Samsung R710 Webcam Not Recognised

[JAyF]

Hi all,

I'm currently installing an upgrade version of Windows 7 32bit on a Samsung R710. Everything has gone perfectly smoothly other than the webcam. Windows just is not detecting it and I've exhausted everything I can think to try.

I have installed and reinstalled the drivers and the "Play Webcam" software as well as all other drivers and software from the Samsung Website. The Play Webcam software is giving an error message along the lines of "Hardware not present". It is not visible in any messaging software (Skype, MSN, etc).

I've scanned various forums and can't see a pattern of people having the same issue. It was working before the upgrade, but I wiped Vista and reinstalled it and then installed 7 over a clean install of the Samsung Vista OEM from the recovery disk.

Any suggestions, no matter how much of a long shot, would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

JAyF

 

[Lemur]

Can you see the webcam on the device manager?

 

[JAyF]

Thanks for your response.

Nope, no show in Device Manager. As far as Windows is concerned I can't see any evidence that it is being recognised in any way at all. It's like it's not even connected.

 

[Lemur]

Install the latest firmware for the device. I went to
Support for R710 SAMSUNG
and found bios support using XP and Vista OS. I imagine Vista will work for you, as it's flashing the bios hardware. And it does have Win 7 32-bit drivers.

 

[JAyF]

Thanks, I'll give that a shot and let you know how I get on.

I'm not an expert on how the BIOS works, beyond changing things like boot priority and settings, out of curiosity what leads you to think updating the BIOS would help this. Does the BIOS somehow control how the OS communicates with the hardware and whatever port it is on?

 

[Lemur]

BIOS stands for Basic Input Output System. It's code built into the hardware (firmware) that initializes and identifies hardware (e.g., mouse, hdd, audio, video, etc). BIOS is stored on ROM (read only memory). Just as importantly, BIOS allows the user to configure hardware.

When you "flash your bios" we are simply hoping the new firmware instructions will be able to identify your audio card/chip.

 

[JAyF]

Great, thanks for explaining.

Is there any chance at all that this could damage the laptop? It's not mine, I'm doing it for someone else and it's a bit of an expensive laptop to have to replace if anything goes wrong. I remember flashing a router I used to use, before I decided it would be a good idea to flash the firmware and turn it into a desk ornament.

 

[Lemur]

Great, thanks for explaining.

Is there any chance at all that this could damage the laptop? It's not mine, I'm doing it for someone else and it's a bit of an expensive laptop to have to replace if anything goes wrong. I remember flashing a router I used to use, before I decided it would be a good idea to flash the firmware and turn it into a desk ornament.

Hmmm... I have always flashed firmware, such as printers, routers and computers, without a problem (knock on wood). I've read about people "bricking" their devices.

You could always contact Samsung and ask about the risks and benefits.

 

[JAyF]

Flashed the firmware this evening and it worked perfectly.

You learn something new everyday.

Thanks very much for your help Lemur, I appreciate it.