Need help, webcam + corrupted system files, how can I fix it REMOTELY?


  1. strandedPL
    Posts : 3
    Win 7 64-bit
       New #1

    Need help, webcam + corrupted system files, how can I fix it REMOTELY?


    My girlfriend is currently abroad. Connecting any webcam device (Creative, Lenovo, Microsoft) instantly crashes Skype or any other video capturing software. I cannot see her and it drives me mad.

    Could someone please tell me if it's possible to reinstall Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit remotely which can be an issue since she has no idea how to do "that stuff" in the first place. Or is there a way to completely restore broken system files?

    Changing:
    - GPU software/drivers won't help
    - reinstalling DirectX, webcam drivers etc won't help
    - HOWEVER we used to talk like this:

    I connected to her over TeamViewer 8, launched Skype and listen to this, right clicked on myself and picked Send video message, then a popup window shows up and I can actually see her... well I could but since today something got messed up and no webcam is being picked up by software (Windows sees the webcam just fine, in the Device Manager and it even "blinks" with it's light LED).

    PLEASE HELP ME OUT HERE!

    PS She has some bad sectors on the drive but there is not way for me to replace the drive for her or even reinstall Windows because she is really far away.

    Oh and the computer is actually a laptop without built-in camera and microphone. It's HP 550 on Core2 Duo 3GB of ram.
      My Computer
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  3. AmericanPharaoh
    Posts : 2,178
    Win7, Win10, Win11
       New #2

    Hello Stranded,

    Welcome to Sevenforums!

    Are you sure this is not Malware related?

    The external Webcam should be tested on a different computer to make sure it still works.

    You could use remote assistance, but I don't know if that is an option since she may not understand the entire process.

    If she is not worried about restoring to factory Imagine, this my a an easier option if done over the phone.

    Any other steps to repair may be too complicated for her. Such as, sfc /scannow, CHKDSK, Startup repair, Device Manager, etc.

    John
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  4. strandedPL
    Posts : 3
    Win 7 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       New #3

    Hey! I got access to CHKDSK, sfc (here's the log file: http://stranded.eu/public/CBS.log) and all that, device manager shows the webcams. I even sent her one webcam over mail and it works 100%, all of them work, even on her friend's laptop.

    She does have legal Windows 7 Home Premium BUT she does not have a restoring option on the laptop, only the DVD at home... yes, at home. So now I did an ISO for her (but it's without SP1) and I want to manually start the setup from the C drive.

    I can connect to her over TeamViewer, Remote Desktop etc.

    I was wondering, if this is going to remove ANY files that she has?
    Win7?s no-reformat, nondestructive reinstall

    I want to do this remotely, I hope it doesn't. She has loooooots of pics from her stay there (she's in Russia) and she cannot lose them.

    Also I can't phone call her because it's mega expensive.

    Update:
    Ahh I figured she should backup first, she'll buy a bunch of DVDs and make backups (over 15gb of pics for example) and then I will guide her through the clean windows install through her friend's..webcam.

    Will report here if it helped but I guess it has to work.
    Last edited by strandedPL; 01 Nov 2013 at 12:30.
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  6. strandedPL
    Posts : 3
    Win 7 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       New #4

    Guided her over her friend's Skype and she did a clean install. Everything works smoothly now. Thanks for your help though.
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