Pavilion WHOA!!

[ameerat42]

Preamble...
I have this smallish HP Pavilion with detachable keyboard that lets you use it as a ?tablet?

It was a gift. It runs on Win 10.
[/End of applause and of good news]

Introduction
Well, today I started it up and installed Skype.

--Now I didn't notice whether it was "ON" before Skype or not, BUT
after installing Skype I noticed the light for the built-in webcam BLAZING
away... Skype itself said it could not detect a webcam, otherwise it ran OK.

I checked for any programs that would be running the camera - Task Manager -
and found NONE... Next, checked Device Manager and found a message to the
effect that the camera was not working, so checked driver was updated, then
uninstalled/re-installed, disabled, re-enabled the device. Still nothing... And so,
checked for the same problem reported online - YEPP! Heaps of them.

Attempts at Solutions... A bit of Device Managing as above, returns to HP, roll-backs of
Win updates (for earlier versions like 7 and 8). Some produced temporary fixes of days
to weeks. Mostly, though it was wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Question...
Has anybody here had the same and has fixed it?
Don't you find it lamentable that this machine (and there were lots of other models
it happened to) fails at doing what it sets out to do? - I mean it's NOT a powerful
computer, so a bit of web-camery is about all you'd use it for...

Conclusion...
Glad I didn't buy it

[NikonNellie]

Am - I had a problem when I updated Skype. All of a sudden it doesn't detect my webcam or if it does it keeps hanging and pixelating. I am on Windows 8.1 with a Logitech C270 webcam. I read somewhere that the problem was with Skype so I rolled back my version and updated my webcam drivers but I still have the problem. Not sure if this info helps or not.
I Skype now on my Ipad instead. Luckily I won't be needing to use my webcam and Skype too much longer as my son is returning home in February.

[ameerat42]

Ta, NN. I also suspected Skype. Installing it and a W10 update were the only changes made. I have never used the
webcam on this, but CERTainly the camera active light was NEVER on. So I ditched Skype completely. I packed the whole
caboodle away, but will pull it out tomorrow and "check if it fixed itself" - Yeah, sure!

[bricat]

I would suspect it to be w10. Every software manufacturer is trying to get compatible. It is not just Skype JMHO

[ameerat42]

Ta Brian. I have heard or read a like view.

[Filter]

I purchased a Yoga 910 for my wife's b'day, she was so excited. A nice shinny gold thing it is. Out of the box it would not load some www sites, it would shimmer & shake then freeze. It also also freeze when accessing some app downloading sites, she turned it off & on to clear the fault at least six times before we contacted the store. They suggest we contact Lenovo direct. Turns out that it was Edge creating issues, we loaded Chrome, then as well some of the MS commands were corrupt, these had to be fixed in config. Thought I'd share...

[ameerat42]

Ta Filter.

[landyvlad]

I detest the fact that manufacturers these days use consumers who have paid for an ostensibly working product as "beta testers"....

[MissionMan]

Preamble...
I have this smallish HP Pavilion with detachable keyboard that lets you use it as a ?tablet?

It was a gift. It runs on Win 10.
[/End of applause and of good news]

Introduction
Well, today I started it up and installed Skype.

--Now I didn't notice whether it was "ON" before Skype or not, BUT
after installing Skype I noticed the light for the built-in webcam BLAZING
away... Skype itself said it could not detect a webcam, otherwise it ran OK.

I checked for any programs that would be running the camera - Task Manager -
and found NONE... Next, checked Device Manager and found a message to the
effect that the camera was not working, so checked driver was updated, then
uninstalled/re-installed, disabled, re-enabled the device. Still nothing... And so,
checked for the same problem reported online - YEPP! Heaps of them.

Attempts at Solutions... A bit of Device Managing as above, returns to HP, roll-backs of
Win updates (for earlier versions like 7 and 8). Some produced temporary fixes of days
to weeks. Mostly, though it was wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Question...
Has anybody here had the same and has fixed it?
Don't you find it lamentable that this machine (and there were lots of other models
it happened to) fails at doing what it sets out to do? - I mean it's NOT a powerful
computer, so a bit of web-camery is about all you'd use it for...

