Need some help w/webcam software.

[Meghan54]

Howdy.

My across-the-street neighbor bought an Asus X551M laptop for her kid but wanted it reverted to Win 7. She had the laptop formatted, installed a retail copy of Win 7 and was happy until the kid needed the webcam working.

Now he needs the webcam and she came asking for help. (Wife told her I was a "computer nut"....thanks, Debbie.)

How do you make a webcam turn on? Specific software, I'd imagine. There's nothing native in Win 7 for webcam use, is there?

Best freeware out there? I am totally ignorant on the subject.

 

[Berryracer]

You don't need any software for this, usually for example if you want to Skype with someone, the webcam will be activated.

What I use is Cyberlink YouCam 7 which allows me to take selfies and add special effects but it's paid I don't use any free software on my computer due to me being super sensitive to ads/popups/etc.

 

[Elixer]

Does windows 7 see the device at all? (Look in device manager, and see if you see any "!" or errors...

 

[ronbo613]

What kind of camera? Go the manufacturer's website and see if they have any calibration or operational software available.

 

[Berryracer]

What kind of camera? Go the manufacturer's website and see if they have any calibration or operational software available.

As he mentioned it's an ASUS laptop. It never needs a driver although they have a utility called ASUS Virtual Camera but that is not really needed and is NOT a driver, it just allows the computer to see the camera as multiple cameras so you can for example have a Skype conversation while recording somethine else with the virtual camera but the webcam should be installed automatically with the default Windows drivers.

 

[ronbo613]

As he mentioned it's an ASUS laptop. It never needs a driver although they have a utility called ASUS Virtual Camera but that is not really needed and is NOT a driver, it just allows the computer to see the camera as multiple cameras so you can for example have a Skype conversation while recording somethine else with the virtual camera but the webcam should be installed automatically with the default Windows drivers.

Yes, I read that he had an ASUS laptop. I have a Sony VAIO laptop with a built in camera and it has third party software. So, if he went to the ASUS website, he should be able to find the drivers(if required) and software for the camera.

You say the camera "never needs a driver" and in the same sentence you say it uses "default Windows drivers", so I guess you're correct in every situation.

 

[Berryracer]

Yes, I read that he had an ASUS laptop. I have a Sony VAIO laptop with a built in camera and it has third party software. So, if he went to the ASUS website, he should be able to find the drivers(if required) and software for the camera.

You say the camera "never needs a driver" and in the same sentence you say it uses "default Windows drivers", so I guess you're correct in every situation.

What I meant is it rarely if ever requires a driver from the OEM to function.

I've had more than 8 ASUS laptops ranging from gaming PCs to normal laptops.

They do NOT have a webcam driver. PERIOD.

A simple Google search if you wanted to sit here and argue with me you could have simply Googled the laptop model number to see that there is NO WEBCAM DRIVER!

Enjoy: https://www.asus.com/support/Download/3/557/0/2/BfnJpFOINWJ0zTH3/30/