Windows Camera Frame Server Monitor continually crashing.

Question

Hi, I recently upgraded my motherboard and processor and then upgraded to Windows 11 and I'm having issues with my camera, a Logitech C920.

My reliability history is filled with hundreds of "Windows Camera Frame Server Monitor" or "svchost.exe_FrameServerMonitor" issues where they stopped working.

My webcam also will not work, and the camera app crashes on launch. I've looked through a lot of help pages for this, and have done the addition of "EnableFrameServerMode" to the Windows Media Foundation > Platform registry, and set it to zero.

Strangely, setting this to 1 allows my camera to work, but the crashes continue several times a minute.

How can I fix this short of a reinstall of Windows?

Here is an error log from the reliability monitor:

Source

Windows Camera Frame Server Monitor

Summary

Stopped working

Date

‎30/‎10/‎2023 13:51

Status

Report sent

Description

Faulting Application Path: C:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe

Problem signature

Problem Event Name: APPCRASH

Application Name: svchost.exe_FrameServerMonitor

Application Version: 10.0.22621.1

Application Timestamp: 6dc5c2a5

Fault Module Name: KERNELBASE.dll

Fault Module Version: 10.0.22621.2506

Fault Module Timestamp: 5a736bb8

Exception Code: e06d7363

Exception Offset: 000000000006565c

OS Version: 10.0.22621.2.0.0.768.101

Locale ID: 2057

Additional Information 1: e2a3

Additional Information 2: e2a3de739df3397416f9b2c85f740957

Additional Information 3: 1c7f

Additional Information 4: 1c7f8e330836630f275832de5f2365f2

Extra information about the problem

Bucket ID: 4f15b72cacff4b857216cc2af69292b1 (1303453627067830961)

To add some more relevant data, I've updated drivers and BIOS to the absolute latest.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Hello ,

Good to see you in Microsoft Community.

Have you tried using a different USB-A port to connect your camera or connecting the camera to another computer to confirm if it works properly?

According to the log information from the Event Viewer you provided, the error is related to an anomaly in the Windows system core files. You can follow the steps below:

1. You may Perform a clean boot (microsoft.com) to see if it is normal, this is a troubleshooting step. In this mode, we can further confirm whether it is caused by system problem or third-party software or personalized settings. So, please be patient. Disclaimer*: A “clean boot” starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. It helps to determine whether a background program is interfering with your game or program and to isolate the cause of a problem.* These steps of "clean boot" might look complicated at first glance. However, to avoid any trouble for you, please follow them in order and step-by-step so that it will help you get you back on track.
2. Repair possible corrupted system files Run the following commands to fix possible corrupted system files. Run Command Prompt as an administrator ("Win" logo key + "Q", type "cmd", select "Run as administrator"), and type the following commands one by one. These commands require network support, please keep your network stable and smooth.

    sfc /scannow
   
    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
   
    wsreset.exe
   
    powershell "Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}"
   
    for %i in (%windir%\\system32\\*.dll) do regsvr32.exe /s %i
   
    chkdsk C: /f
   

   Disclaimer*: Running* chkdsk can check the file system and file system metadata of a volume for logical and physical errors. To avoid any trouble for you, please follow them step-by-step, do not cancel or interrupt chkdsk, and back up important data. For more information, please refer to this chkdsk article.

The command starts with "powershell" is used to re-register the application in question, which may result in some errors that you can safely ignore. 3. Repair/Reset Windows Camera app

*"****Win****" logo key + "****Q****" to open the search box and type "****Camera****", right-click "****Windows Camera app****" at the top of the result list > "****App settings****" > "****Repair****"/”****Reset****“.*

**Check for Microsoft Paint Updates**

*Open* ***Microsoft Store****, click "****Library****" in the lower left corner, then you will see the installed applications, click "****Get updates****" to see if there are any available update, and click the "****Update****" button on the right to update.*

**Clear the Microsoft Store cache**

*"****Win****" logo key + "****R****" to open "****Run****", type "****wsreset.exe"****, and press****Enter****(this will open a blank "****Command Prompt****" window, which will close and automatically open the Microsoft Store after about 10 seconds).*

If anything is unclear, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Best Regards,

Mosken_L - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Answer 2

Thanks for your reply!
The camera itself is working now, but the Windows Camera Frame Server and Monitor are both crashing multiple times a minute.

For the steps you listed for correcting the corrupt files:

1. Performing a clean boot stopped the crashes but only because it stopped the Windows Camera Frame Server. If I turned on all of the usual services except that one, the crashes would stop but I also then couldn't operate my camera.
2. sfc /scannow found a corrupted file, C:\WINDOWS\System32\drivers\bthmodem.sys, but this does not seem to have helped the crashes on restart. The other options you listed didn't find anything.
3. Repairing and resetting these apps didn't seem to make a difference.

I'm getting the feeling I might need to do a reinstall of Windows to nip this one.

Answer 3

Upon restart the camera keeps failing, despite doing what I described above. What are my options now?

Answer 4

So I did an in-place upgrade during lunch, and now it's finished, the camera works, but I'm still getting repeated crashes from the Windows Camera Frame Server. Just now I had 8 crashes in one minute.

What are my options now?

Answer 5

Maybe you can delete the registry item: "Win" logo key + "Q", type "cmd", select "Run as administrator":

reg delete "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Media Foundation\Platform" /v EnableFrameServerMode /f

Disclaimer*: Generally, modifying registry subkeys or workgroups is intended for advanced users, administrators, and IT Professionals. It can help fix some problems,* h owever, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For further protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click How to back up and restore the registry in Windows (microsoft.com) to view the article.

Regarding the file C:\WINDOWS\System32\drivers\bthmodem.sys, it is associated with a Bluetooth Modem. You can visit your device manufacturer's official website to download the Bluetooth driver applicable to your device. After manually installing it and rebooting, check if the system functions properly.

If the problem persists, you may in-place upgrade the system by the steps below.

• Please rest assured that the in-place upgrade the system will theoretically not affect your data and applications (you need to choose to keep files and applications in the next steps), just update all the system files are the latest.
• If you have important data, you may make additional backups to prevent accidental loss of your data. Also make sure there is enough free space in the system partition, at least 40GB.

1. Download Windows 11 ISO file Visit Download Windows 11 (microsoft.com) and click "Download Now" under “Create Windows 11 Installation Media” to download MCT (Media Creation Tool). _ Then run the program, select "Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD or ISO file) for another PC”, and then choose Language, Version, Architecture (if you are not sure about these, choose "Use the recommended options for this PC"), then select "ISO file" in the "Select Media to Use" interface, and then a Windows ISO file will be downloaded to your disk (about 4-5GB in size, it is recommended that you choose a non-system disk).
2. In-place upgrade the system After the download is completed, double-click the ISO file, double-click to run "setup.exe" in the open file explorer, and select "Change how Setup downloads updates" > "Not right now", accept the terms of the agreement, and select "Keep personal files and apps", then click "Next" > "Install". Then the system will reboot a few times, and then enter the welcome screen. Disclaimer*: Let’s try performing an in-place install or in-place upgrade which will refresh your Windows files and operating system without removing files or applications. That being said, we always recommend that if you have important data, you should back it up before making large system changes. If you want to back up your data first, please do so. Once you are done backing up, you can follow the steps in the following guides:How to run In-place upgrade in Windows 11 - Microsoft Community***

<Edited to add clarity>