Feb 11 2014
Hello visitors to our computer blog. IN this review I will share information on how to enable a webcam on a laptop or computer.
The previous post was devoted to the topic or computer. Today we will talk about webcams, with the help of which you can communicate almost live over the Internet with other people.
Checking all cables and connectors
First of all, to check if your webcam is working, you need to make sure that it is connected to the computer if you are using a separate USB camera. If you have a laptop with a built-in camera, then we will need third-party programs to check its functionality.
We look in the device manager
We go to the device manager of our computer. I wrote more about how to get into the device manager here:. To do this, you need to follow these steps: My Computer (Computer) >>> Properties >>> Device Manager >>> Imaging Devices.
Your camera should be in the image processing devices tab. If there are question marks or exclamation marks next to it, then you need to download and install drivers.
If you have a laptop, then you may have a disk with drivers from it, if you don’t have one, then you need to go to the official website of the laptop manufacturer, type in your model and download the driver for the webcam.
If there is a down arrow, it means the equipment is disabled, you need to turn it on. Click on it right click mouse and select enable, you may need to restart the computer.
If you have a separate camera that connects via a USB cable, then the company and model markings should be written on it. We go to the browser, any search engine, type the camera model, it is advisable to download the drivers from the official website, but if this is not possible, then you can from others.
Windows Tools - Film Studio
In the operating room Windows system 7 there are no built-in programs with which you can turn on the webcam and make sure it works or not.
Such a program can be downloaded on the Internet, it is called Windows Movie Maker, but to use it, you need to download and install it on your computer. You can find Windows Movie Maker (Film Studio) on the Internet on the official Microsoft website or through any search engine.
Skype is our assistant
To check your webcam you can use third party programs, for example Skype and agent mail ru. If you are not yet registered on Skype, but want to use it and register, then read here:
If everything is fine, then the first time you launch Skype with a working camera, the following window will appear: Your video is working!
Go to Skype >>> Tools >>> Settings... >>> Basic >>> Video settings >>> Webcam.
If everything is in order, the camera is working, then you should see a picture with a real-time image.
Webcam Surveyor program
Webcam Surveyor is a simple utility for quickly checking your webcam. When I worked in a service center, I often used this utility to check the camera on laptops and regular computers. Its size is slightly more than 2 megabytes.
You can download the Webcam Surveyor program here:
After downloading and installing Webcam, go to the utility from the shortcut or start menu (if you checked the appropriate boxes at the time of installation).
This is a trial version for 30 days, click Agree.
Online camera verification services
There are online services for checking your webcam on the Internet in real time. Here are two links for testing:
The toolster.ru service is temporarily down, I hope everything will get better soon.
We go to one of the sites and are immediately asked to give us access to our camera and microphone, but are warned that we may be recorded. Click Allow to view or Deny if you change your mind.
Of course there is a risk, but it is minimal. To check the camera, I think nothing bad will happen in a couple of seconds.
If your camera has a microphone, then a green scale will jump near the image on the right, which indicates the microphone sound level.
On the second testing site everything is the same, only a slightly different interface and no microphone check.
What to do if the picture is upside down
In my practice, there have been cases when a user turned on his webcam, and the picture on his monitor was upside down. This means that your camera drivers are not working correctly, or are not installed for your model.
To solve this problem, you need to go to the official website of your camera manufacturer, download and install the original drivers.
What to do if nothing helps
If, after all the steps taken, your camera still does not work, then I recommend the following:
- Restart your computer
- Insert the cable from the camera into another USB socket
- Remove drivers and install original ones from the official website
- Take it to a repair or service center
And finally, buy a new one to replace the old one that didn’t work.
How to turn on a webcam on a laptop or computer | website
In conclusion
Today, my friends and I learned how to turn on the webcam on a laptop or computer if it doesn’t work. To do this, we used the following assistants: cables and connectors, device manager, Windows tools - film studio, Skype programs and Webcam Surveyor, a couple online services. We also learned what to do if the camera image is upside down.
You may have questions related to how to turn on the webcam on your computer or laptop. You can ask them below in the comments to this article, and also use the form with me.
Thank you for reading me on
A web camera is exactly the device that allows us, during communication, not only to hear the voice of the interlocutor, but also to see him. How to turn on the camera in Skype, because without this, the video call will simply be unavailable, which means that a good half of the useful functions of the program will cease to be relevant.
You can find out how to solve the issue in our next article.
On a laptop
All modern laptops have a built-in webcam additional connection doesn't need it. But if you do, know that turning on the camera on a laptop in Skype is perhaps the easiest way, and this instruction will be the shortest. But it also has its own nuances.
- Usually, the web on a laptop does not require any additional activation; it is an automatic process. But some models require turning on this equipment with a special button (or key combination) located on the keyboard.
