Multiple Computer issues. HELP!!!

RubyXI

Hi. I really need help. I've been googling everything and can't find any solution.

My laptop is a Dell Inspiron 15R. Windows 7

1. My integrated webcam is not working. It does not seem to be showing up in my device manager. I've tried downloading drivers. No change

2. I tried restoring to a a previous point. It won't restore. I'm getting error messages.

3. I tried doing a full restore pressing F8 at startup. It won't restore. Just asks me for disks i don't have. I only have the drivers disk it came with.

There seems to be no solution

mp22

Are you trying a system restore because of the webcam?

Gone Drinking

How old is it? If it's less than a year old, you're still in warranty. Ring dell during normal business hours and see if someone will fix it for you.

The restore CD should have came with the laptop. If it didn't, ring Dell and tell them it didn't, they'll send you another regardless of your warranty as far as I know.

RubyXI

It's a year and a half old and out of warranty. I'm trying a system restore because of the webcam and all the error messages I'm getting.

Ishmael

phi3 wrote: »

I only have the drivers disk it came with.

I know this is a silly question, but have you actually checked the contents of the driver disc. My laptop is a different brand but the drivers disc had the "Software" and drivers for my webcam on it. I only ask as you didn't specify if you had checked it or not.

Is there a function key on the keyboard for you Webcam. Usually one of the F keys (mine is F6). It might have a camera icon on it or something resembling one. Try pressing the FN and this key together and see if anything happens. This could be a hardware switch for the camera which is why it doesn't appear in device manager if it is turned off.

RubyXI

Ya checked the disk and can't find the driver on it. I don't think theres any keyboard shortcut for the webcam. It's usually F6 and that key is blank. Tried it and nothing happened. Like the webcam used to work and now it just doesn't. It's wrecking my head coz I can't understand it!

yoyo

phi3 wrote: »

Ya checked the disk and can't find the driver on it. I don't think theres any keyboard shortcut for the webcam. It's usually F6 and that key is blank. Tried it and nothing happened. Like the webcam used to work and now it just doesn't. It's wrecking my head coz I can't understand it!

Have a look in the bios just in case there is an option in there to disable it. I have come across this before. If the driver wasn't installed you would expect at least something to show in the device manager. It could also be the camera cable has become loose or broken inside the laptop.
What are the error messages system restore is showing? If you need a DVD for windows 7 you can get the disc for your version here. Just burn it to a DVD and it will work doing a restore. If asked for serial number use the one on the bottom of the laptop.

Nick

RubyXI

The error is 0x8007005
I'm running microsoft safety scanner to see if it will pick up anything.
I was tweeting dell and they sent me a few downloads
They sent a BIOS upgrade, but it says it can't flash the same version.
They sent a webcam driver which unzipped but didn't seem to change anything.

Glenn220390

You could try this...backup all important information first

-go to control panel.
-go to backup and restore.
-on the left there should be an option to create a system repairs disc.
-create disc.
-then boot from CD.
-try to restore.

RubyXI

Glenn220390 wrote: »

You could try this...backup all important information first

-go to control panel.
-go to backup and restore.
-on the left there should be an option to create a system repairs disc.
-create disc.
-then boot from CD.
-try to restore.

Tried that. It wouldn't complete the disc. Kept throwing errors..

Try this.

Open a command prompt as administrator and run the following two commands:

set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1
devmgmt.msc

This will open a special Device Manager window. Click the View menu and choose "Show hidden devices" - this will show you all of the devices installed in the system which no longer exist. If the webcam shows up in there under Imaging devices with a greyed out icon, the laptop doesn't know it's there anymore, in which case it could be faulty or the cable has become loose.

RubyXI

Would it just be called webcam or could it be named something else?

phi3

phi3 wrote: »

Would it just be called webcam or could it be named something else?

If it's installed it'll be under Imaging devices with a name like "Dell Webcam", "USB Video Device" or something similar.

RubyXI

No the imaging devices heading doesn't even come up

RubyXI

Getting this on startup now

CreepingDeath

Do you have a CD / usb disk plugged in while booting ?

Have you run scandisk on your drives to rule out file corruption of drivers/registry etc?

As a last resort to tricky USB device issues I've had in the past, I've uninstalled ALL usb devices including the usb hubs in the device manager.

Note: You'll lose mouse support and be limited to the keyboard until you reboot and it redetects all devices.

So under the "Universal Serial Bus controllers", remove ALL items, then reboot.

mooonpie

That screen looks like a PXE Boot screen (Boot over LAN/Network).

This is usually set as a choice after Hard Drive in the boot sources list in the BIOS. If this is still the case and your laptop is trying to boot over the network, it has attempted to boot from the rest of the sources that come before it in the boot list.

Which means it hasn't recognised your hard drive ...

Next time you boot the laptop look for the prompt to select boot source (usually pressing F12 when the Dell logo is showing), pick hard drive and see what errors (if any) you get.

nelly17

Id suggest you get a copy of Hirens boot cd or something and boot from that so that you can at least get back in to have a poke around

RubyXI

I do get errors on my hard drive but it was in to be fixed before and they partitioned part of the hard drive

yoyo

phi3 wrote: »

I do get errors on my hard drive but it was in to be fixed before and they partitioned part of the hard drive

The hard disk is likely faulty, and possibly even completely failed at this point. Just repartitioning won't fix a broken hard disk. Usually when you start seeing bad sectors these multiply over time. You can test the hard disk using Seatools

Nick

RubyXI

Probably a stupid question, but if i do need to replace my hard drive, is it possible to use an external hard drive instead.

ianhmoore

phi3 wrote: »

Probably a stupid question, but if i do need to replace my hard drive, is it possible to use an external hard drive instead.

If you bios supports "Boot from USB device", you shouldn't have any problems booting from an external hard drive. However, when you go to load on Windows, you may have to contact the MS server to request a new authentication code. Booting from an external hard drive will also give you the option of running different operating systems if you want.

I agree with what other people had said. If you had a damaged hard drive, it should have been cloned and replaced. Creating a partition to "Avoid" bad sectors is not a solution and only delayed the problem, it didn't fix it. I'd get my money back from whatever idiot decided to do that as a solution.

yoyo

phi3 wrote: »

Probably a stupid question, but if i do need to replace my hard drive, is it possible to use an external hard drive instead.

It should be simple enough to swap the old drive out and put a new one in. Much safer as well as if the external USB cable came loose while in Windows it could possibly corrupt the drive.
You can see a video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8wWVzSjaOk

Which I think is your laptop models HDD replacement

Nick

Sleepy

I have a Latitude E6500 as my work laptop which has an integrated webcam which has never shown up under Windows 7. Always assumed the cam simply wasn't Win 7 compatible...

I wouldn't run Windows from an external disk permanently. It'll run much slower on USB 2.0 and you also have the added risk of the drive popping out while the machine is running.