Solved Can't get old webcam to work on Windows ME

[gamer dude]

Hi everyone!
Ok so I'm the volunteer head of security at Fleur De Lys Institue and I'm having trouble with this old webcam that used to be used as a security camera.

The problem is I have no idea on how to get the damn thing to work....

It has a modem cable connection.

I tried plugging it in to the pc's modem/internet port but nothing happened.

It has Windows Millennium Edition on it and is quite old.
(The PC was donated to us by a member of the public)

Does anyone know how I could get this camera to work?

(I have attached 2 photos, one of the camera and one of its connector)

 

[bobkn]

This may not help, but:

Is that an RJ45 Ethernet connector, or a telephony plug?

Do you have any information on the web cam (make, model)?

 

[Night Hawk]

Once you know the make you can find old drivers for Legacy and ME at Webcam Drivers Download Note some are 98/2000 not 98/ME however depending on which you have there.

 

[gamer dude]

This may not help, but:

Is that an RJ45 Ethernet connector, or a telephony plug?

Do you have any information on the web cam (make, model)?

It's a telephone plug.

And the webcam has been there for years. All I know about the webcam... well all anyone there knows about it is that it used to be used as a security camera. There's nothing on it that indicates a make or model number.

 

[gamer dude]

Once you know the make you can find old drivers for Legacy and ME at Webcam Drivers Download Note some are 98/2000 not 98/ME however depending on which you have there.

Thanks for the link!

 

[Night Hawk]

The only suggestion I could think of for using a web cam for security would simply be to update the process entirely where you can easily use a usb model for the same thing. When initially getting off of dsl for cable and adding on a WiFi capable router the landlord was trying to use for a wireless connection to a security system the idea of a remote desktop came to mind.

Since the cam used RJ-11 it would have needed an interface much like a dial-up modem when originally working. That would have gone into an ISA or PCI slot on the machine itself depending on just how old and if it still saw ISA that is with PCI replacing the older.

With two 7 builds here I can easily set one up with a web cam and monitor it remotely using the TeamViewer program so I wouldn't have to be physically present at the other where the cam is added on. Take any old XP case and slap a usb cam on that and then add TeamViewer once you have the web cam working to monitor things remotely.

The little tab in TeamViewer by the way that shows on the desktop can be hidden from view by clicking on the left side. You can see that in the image attached here with the wited out spot and the tab to click on on the side of the popup.

That will not only provide a working solution but besides updating things on the OS side a little provide remote as well as machine viewing.

 

[gamer dude]

The only suggestion I could think of for using a web cam for security would simply be to update the process entirely where you can easily use a usb model for the same thing. When initially getting off of dsl for cable and adding on a WiFi capable router the landlord was trying to use for a wireless connection to a security system the idea of a remote desktop came to mind.

Since the cam used RJ-11 it would have needed an interface much like a dial-up modem when originally working. That would have gone into an ISA or PCI slot on the machine itself depending on just how old and if it still saw ISA that is with PCI replacing the older.

With two 7 builds here I can easily set one up with a web cam and monitor it remotely using the TeamViewer program so I wouldn't have to be physically present at the other where the cam is added on. Take any old XP case and slap a usb cam on that and then add TeamViewer once you have the web cam working to monitor things remotely.

The little tab in TeamViewer by the way that shows on the desktop can be hidden from view by clicking on the left side. You can see that in the image attached here with the wited out spot and the tab to click on on the side of the popup.

That will not only provide a working solution but besides updating things on the OS side a little provide remote as well as machine viewing.

Thanks for your help dude!

 

[Night Hawk]

You're most certainly welcome! gamer dude I think it will be coming down to the need to run something newer since anything from XP and newer will utilize a usb cam you can work with far easier at a low cost.

If you have an old desktop set up for this but left unattended at times the TeamViewer program can allow the remote monitoring from just about anywhere else to better things further. The program will run on XP as well as Vista and 7 and likely the 64bit XP Pro as well.

I can imagine the cam was used to monitor a doorway or a specific area for security purposes. Likewise I've been trying to figure a way of patching an ADT security system into a remote desktop for watching over some properties here. Hopefully that will give you some ideas to work with.