F200 Camera not Recognized

[LNuge]

Hello everyone,

I have been having some trouble with my Intel(R) RealSense(TM) 3D Camera. About a month ago, the camera stopped working. On programs like Skype, I would get an error message like the following: "Can't start video. Try closing other programs that might be using your webcam." I would get this error even when no other program was open. Other programs using webcam did not give me any error at all, and the camera simply did not work.

I updated drivers, and when that did not work, I uninstalled all 3 camera drivers from my computer. Two of them automatically redownloaded:

Intel(R) RealSense(TM) 3D Camera (Front F200) Depth

Intel(R) RealSense(TM) 3D Camera (Front F200) RGB

One of them did not:

Intel(R) RealSense(TM) 3D Camera Virtual Driver

For 2 days after the uninstallation/reinstallation, the webcam worked on all programs without a problem and without reinstalling the virtual driver. Then the same problem started happening again.

Today, I tried reinstalling the virtual driver, using the first download available on the following intel website: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25044/Intel-RealSense-Depth-Camera-Manager Download Intel® RealSense™ Depth Camera Manager

Unfortunately, after running the exe, I received the following error: "The installer failed to detect an Intel RealSense 3D Camera on this system. The installation was terminated."

I don't know how to fix the problem or how to reinstall the virtual driver (if necessary). It seems to me that the computer is not recognizing that I have a webcam at all. I ran a Dell hardware scan, and the webcam's hardware is not broken. I have an Inspiron 5559 Windows 10 64-bit operating system.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

[MartyG]

I believe the original purpose of the Virtual Driver when the F200 launched back in 2014 was to allow non-RealSense programs such as Skype to be able to access the camera if a RealSense application was already using the camera.

A search of non-Intel sites found that a number of people have experienced the same or similar problem with the built-in F200 camera in their Dell Inspiron 5559. Unfortunately, issues with built-in RealSense cameras are harder to fix than the USB camera models.

Some PCs have had their RealSense cameras impaired by a recent Windows release called the Creators Update. The problem most commonly affects the SR300 camera model but there have been some reports of F200 problems too that may be related to the update.

Could you bring up your System Information please (you can find it by typing 'system info' into the text box at the bottom of your Windows screen, by the button in the corner that you use to shut the PC down). In the Version section of the System Information, if it has the Build number '15063' then that is the Creators Update that has been causing people problems with their camera.

If you do have this Windows version installed, Intel and Microsoft have been working together on a fix for the Creators Update camera issue. It is not yet available though, and its release status is "pending".

BTW, with built-in cameras I recommend using the camera drivers provided by your manufacturer (Dell) rather than the DCM from the Intel download page, since manufacturers may implement the built-in cameras in ways not entirely compatible with the drivers for the external USB version of the camera. These drivers can be found by searching for your PC model on Dell's support site.

As a last resort if all else fails, you could back up your important files and then do a 'Recovery Boot'. This is different from the ordinary Windows System Restore, as it wipes your PC and then restores it the state it was in when first bought, including any pre-loaded programs and drivers for special features such as built-in RealSense cameras. On Dell computers, the Recovery Boot feature is called 'Factory Restore'.

Unfortunately, Dell's support page about this feature is not currently working. It seems to be a simple process though, and is described visually in this YouTube video,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9twGq4kejs Dell Laptop Factory Restore for Windows 10 XPS, Inspiron or Latitude - YouTube

Please bear in mind that if the issue you are having is being caused by the Windows Creators Update, then doing a Factory Restore could be a temporary fix if Windows tries to download the Creators Update on your PC again before the fix is released. A way to get around this would be to set Windows' update system so that it has to receive your approval before an update is installed.

[LNuge]

Thank you for your comment. My computer's build is 14393, but man of the issues I am facing seem to be similar to computers with a 15063 build. The issue also began around the time the Creators update was released.

Unfortunately, I am still having trouble with the webcam. I am trying to avoid a factory restore. I spoke to Dell representatives on the phone and they spent 3 hours troubleshooting my computer using sharescreen, but couldn't fix it. They even sent a technician to fix the webcam.

The issue appears to be that the computer simply does not recognize that my webcam exists. When I open Dell's camera app, I get error code 0xA00F4244(0xC00D36d5) - "We can't ifnd your camera."

Is there anything else I can do to fix the problem? Thank you.

[MartyG]

Sometimes, an interface called 'Troubleshoot' in Windows can help to fix a problem. To find it, go to the text box at the bottom of your Windows screen (beside the button where you shut down) and type in 'troubleshoot'.

You should be shown a program called Troubleshoot. Left-click on it to run it.

When the Troubleshoot window opens, scroll down to the 'Hardware and Devices' section and left-click on it.

Then click the 'Run the troubleshooter' sub-option that appears.

Windows will then search for any problems with your hardware that it can detect.

[LNuge]

I found another forum post that helped me solve the initial issue. My computer is now recognizing the camera and I was able to redownload the virtual driver. Unfortunately, while the camera and video are now working, the image quality is very blurry and greatly inferior to its performance before the issue. Is there any way to fix the blurryness? Thank you!

[idata]

May I know how to solve your initial issue? I have the same problem.

[MartyG]

About 2 and a half years back there was a camera configuration tool made for the F200 made by RealSense expert Samontab. I don't know if it will still work in the present day but it should not be too much trouble to give it a try. I checked the program's download link and it's still active.

https://software.intel.com/en-us/forums/realsense/topic/537872 Utility for changing laser camera parameters (IVCAM v0.5)