CAMERA NOT WORKING ON MY NEWLY PURCHASED ALL-IN-ONE DESKTOP

[Acheulian]

Further to my posts about the camera not working on my HP Pavilion all-in-one.  I am now sure it is the Windows update 1809 which caused this malfunction.  I remembered I bought 2 identical PCs, one for me at home and one for my then work partner.

That partner has been working from home on a laptop due to Covid-19 and his HP Pavilion has been idle in his workplace.  He started it yesterday with the last Windows update 1803.  The camera worked normally.  Having ensured he could restore to an earlier date he installed Windows updates to 1809.  The camera ceased to function.  Like my machine, it shows the HP 1MP Webcam only in hidden devices in Device Manager, with the camera greyed out. Opening the details shows : 'the camera is not installed error 45.' suggesting the camera be plugged in again - simple with a USB, impossible with a built in camera. My partner then opted to restore to his last boot in March with Windows 1803 as the last update.  The camera worked once more.

It seems to me this is an error caused by Windows update 1809 and only a later correction from Windows will cure it short of an OS re-installation.  For me that entails wiping out a lot of obscure but useful apps, some in languages I do not read and would find difficult to reinstall.  I will duck that one and hope the next Windows update restores the camera function. 

[Riddle_Decipher]

@Acheulian I would suggest you backup all your data/files into an external storage or online cloud, then perform the OS re-installation, if you chose to go that route, however, if you've chosen to wait for the next update, you could send a feedback to Microsoft about the issue by clicking here.

Keep me posted and good luck, ahead.

[Acheulian]

Thank you very much for your suggestion.

I fixed the problem - having had (for me) a brainwave.  I had my partner with the same HP Pavilion send me screenshots of all the programs on the ccleaner uninstall page with 1803 as his last update (camera working) and the same with 1809 update (camera inoperative).

I noticed that the Reatek PC Camera program disappeared with 1809.  I found the Softpedia website offered the program as a free download and have installed it, version 10.0.10586.11226 on my machine.  The camera now works, and will also work if the camera app chosen is switched from Windows Camera to Yawcam.

Relief!

[Riddle_Decipher]

@Acheulian That's awesome, I'm glad its been sorted,

let me know if you need anything else,

And If you wish to thank me for my efforts, you could click on "Accept as solution" on my post as the solution should help others too.

[colnhurst]

@Riddle_Decipher that pretty much sums it up.

The issue I have is that the machine is a business critical one (to me) and I cannot afford to have it out of action for 24-48 hours whilst everything is rebuilt, reinstalled and reconfigured.  My MS Surface Pro 4 (a significantly older machine) is on the same build of Windows, and does not have the same issue.  So, for now, I am relying on that for VC functionality.  It's a real shame, as the HP is a better machine, it just does not work as expected.

This whole idea that a user needs to rebuild their machine because of a failing in a driver is absolute nonsense.  Imagine if we translated that into other industries.  Customer complains of a leaking water pipe.  Support suggest knocking down the house and rebuilding it, as that will sort the problem.  Although they can't guarantee that it won't happen again in the future, so you may have to knock down and rebuild again at some point . . . . . . 

Can I please ask if HP have reported this issue to Microsoft?

[Acheulian]

I found out the difference between a mechanic and an engineer when briefly studying to become the latter.  A mechanic wants to know how to fix a problem, but an engineer first wants to know what caused the problem before moving to a solution. 

I offer the Realtek program installation as a mechanic's fix.  It works on my HP all in one.

I would only be guessing at an engineer's search for the cause.  In Device Manager clicking 'update drivers' for the webcam produces a reply that the best driver is installed, and names it.  This name is nothing like the name of the drivers for the Realtek PC that works.   So I suggest what has happened is the last Windows update causes the wrong driver update to be loaded, and worse still, that results in the deletion of the  Realtek PC camera program.

[Acheulian]

An apt analogy Colnhurst!  An OS rebuild was not necessary when all that was needed was a Realtek PC Camera program to be reinstalled.

However, considering this is a HP computer with a Realtek program neither of those companies support sites was any help in offering a download of the right driver.  Realtek offer nothing newer that an 06 build.  HP do not offer a clear pathway to  built-in camera drivers at all.  So the solution involved googling the missing program name and installing it from a 3rd party site.

[TryToDoMybest]

Hello

check in Device Manager

if you have a "USB Boot" device instead of the camera,  check the Hardware ID of this device.

if it's VID 0BDA PID 5852

you must update the firmware of the camera

in order to do it download on your PC disk this PDF file and follow the instructions:

https://support.hp.com/wps/hp-skp-portlets/document/manuals/inline/c06644493.pdf

bye