Webcam not recognized even after driver reinstallation

Hey all,

My computer is an HP Pavilion dv5. My built-in webcam is not recognized by the computer anymore; it shows up in Device Manager as "Unknown Device" under the USB section (at least that's my guess; this unknown device appeared when the cam stopped working). I have reinstalled the HP drivers and contacted HP as well; they couldn't get me past reinstalling the drivers. Are there any things I can try? Might an upgrade to Windows 7 fix the problem?

Which version of windows are you running?

• Make sure all your devices are connected and powered on
• Click Start->Run, enter: msinfo32. Click the + sign next to Components to expand it
• Click Problem Devices. Anything appear?
• If yes, click on it, Ctrl-A to select all, Ctrl-C to copy it, Ctrl-V to paste into next post

Vista Home Premium, sorry for leaving that out.

Ummm... What about Problem Devices? (see the rest of my earlier post...)

Nothing in Problem Devices.

Then are you still seeing an Unknown Device??? As best as i know, if you see an unknown device in Device Manager then it should also be appearing in Problem Devices.

If you no longer see unknown in Device Manager look to see if the web cam is now listed somewhere in Device Manager?

My Problem Devices section is empty! But there's still the unknown device in the USB section of device manager.

Very odd

But then let's do it this way... In Device Manager, rt click the Unknown device select Properties, click Details and in the pulldown tab, select either Hardware ID or Device Instance ID (i forget if one or both appear in the pulldown but either will do). Copy/paste the ID that are displayed into your next post

Hardware ID: USB\UNKNOWN

How very helpful that must be sorry

I'm just baffled by this whole thing.

Actually.....

That may explain things (tho it doesn't mean good news for you )

USB\Unknown means a USB device is failing. Windows can detect the USB device is connected but Windows can't identify what the heck the hardware actually is!

But let's make sure it's your web cam. Have you disconnected all your other USB devices? If yes, that USB\Unknown, is most likely then by default, your web cam (is my best guess)

Only other thing, you might also check your BIOS to see if webcam is listed to try enable / disable but is sounding like the cam has failed :dead:

Okay, thanks. It's not good news but it's my best guess

just had one more thought.. there's a remote chance the problem might be cleared by reinstalling the USB controllers. Odds are still the cam itself has failed.. but simply trying to reinstall the USB controllers isn't hard if you want to give it a shot.

See How to Reinstall Your USB Controllers and Motherboard Chipset Drivers. You needn't bother with the part about the Chipset driver but simply uninstall the USB controllers (per link above) and reboot to reinstall. is at least worth the long shot

Alright, I'll give it a shot but I won't hold my breath.

Thanks so much for your help!