, bottom).


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## parttimetechie (Jan 9, 2010)

But you used different software like YAWCam, so im not sure how it can still be software.


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## kountryking (Apr 27, 2010)

Am I failing to communicate? The software exists in Program Files and elsewhere. I can click on the .exe and start the program which now wants me to buy the product (which I should already own as it came with the computer). The hardware is the camera with its lens and blue "on" light that hasn't been on in months.
When it DID load, before all the craziness with flow-chart reading techies, I received a message that told me the computer doesn't detect a camera. YawCam's screen showed the YouCam icon with a message to turn on YouCam, which obviously I can't.
THERE IS NO CONNECTION BETWEEN THE SOFTWARE IN THE BASE (KEYBOARD) PORTION OF THE LAPTOP AND THE CAMERA LOCATED ON THE OPEN (SCREEN) PORTION OF THE LAPTOP. There must be something that passes between the two portions in the hinge. Somewhere along that circuit, something is disconnected.


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## xx_raven (May 1, 2010)

I would advise you not to snap at those who are helping you, as they made a good point. Just because it isn't helping you yet doesn't mean you should start being rude.

What it sounds like to me is that the software is in the wrong place entirely. Depending on where the program is downloaded to, the computer reacts to it differently - for example, if I were to download Photoshop into my "Pictures" folder, obviously I would not be able to open it.

Try downloading YAWcam or some other program NOT into a folder - simply under "Computer." If that's not an option, try "Downloads," as that's fairly neutral.

Also, please test something. Do you have Skype? This is a long-shot, but it would help ascertain if it really was a software malfunction or if the webcam itself was faulty. Try getting onto Skype and see if Skype itself detects your camera, and if it does, find someone - anyone, even a test call bot - to try it out on.


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## kountryking (Apr 27, 2010)

I wrote a message this morning before church and just finished it. It gave me some crap about a token expiring. So, including the apology, here it is again.
I always save my downloads before running them. When they run, they go to D:\Program Files. I've done YouCam so many times it couldn't get lost. I've "searched", such as one can with Vista, a number of times and nothing is out of place. There used to be a program called "HP Camera" on the laptop, but I don't know what happened to it.
I down loaded Yawcam twice, on the desktop and C:\. Can't do it to Computer. Same "Buy Now" message. Same thing with Skype.
I wrote to CyberLink telling them their techs lost my program and I want it back. I don't expect I'll hear from them in Taiwan too soon.


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## parttimetechie (Jan 9, 2010)

Have you tried checking your OS for errors. Go Start, run, type in sfc /scannow and see if u get any errors.


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## kountryking (Apr 27, 2010)

All I get is a quick flash of a command prompt window.


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## parttimetechie (Jan 9, 2010)

Hmm, thats not right. Go to Start, then run, then in the run box type sfc /scannow. You should get a box with a blue or green line that checks files as it goes along.


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## kountryking (Apr 27, 2010)

Not with Vista 32 bit. I keep trying with the same result.


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