Motion Eye suddenly stopped working!

[kellebel90]

After two years the inbuilt camera of my sony vaio VPCEA1SE1 suddenly stopped working, so did the microphone. Whenever I try to skype or something it says that the webcam is not connected or that it's being used in another programme. It also dissapeared from the devices list, I think I might need to re-install the driver but I can't find it anywhere.

I'm currently studying in Argentina for 6 months so i really really need skype!

Thanks for your help!

[rich912]

Hi kellebel90,

I think your model uses native Windows drivers so you will not find a camera driver listed on the Support site.

Try resetting all USB devices.

To do this open Device Manager and expand Universal Serial Bus controllers. Delete all in the tree and then shut down. Disconnect the power supply, remove the battery and then hold down the power button for 30 seconds.

Re-attach the power adaptor, reconnect the battery and re-boot - Windows will reload all USB drivers.

Does anything then appear in Device Manager? If not you could have a hardware problem.

Rich

[kellebel90]

Hi Rich!

Thank you very much for answering! It acutally worked, but not for long though. After I restarted my laptop for something else it stopped working. Now everytime I try to use the cam it goes on and off, on and off and it makes te same sound as if when you plug in and out a USB cable. The camera is however now showing in the devicce manager. Would you have any more suggestions??

Thank you very much!

[rich912]

Hi kellebel90,

Well at least that is some progress.

Unfortunately it seems you possibly have a loose connection to the camera which will need some disassembly to check and cure.

The only other thing I can suggest is that you open Device manager > expand USB Controllers and for each Root Hub right click > select properties > Power Management tab and uncheck 'Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power'. This is a bit of a long shot but worth trying.

BTW does the camera disconnect when using Skype or is it the same when using WebCam Companion or whatever utility is installed on your model?

Rich