How to identify your webcam (and then find its driver)

Just to add, I personally think its something to do with the registry file. At device manager>imaging device, I did not click update driver, what I did was uninstall driver and plug and play immediately added a generic "usb 2.0 camera" as my webcam and after installing the new driver, I restarted to a new HWID. I also did check the HKLM>system>current_controlset>enum>usb and everything points at my usb port using USB\VID_0C45&PID_62C0 as my webcam hardware.

Your results are very interesting. To understand why, I'll explain some Windows stuff. Will try to keep it brief

Generic vs. Hardware Specific Drivers
Microsoft started including Windows generic drivers for audio, network and image devices (like cams) in Vista and Win 7. If Windows can't find a hardware specific driver for a device it installs the generic, if available. (Generics help avoid issues like the ol' XP catch-22. After a fresh XP install there's no network driver to let you go online to find all the missing drivers- like the network driver!). Though there can also be problems with generic drivers

• Some devices may not work with a generic driver
• A generic driver may not support full device functionality
• All of which means, it's better to install/use a hardware specific driver, if one exists for the device. Some simple, newer devices are designed to work with the generic. Then the vendor doesn't have to write, provide, support their own device driver.

How Windows finds drivers for plug-and-play devices

• Windows first reads the device's Hardware and Compatible IDs
• Next, it searches and looks at all the drivers on your machine. If a driver matches either a hardware or compatible ID, Windows adds it to its list of driver "candidates"
• IMPORTANT NOTE: Windows doesn't stop on the first driver match but rather continues searching through all drivers looking for any ID match. When done, Windows may have zero, one or more drivers on its "candidate" list.
• Windows calculates a numerical rank for each candidate. Driver rank is based on multiple criteria. Two of multiple criteria
  • Windows prefers a driver that matches a hardware ID rather compatible ID match
  • Windows prefers digitally signed drivers over unsigned drivers
• After calculating rank of all candidates, Windows selects and installs the driver with the highest rank

So how does all this relate to your problem?
Look at the data you supplied

• Provider is Microsoft! Windows chose to install the generic Windows driver!
• Matching Device ID is not any of the hardware IDs. It's one of the compatible IDs

It's getting late here!
Is getting late. This plus plus your other post to be continued..... G'nite. ZZZZzzzzz

LookinAround - good night thank you and hope to hear from you soon

lovehunter
Here's my best guess. Download driver HERE. Then create System Restore point (just in case). Unpack the executable to your desktop and run it.

DannyK
As to your 2nd post: to confirm the IDs and entries under your registry enum, Let's try this to verify the IDs coming from your web cam. We'll uninstall the cam, USB controller and Root Hub it's attached to. When Windows reinstalls the USB controller and root hub, it should re-enumerate the devices connected to them

Here's a helpful trick to see how devices connect to each on your computer.

Open Device Manger. Click View->Devices by Connection. All the PNP hardware connects through the PCI bus. To get there, expand the ACPI entries until you see PCI bus. Then expand the PCI bus too.

You now see all devices connected directly to your PCI bus. This includes the USB Controllers. Keep expanding each USB Controller, its root hub and connected devices until you find your web cam.

Now you know the which controller and root hub the cam is connected too. (Every USB Controller has a root hub. They're both on your motherboard). Right click Uninstall each in this order
> Web Cam
> Root Hub
> USB Controller

Then click Action->Scan for Hardware changes. Windows will reinstall the driver for each for each of these connected devices. It will re-enumerate the USB bus once the USB Controller and Root Hub are reinstalled. You can see if anythings changed in registry enum entries, IDs reported, etc. This should confirm the ID has really changed

Hello lovehunter
If LookinAround's link does not work for you...
Re:

• VID_0AC8&PID_3450 &MI_00\6&12594000&0&0000
• Vid_0ac8&Pid_3450 &Rev_01:2&MI_00
• Vid_0ac8&Pid_3450 &MI_00

Based upon information found HERE ...
Indicating that the Canyon CNR-WCAM713G has hardware with your ids

I believe these drivers should work for you:
Please note, there are two links. You will need to select drivers
for ... Windows 2000, XP, Vista (32/64 bit)
or ... Windows Vista, Windows 7 (32/64bit)

I hesitate to send you to other sites as they are
either

• Cyrillic, and unintelligible to me, and of unknown safety

or

• they want you to pay for their "service" in order to get your download.

Please let us know if this resolves your issue, or if you still need help!

I just noticed... these links do send you to a Cyrillic site... so, I hope that is helpful.
I am not getting safety warnings with my security software though,
so before installing ... just scan after downloading and unzipping any files.