- There shouldn't be any problems with drivers either, but it's still worth checking. Open “Device Manager”, and then “Imaging Devices”. If your webcam is on the list and there is no yellow triangle or exclamation mark next to it, everything is fine
- Now about the program itself. How to enable the camera on Skype on a laptop by setting up the program itself? Open the menu by clicking on the three dots at the top of the screen, and here click “Sound and Video Settings”.
See which camera is installed by default. Why, you ask, is there only one webcam on the laptop? Information about the connected equipment is saved in the device’s memory, and if a third-party webcam was tested on your laptop, Skype can set it by default, even if it has been disabled for a long time. This software error is quite common, so be careful.
On the computer
How to turn on the video camera on your computer in Skype? Nothing complicated:
- Connect new equipment to a free USB port
- Wait until the device sees it
- Install the latest drivers for the new webcam from installation disk. Sometimes the operating system itself searches for “firewood” and installs them. If this does not happen, and there is no installation disk either, go to the website of the manufacturer of your web-ki and download the drivers here. You can check if everything is in order with the “firewood” in the “Device Manager”, in the “Image Processing Devices” tab (Windows OS)
- Go to the settings of the program itself (three dots, remember?). Open “Sound and Video Settings” and select it from the list again - now video communication will be carried out using it.
On the phone
How to enable the camera in Skype on your phone? There is nothing complicated about this either.
- In the case of a phone, you will not encounter problems such as lost drivers or an additional power button. Actually, the user should not have any difficulties here.
- All you need is to be able to switch the image in Skype from the main camera to the front camera and back
- All this is done in the settings of the application itself. Open Settings and select Sound and Video Settings. You can select the active camera in this tab and you can do it with one touch.
- On a tablet, you can switch the webcam in exactly the same way.
Possible problems
Why doesn't the webcam turn on in Skype? Let's look at the most common problems and ways to solve them.
- The webcam does not turn on in Skype on a laptop or computer due to driver problems. Check if everything is in order, just as we told you. If necessary, update or reinstall the drivers
- Often problems arise due to late installation of updates. Install latest version programs
- Do not run two programs that use a webcam at the same time
- The reasons may lie in the malfunction of the equipment itself.
You can find out more about this by reading our next article.
If you need to turn on the camera on a laptop, you can do it as follows:
If you have Windows 8 or 10, then everything is very simple. You need to use the standard search and open Camera app. Press the WIN+Q key combination and enter the query Camera in the search bar.
Now run the found program.
The webcam runs full screen and there are only two buttons on the right: one for recording video, and the second for taking photographs. On the left there is a button to view photos. This is how easy it is to launch the camera on Windows 8 or 10.
Also, all pictures taken will be stored in the following path: You need to open the Computer section, then the Images folder - Camera Roll.
How to enable the WebCam on a laptop in Windows XP
If you have Windows XP, then everything is even simpler here: Open the Computer section and at the very bottom find USB video device and double click the mouse.
Well, now, let's talk about Windows 7, since most users have this version installed.
How to enable the camera on a laptop in Windows 7
If you have Windows 7, then it’s a little more complicated, since in this version of Windows it is impossible to turn on the camera on a laptop standard means systems. But don’t be upset, because this can be quickly fixed. I recommend downloading a simple program called MyCam, which will allow you to turn on the webcam on your laptop and take photos and shoot videos.
The program does not require installation, you just need to unpack the archive with the program and run the main MyCam file.
The functionality of the program is simple: at the top there are buttons for photographing and video shooting.
And everything we filmed is displayed below. Double-clicking on any photo opens a folder with other files (videos and photos).
Now let's talk about possible problems.
What if the Webcam doesn't work? Black screen!
If you already tried to enable the webcam on a laptop in Windows 7, 8 or 10 using the methods described above, but did not see anything other than a black screen, then you need to check the following:
The first step is to go to Properties of the Computer section and open device Manager.
There we find the section Imaging devices, and inside Webku. You need to right-click on it and select Enable.
If the webcam is not displayed there, then perhaps the driver is simply not installed on it. Please note if there are any devices with an unknown or exclamation mark?
A webcam (webcam) is an integral part of the vast majority of laptops. By default, after the first start of the device, it is immediately ready for use. But what if you are trying to get an image from the camera, but there is none?
The main thing is not to panic. Situations when mobile computer the webcam does not work, most often due to the fact that it is simply turned off or not installed in the operating system (breakdowns of this device, fortunately, are rare). Read below to learn how to turn on the camera on a laptop and troubleshoot related problems.
How to quickly check if the camera is working
To find out if your webcam works at all (perhaps it doesn’t work in only one program because it’s disabled in the settings), go to the service Webcam&mic Test and click " Check webcam».
If you see a request to allow access to the device for Adobe Flash Player, that means everything is in order: the camera is working. Check " Allow» and check if the image appears on the screen.
If you see a message like in the screenshot below, it means the camera really isn’t working. We’ll figure out what to do in this case further.
