Webcam not working - driver exe file won't run - possibly not the right driver anyway

[LucyI1]

Hi

My brother has an HP Stream - 14 - cb008na laptop running Windows 10 (I'm afraid I don't have a note of which version but i believe it's 64bit and relatively new) and the built in webcam is not working.  Prior to his partner needing to teach over zoom during this last lockdown they have never tried to use it so it may never have worked.  We are not tech savvy but I have tried to use google and the HP support to muddle through.

Things we've done so far:

• We checked the Camera app and it says it can't see a webcam.
• We checked the Device manager and couldn't see anything that said camera or imaging device.
• We then went to the HP driver downloads site.  Using their serial number we located the right (we think) device driver page.  On this page it auto detected the version of Windows.  The only thing that looked like it was to do with a camera was for facial recognition IR camera.  Even though this didn't seem likely we followed the download process.  
• It downloaded a file called SP100585.exe which we ran. 
• This extracted files to a location on the C Drive in a folder called SWSetup/SP 100585.  In this folder there were 3 files called HPSetup.  One was an application file, one setup info and the third a text document. 
• We ran the application.
• It asked to allow changes to the device, we said yes and it then opened a command prompt window which immediately shut without appearing to do anything. 
• I've tried to run that again and again to see if I can see what's running in the command prompt window and the only thing I can see if that it's something with a file extension of .inf.  It's too quick to see anything else.
• Once we'd done all of this we tried the camera app and still it says there's no camera present and the device doesn't appear in the device manager.

The laptop was out of warranty in September last year which is unfortunate.  Any suggestions of things to try (where to find the right webcam driver and how to get it to install and anything else I'm missing) would be very gratefully received.

The laptop is in a different house than me so we're doing support on the phone.  Very clear instructions for non-tech people would also be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Lucy  

[Echo_Lake]

@LucyI1

Thank you for posting on the HP Support Community.

I appreciate your efforts to try and resolve the issue. I would suggest performing system factory reset will put the computer back to the original factory settings in this way all corrupted and outdated software will be removed. 

While doing the recovery there is an option to back up your personal files. If you have not previously done one now is a good time. 

Restoring Files that were Backed Up Using HP Recovery Manager (Windows )You can also contact HP support for assistance. They can remotely access your system to help alleviate difficulties: www.hp.com/contacthp/

The HP Cloud Recovery Tool allows you to download recovery software to a USB drive. You can use the downloaded recovery image file in order to install the Windows operating system. 

• Click here: https://support.hp.com/in-en/document/c04758961#AbT3to perform System Recovery (Windows 10) 
• Click here: https://support.hp.com/in-en/document/c06162205 to Use the HP Cloud Recovery Tool (Windows 10)

Hope this helps! Keep me posted for further assistance.
Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.