This is about my webcam on dell n5110. This problem has a little bit of a history. The story so far is like this:
The webcam was working perfectly for about a year. I was not using it for about a month and then when I try to use it Dell Webcam central application was showing webcam not detected error. I tried other softwares like skype and other online webcam chat tools, but the result was same. Then I posted a similar post on this forum seeking for an answer. People were really helpful and they gave me different type of tips and methods to try out.
I tried each and every. There wasn't any devices under imaging devices in device manager. There weren't any unknown devices listed either.
I used dell troubleshooting tools both online and offline, they all said there isn't such device on your laptop. They didn't had a clue about a webcam.
I re installed Dell webcam central software. But nothing changed. Also I removed all usb devices from device manager and let them to be re-installed. Yet there were nothing.
I was advised to flash the bios. I tried it but the application exited showing 'can not flash bios to the same version'. I tried loading default settings in bios.
Then I removed the front panel of the laptop and unplugged and plugged the webcam connector cable from the top as they said it can be a loose connection. Yet it didn't made a difference.
Days passed like this and few days later when I turned on my lap a new driver installation notification appeared and USB device was installed. And yes, it was the webcam driver. Webcam was working fine. I ran the test on dell application few times and webcam passed them all the time. It was just like new. But it wasn't consistent. Webcam suddenly disappear as in the first case leaving no clue what happened and then came back the same way as before. I have no idea what caused the web cam to do that. This happened few times.
Now that is the history of the problem.
- It was working like that for about three months. And now the webcam didn't comeback for about a month. I'm thinking about replacing the webcam. The question is will it solve my problem?
- Are this symptoms of a hardware failure? I only checked the connection of the cable to the webcam module. Can there be a loose connection in the other end of the cable?
Also I believe the microphone array is also located in the webcam module. It was working fine even when the webcam was gone. And it is still working fine.
- Are webcam and microphone two separate units or do they come together?
- Does the microphone array connection goes through the same cable as of webcam? If it is, can the possibility of the webcam failure due to loose connection be nullified?
Lot of questions. I'll be waiting for your good opinions.
Thanks