Checking the status of the webcam in the system
We begin diagnosing any hardware problems by checking how it appears in Device Manager. To open the manager, press hot Windows keys+ R (this will launch the “Run” application), enter the command in the “Open” field devmgmt.msc and click OK. The method is convenient because it works in all versions of Windows.
In the dispatcher window, expand the list “ Imaging devices» and see if our webcam is there. The following options are possible:
- The web camera is not in the list of equipment - the computer does not see it. This happens due to a hardware failure or physical failure.
- There is no camera, but there is an unknown device, which most likely is it. This means that the computer sees it, but cannot recognize it. The reason is the lack of a driver.
- There is a camera in the list, but next to it there is a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark or a black arrow in a circle. The first indicates a malfunction, the second indicates a shutdown in the operating system.
Turn on the webcam from the keyboard
The function of turning on/off the webcam from the keyboard is not implemented on all laptop models. Where there is one, a miniature image of a camera is applied to one of the keys. Most often this is the “V” key, sometimes “Escape” or others from F1-F12.
To turn on the web camera, press this key simultaneously with “Fn”. After this, the webcam should appear in the device manager. If it's still not there, you probably have that rare case where it's physically faulty or not connected.
Installing the driver
If, after turning on the webcam hardware, something unidentified appears in the device manager, install the driver for it. It is best to download it from the website of the laptop manufacturer or the webcam itself, if you know exactly its model. Or install from a disk, if one was included with your device.
If you do not know the exact name of the laptop model, turn it over. There is a sticker on the bottom cover of every laptop stating this.
This is what the brand label of the MSI MS-1757 laptop looks like:
Having determined the model, find it on the manufacturer’s website and download the driver for yours in the “Support” section operating system. Install as a normal application, after installation, reboot the machine.
By the way , there may not be a separate webcam driver for some OS versions, since it is included inWindows (USB Video Class Driver). Problems with this group of drivers can be resolved by installing updates or .
Fixing webcam recognition errors in the system
If the webcam is marked with a black arrow in Device Manager (disabled in Windows), right-click on it and click “ Engage».
When disabled in the operating system (by the user or programs), this is enough for it to work.
If the webcam is marked with an exclamation mark on a yellow triangle, which means: “the device is not working properly,” click on the same context menu command " Delete" and restart your computer. The system will recognize it again and automatically reinstall the driver.
If it doesn’t help, click “ Update drivers»:
Specify the search location as the Internet (if you are not sure that the correct driver is present in the system) or this computer (if the camera worked properly with the old driver before the problem occurred or you have a recent version).
And many others. It is possible that your laptop also has a similar utility: look in the list of applications and check. The interface of such programs is designed for beginners, so figuring out what is turned on and off where will be easy and without instructions.
By the way, some users think that deleting the webcam control program will make the latter inoperable. The fears are in vain: basic functions, which include turning it on and off, do not suffer from this - they simply become the responsibility of the operating system. How can you control them using Windows tools, I hope you already understand.
More and more PC users on the Internet communicate through not only correspondence and voice communications, but also video calls. But in order to be able to communicate in this way, you first need to connect the video camera to your computer. This equipment can also be used to organize streams, training lessons, monitor the territory and for other purposes. Let's figure out how to turn on the camera on a desktop PC or laptop with Windows 7.
Before turning on the camera on a PC with Windows 7, of course, you need to connect this equipment to it, if it is not built into the case. We have a separate article devoted to physical connection, so we will not focus on this procedure here. We will consider in detail the procedure within the operating system to activate the video camera.
Method 1: "Device Manager"
In most cases, when connected to a computer, the webcam should turn on automatically, but sometimes it needs to be activated "Device Manager".
- Click "Start" and move to "Control Panel".
- Open "System and Security".
- Further in the section "System" find the item "Device Manager" and click on it.
- Go to section "Image Processing Devices" or "Sound, video and gaming devices"(depending on camera type).
- In the list of devices that opens, find the name of the video camera you want to connect and right-click on its name. Presence of item "Engage" in the menu that appears means the camera is disabled. In this case, you need to click on it.
- In the dialog box that appears, for the changes to take effect, click "Yes" to restart your computer. But before that, make sure to close all active windows and programs so as not to lose unsaved data.
- After restarting the PC, the video camera will be turned on in the system and ready for its intended use.
If you don't find in "Device Manager" name of the video camera, and this sometimes happens, you will need to additionally update the device configuration.
In addition, it should be noted that for correct operation of the camera and its correct display in "Device Manager" Requires up-to-date drivers. Therefore, you should definitely install the drivers that came with your video equipment, and also update them periodically.
Method 2: Turn on the camera on your laptop
Modern laptops, as a rule, have a built-in camera, and therefore the procedure for turning it on differs from the same procedure on a desktop PC. Often, this action is performed by pressing a certain combination of keys or a button on the case, depending on the laptop model.
