Question Webcam not detected

[KLynnB]

I wasn't sure if should have put this in the Computer Periphals forum or here. But I have a sneaking suspicion that the problem is with Windows 10. Last week, my system stopped detecting my Logitech 4K Pro webcam. I unplugged it from the USB port and plugged it back in. It worked fine for a while, but as soon as I closed out a meeting in Teams, it disappeared again. When this happens, it doesn't even show up in the Device Manager. Unplugged it, plugged it back in. Same thing, it worked for a while then I did a Zoom meeting and the same thing happened. Camera not detected and it didn't show up in the Device Manager. I thought I had a faulty webcam, so I ordered a Razer Kyo Pro which I got today. Plugged it in, it worked fine. Tested it out with one of my staff members in Teams and as soon as I closed the meeting window, zap...camera not detected. Not showing in the Device Manager. Unplugged and plugged it back in and it came back. I've tried different USB ports and the same thing happens.

So I did some more poking around on the web today and I read that sometimes resetting Windows 10 can fix these problems. That brought to mind that I also have a weird issue with deleting files on my desktop but the icon stays there until I restart.

Y'all, I have a high end gaming computer that I enjoy a LOT but I'm not that technically proficient.

Having said that...

Should I reset Windows 10? If I do, I would choose the option to keep my files but I would also back them up to an Iron Key I have. I have a TON of game saves but those are also in Ubisoft and Steam clouds so I'm not too worried about them.

Any advice? Should I do this? Any pitfalls I need to be aware of? I'm chewing my nails nervous over here.

System specs:
Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 3950X Processor (16x 3.5GHZ/64MB L3 Cache)
Motherboard: ASUS ROG X570 CROSSHAIR VIII FORMULA - WiFi 6, ARGB Header (2), USB 3.2 Ports (1 Type-C, 11 Type-A), M.2 Slot (2)
Memory: 32 GB [16 GB x2] DDR4-3200 Memory Module - G.SKILL Trident Z (RGB LED)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 - 10GB GDDR6X - MSI Gaming X Trio (VR-Ready)
Primary Hard Drive: 2 TB Samsung 860 EVO SSD -- Read: 550MB/s, Write: 520MB/s - Single Drive
Secondary Hard Drive: 500 GB Samsung 860 EVO SSD -- Read: 540MB/s, Write: 520MB/s - Single Drive
Sound Card: 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard
Network Card: Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)
Operating System: Windows 10 Home - (64-bit)

 

[Ralston18]

Look in Windows' Reliability History and Event Viewer.

Any errors, warnings, or even informational events that you can associate with the loss of the webcam?

Either via Zoom or Teams?

Try running the built in Windows Troubleshooters. The troubleshooters may find and fix something.

Other options: "sfc /scannow" and "dism".

References:

https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-use-sfc-scannow-to-repair-windows-system-files-2626161

Fix Windows Update errors via DISM or System Update Readiness tool - Windows Server | Microsoft Docs

If nothing is found then manually download, reinstall, and reconfigure the applicable webcam drivers.

Do not use any third party installers.

 

[KLynnB]

Thank you for your response. The camera crapped out on me while I was facilitating a meeting this morning. I was able to capture and error message: 0xA00F4271 Media Capture Failed Event. I have briefly looked at the Reliability History and Event Viewer. Reliability History doesn't show anything directly related to the Webcam and the Event View freaked me out. I've got so many errors and warnings in there I don't even know where to start.

I'm going through your other suggestions now. But wanted to hop on here and thank you while I continue troubleshooting.

 

[KLynnB]

Here are the results of the system scan.

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.19042.630]
(c) 2020 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>sfc /scannow

Beginning system scan. This process will take some time.

Beginning verification phase of system scan.
Verification 100% complete.

Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.
For online repairs, details are included in the CBS log file located at
windir\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. For example C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. For offline
repairs, details are included in the log file provided by the /OFFLOGFILE flag.

 

[KLynnB]

I just updated the firmware for the camera via the Razer website.

