topic Re: Web cam issue in PCs & Accessories

Web cam issue

mattlucas — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 22:17:02 GMT

I have just bought a VGN-FE41Z and have a small problem that is spoiling a other wise good machine.

The problem being the Camera above the screen. I am having all kinds of problems getting this working with the VAIO Camera Capture Utility it just says something else is using the camera even just after a reboot !! it just seems that some times it works some times it does not! can any one help with this ??

I've attached a copy of the error

Re: Web cam issue

Thalamus. — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 22:25:29 GMT

Hi mattlucas

Welcome to Club Vaio.

Sony have been made aware of this problem, see here , and the problem is under investigation but unfortunately we are still waiting for a new driver/update is not available..

There has been a possible solution posted by a forum member here

Re: Web cam issue

Spaceface — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 07:35:14 GMT

Thalamus, Mattlucas,

I tried the possible solution you refer to (I have the same issue on a VGN-FE41S), but it is not solving the problem.
I still have the Motion Eye problem on and off and the only thing which helps to initialize the camera is switching it off and back on in devices management.

Will this driver update be a part of the roll-out end March or can we expect a solution sooner ? I'm quite surprised to see how long it takes Sony to come up with a solution for an issue on a built in device... I've also opened a ticket @ VaioLink helpdesk (Brussels) for this problem and for the incredibly low speaker volume as soon as Vista is running (BIOS startup is very loud), but the only info I got so far (after almost 6 weeks), is: "our engineers are working on it" ...

Best regards,

Wouter

Re: Web cam issue

Thalamus. — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 13:15:24 GMT

Will this driver update be a part of the roll-out end March or can we expect a solution sooner ? I'm quite surprised to see how long it takes Sony to come up with a solution for an issue on a built in device...

Hi Wouter,

Thanks for the feedback..

I would expect the update to posted as soon as it becomes available..

Re: Web cam issue

The_Alv — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 09:25:32 GMT

I also have the same problem with my new FE41Z, really a pity to spoil it with this problem; but it's not a problem of the program "VAIO Camera Utility", because the same problem comes up when you try to power up the cam from Messenger. But the strange thing is that sometimes it happens, and sometimes not; and if so, you just reboot and it's all fine!!

About the slowness of Sony's answer, I don't know, but I sent a request about a problem I had, that the screen wouldn't switch back on again, and they answered in two days time with a BIOS Update; works beautifully now... :smileygrin:

Should I send my case as well to see if they do it quicker?

Re: Web cam issue

Thalamus. — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 13:59:28 GMT

About the slowness of Sony's answer, I don't know, but I sent a request about a problem I had, that the screen wouldn't switch back on again, and they answered in two days time with a BIOS Update; works beautifully now... :smileygrin: 

Should I send my case as well to see if they do it quicker?

Hi The_Alv,

welcome to Club Vaio.

You could try sending in a case..

Was the problem you reported similar to the Vaio FE41 Vista screen not switching back on after sleep problem as this was fixed with a BIOS update..?

Re: Web cam issue

The_Alv — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 18:03:18 GMT

Well, sort of; I didn't have the Waking-up problem; if I set it up so that when I closed the lid, it was to "Do nothing", and the power button set to "Shut down"; when I closed the lid, it was supossed to just turn off the screen (as it did), but when I re-opened it, it didn't turn on again; but if I pressed the power button, after a few seconds it would turn off normally, and then you could just switch it back on and it would go wonderfully. Now that I read that post...come to think of it, there were a few times I had to "hard power off" (it really hurt when I heard a slight cry of pain like a "ping" from my not-even-a-week-old fabulous Vaio when the power was abruptly taken away... ) because it wouldn't turn off the way I have just explained (but I didn't mention this to e-Support come to think of it...). Anyway, the problem has been fixed, although e-Support said to install BIOS and graphics updates, I only found the BIOS one, so I just installed that one: and it works fine.

Here's the link: http://support.vaio.sony.co.uk/downloads/select/select.asp?site=voe_en_GB_cons&category=-1&serie=-1&m=2551

Re: Web cam issue

Thalamus. — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 18:16:09 GMT

Thanks for the reply The_Alv, it sounds a similar problem..

I can imagine you would worry having to 'hard power off' a new laptop..

I'm glad you problems sorted know..

Re: Web cam issue

The_Alv — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 10:06:41 GMT

OK, I've just sent my camera problem to E-Support. Let's just wait and see...