Camera problem in device manager

Question

so, my camera wasn't working, and I did troubleshoot and I went through the steps, and it was still not working
I updated the camera drivers from the device manager and had my windows updated and I tried to restart it couple times it still didn't work so I went with the troubleshoot it said uninstall and reinstall I don't know how to reinstall and now I don't know what to do I don't have the camera in my device manager anymore and it doesn't work

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Answer 1

It sounds like you're experiencing issues with your camera not being recognized in Device Manager. Since you've already tried updating the drivers and troubleshooting, here are steps you can take to reinstall the camera driver:

1. Open Device Manager: You can do this by searching for "Device Manager" in the Start menu.
2. Scan for Hardware Changes: In Device Manager, click on the "Action" menu and select "Scan for hardware changes". This may help Windows detect the camera again.
3. Check for Hidden Devices: Sometimes devices can be hidden. In Device Manager, click on "View" and select "Show hidden devices". Look for your camera in the list.
4. Uninstall and Reinstall: If you see your camera listed, right-click on it and select "Uninstall device". After uninstalling, click on "Action" and then "Scan for hardware changes" to reinstall the driver automatically.
5. Restart Your Computer: After performing these steps, restart your computer to see if the camera is recognized.

If the camera still does not appear, it may be necessary to check for any hardware issues or consider reinstalling the camera software if applicable.

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References:

• Troubleshooting Device and Driver Installations
• Using Device Manager

Answer 2

Hi Ahmed TK,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A!

I understand how frustrating it is when the camera disappears from Device Manager after uninstalling it. Don’t worry, sometimes this just means Windows hasn’t re-detected the hardware yet, and we can fix that.

1 - Scan for hardware changes

• Open Device Manager > click View (top menu) > Select Show hidden devices
• If your camera appears as grayed out, right-click it and select Enable device
• If nothing appears, click Action (top menu) > select Scan for hardware changes
• Windows will try to detect the camera and reinstall the driver automatically.

2 - If it's not automatically reinstalled, you need to manually do it

• Go to your PC manufacturer’s official site (e.g., Dell, HP, Lenovo).
• Download the latest camera driver > Install it and restart your PC.

3 - Use Windows Update for drivers

• Go to Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates and download anything available
• In the same page, open Advanced options > check and install Optional updates (if any)

If the camera doesn’t show up even after scanning and installing drivers, it could be disabled in BIOS or actually a hardware issue. There might be a loose connection or faulty camera module which caused the problem at the first place. Let us know the results and we will work from there.

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