 

[KLynnB]

I hope it isn't annoying that I'm making multiple posts but I'm trying different things and want to keep a record as I go along.

It would appear that my webcam crapping out may be symptomatic of larger issues. Windows Update is also failing.

I poked around about that and found a recommendation to diagnose the Windows Image and repair it. This is what I found. I ran the Restore Health twice because the first time, I had several apps open and thought maybe that contributed to the failure of the repair.

Windows PowerShell
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Try the new cross-platform PowerShell https://aka.ms/pscore6 PS C:\Windows\system32> Repair-WindowsImage -Online -ScanHealth
Path :
Online : True
ImageHealthState : Repairable
RestartNeeded : False



PS C:\Windows\system32> Repair-WindowsImage -Online -RestoreHealth
Repair-WindowsImage : The restore operation failed. Either the repair source was not found or the component store
cannot be repaired.
At line:1 char:1

• Repair-WindowsImage -Online -RestoreHealth
• ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

+ CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: 🙂) [Repair-WindowsImage], COMException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : Microsoft.Dism.Commands.RepairWindowsImageCommand

PS C:\Windows\system32> Repair-WindowsImage -Online -RestoreHealth
Repair-WindowsImage : The restore operation failed. Either the repair source was not found or the component store
cannot be repaired.
At line:1 char:1

• Repair-WindowsImage -Online -RestoreHealth
• ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

+ CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: 🙂) [Repair-WindowsImage], COMException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : Microsoft.Dism.Commands.RepairWindowsImageCommand

 

[KLynnB]

Hey! dism did it!

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.19042.630]
(c) 2020 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>dism /online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.19041.572

Image Version: 10.0.19042.630

[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.

C:\Windows\system32>dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.19041.572

Image Version: 10.0.19042.630

[==========================100.0%==========================] The restore operation completed successfully.
The operation completed successfully.

C:\Windows\system32>

 

[KLynnB]

I don't know if anyone is following this but just in case. I think I've finally resolved the problem.

Some additional information first. After my last post, I started having some other weird errors. On Sunday, my keyboard started repeating every time I touched one key. I had to unplug my gaming keyboard, plug in an old stand by, reboot my machine, then plug the gaming keyboard back in. Trust me when say it wasn't because the keyboard was dirty or anything was stuck. That was the first thing I checked. Then yesterday while I was in a Teams meeting with my boss, the volume jacked itself up to 100% and stuck there. I couldn't change it in Windows and I couldn't change it using my keyboard volume control. I was able to use the master control on my speaker to turn them down to a reasonable volume and finish the meeting. THEN MY CAMERA CRAPPED OUT AGAIN.

I did some additional poking around based on the comment in @Ralston18 's response, "Do not use third party installers." I've been using IObit Driver Booster, Active Care, and Uninstaller. I think my problems dated back to the first use of the Driver Booster and the Uninstaller. I did some more research on that and here in Tom's, every recommendation is DON'T USE THEM.

At this point, I had so many things going haywire that I did a Windows Reset last night. After that, I tested my camera using Zoom and IT CRAPPED OUT AGAIN. I did some more poking around and found this registry fix:

1. Use Win + R shortcut keys to open the Run command.
2. Type regedit and click OK to launch Windows registry.
3. Go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows Media Foundation > Platform.
4. Right-click on the Platform folder and then select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
5. Name the value “EnableFrameServerMode”.
6. Right-click the new value and select Modify then set it to “0” in the Value data.
7. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > WOW6432Node > Microsoft > Windows Media Foundation > Platform.
8. Repeat steps 4-6 if you own the 64-bit version of Windows.
9. Restart your PC to update those changes.

I did that. Ran a Zoom meeting last night for almost 2 hours. Ran a test meeting this morning in Teams. Had an hour long video call with my boss in Teams. Had a 30-minute meeting with my staff in Teams. No problems with my webcam, my sound, or anything else. Plus, my PC is back to running fast.

I do think the problem was the IObit software. Needless to say, I will NOT be reinstalling that.