Conclusion...
Glad I didn't buy it

One of the biggest problems I have with HP, Acer etc is they all put a whole heap of bloatware crap on their systems. I don't know why they don't just leave the windows stock standard and simply give the drivers. If they invested half the time into testing as they do on their bloatware, they'd probably have a decent product.

Microsoft isn't any better, when I got my SP3 upgraded to win10 I had endless issues. I eventually dumped it, but MS had access to the hardware and were developing the software so they either aren't testing or they're releasing the software before it's ready. I'd rather have software 6 months later than have it now and have problems. If I want to be part of the beta program, I'll subscribe to it.

And for those saying it's windows 10, Skype is owned by Microsoft so they should be the first software package to be ready.

[ameerat42]

Ta, MM. -- And this is not the most powerful device, as I said. So not having that
working (and I went onto the HP forums) with no ready fix makes it fairly useless

[arthurking83]

One of the biggest problems I have with HP, Acer etc is they all put a whole heap of bloatware crap on their systems. I don't know why they don't just leave the windows stock standard and simply give the drivers. If they invested half the time into testing as they do on their bloatware, they'd probably have a decent product.

....

avoid those big box lowest common denominator type consumer-ish brands at all costs.
overpriced(for a given configuration) and as MM said .. bloated to the hilt.
ASUS aren't all that much better, but they seem to have about as half decent hardware as you can generally get. I generally recommend folks to go with ASUS products where they're available.

I can't say what or how to fix the problem Am, but my kids both have these Dell tablet/laptop convertible things from school.

Daughter's works pretty well. Never hear a peep from her, other than "what's the printer name .. I want to print" 30sec to configure that for her and then the Zizzz, zizz, zizz from the printer.
The boy, OTOH .. boy oh boy what an annoying little boy. He drives me stark raving mad with the incessant whinging that some crap isn't working on his tablet thingy now.
If it's not the bluetooth, it's the wifi, if it's not the wifi, it's the mouse .. and so on ... ad infinitum
If it weren't for the fact he needs it for school, it'd have recycled it the day after he first brought it home.

Two devices, all but identical, some very minor software differences. One has been flawless, the other useless .. go figure!

I think the real answer is not just that a device isn't working, or a driver is written badly. There has to be a large element of the clashing of titans of some electronic proportion going on underneath that keyboard somewhere.
One driver, or hardware thingy .. or whatever .. just doesn't want to cooperate with all the other resources.

In saying that tho, badly written drivers are usually the problem.
(you don't want me to reiterate my old story about my first HDD docking station!)

So you'd need to figure out which manufacturer made the webcam, and what other drivers are available for it for Win10.
I don't like your chances of success on that front.
Alternatively, you could contact HP for them to begin the process of getting a better driver made up for the webcam. This relies on the manufacturer to do so.
Your chances of a resolution have just decreased in plan Alt .. because in Plan 1 you only had one apathetic manufacturer that didn't really care if the device works or not .. in the alternate scenario, you now have two apathetic points of contact to deal with!


All you could do/try is to remove as much of the bloated HP branded software, or anything else that purports to help you with some menial task (that doesn't require much (human) processing power anyhow).
Even better, try reinstalling Windows over the current install, and don't install any of the HP software, other than the important trackpad drivers and other such important stuff.

Once you have a a bare system(even without any HP specific camera driver, does the camera work?
It should, as Windows 10 should have a generic camera driver for it to work .. just to get going. More than likely this generic driver may have some limitation, eg. it may only do VGA resolution, rather than UHD or something like that.
But all that's important here is can it work again.

[ameerat42]

Ta AK. I will certainly give HP a whirl after the festive season. That was "sort of" my last resort.

I will, however, have another look thru their support forums (talk about bloat-talk there!).