Dell Inspiron-15-3542 Intel Video Chipset: Webcam does not work

Hi All,

Have been trying to work my webcam for video conferencing. Have checked earlier mails but have not found the solution.
Request for help please.

Regards

RSP2

Please install guvcview or guvcview-qt5 and see, if the Cam is working.

Hi Sauerland,
Installed guvcview-qt5 and other dependencies with Yast2. Opened Cheese and tried to snap apicture but did not work.

Thanks & Regards,

RSP2

You should start guvcview as user:

guvcview

or

guvcview-qt5

Hi,
Below is the outpt. Seems to have failed.

rsp@dell-linux:~> guvcview-qt5
V4L2_CORE: Unable to find parent usb device.GUVCVIEW: version 2.0.6
GUVCVIEW: couldn't open /home/rsp/.config/guvcview2/video0 for read: No such file or directory
V4L2_CORE: ERROR opening V4L interface: No such file or directory
GUVCVIEW (2): Guvcview error
         no video device found
GUVCVIEW (Qt5): fatal error (1 devices detected)
GUVCVIEW (Qt5): creating input dialog
rsp@dell-linux:~> 

Thanks & Regards,

RSP2

See if these packages are installed:

LANG=C zypper se -si guvcview v4l
Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...

S  | Name                   | Type    | Version          | Arch   | Repository
---+------------------------+---------+------------------+--------+-----------
i+ | guvcview-qt5           | package | 2.0.6-bp153.3.20 | x86_64 | OSS
i+ | guvcview-qt5-lang      | package | 2.0.6-bp153.3.20 | noarch | OSS
i+ | libgviewv4l2core-2_0-2 | package | 2.0.6-bp153.1.26 | x86_64 | OSS
i+ | libgviewv4l2core-lang  | package | 2.0.6-bp153.1.26 | noarch | OSS
i+ | libv4l                 | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | OSS
i+ | libv4l-devel           | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | OSS
i+ | libv4l1-0              | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | OSS
i  | libv4l1-0-32bit        | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | OSS
i+ | libv4l2-0              | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | OSS
i  | libv4l2-0-32bit        | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | OSS
i+ | libv4l2rds0            | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | OSS
i+ | libv4lconvert0         | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | OSS
i  | libv4lconvert0-32bit   | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | OSS
i+ | qv4l2                  | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | OSS
i+ | v4l-conf               | package | 3.107-bp153.1.18 | x86_64 | OSS
i+ | v4l-tools              | package | 3.107-bp153.1.18 | x86_64 | OSS
i+ | v4l-utils              | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | OSS
i+ | v4l-utils-lang         | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | noarch | OSS
i+ | xf86-video-v4l         | package | 0.2.0-bp153.1.16 | x86_64 | OSS

Also post:

lsusb

Hi,

My output was as under:

rsp@dell-linux:~> LANG=C zypper se -si guvcview v4l
Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...

S  | Name                   | Type    | Version          | Arch   | Repository
---+------------------------+---------+------------------+--------+----------------
i+ | guvcview-qt5           | package | 2.0.6-bp153.3.20 | x86_64 | Main Repository
i  | guvcview-qt5-lang      | package | 2.0.6-bp153.3.20 | noarch | Main Repository
i  | libgviewv4l2core-2_0-2 | package | 2.0.6-bp153.1.26 | x86_64 | Main Repository
i  | libgviewv4l2core-lang  | package | 2.0.6-bp153.1.26 | noarch | Main Repository
i+ | libv4l                 | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | Main Repository
i+ | libv4l1-0              | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | Main Repository
i+ | libv4l2-0              | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | Main Repository
i+ | libv4lconvert0         | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | Main Repository
rsp@dell-linux:~> 

Should I install the missing packages?

Thanks & Regards,

RSP2

Hi,

After installing the missing packages, the output is as below:

rsp@dell-linux:~> LANG=C zypper se -si guvcview v4l
Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...

S  | Name                   | Type    | Version          | Arch   | Repository
---+------------------------+---------+------------------+--------+----------------
i+ | guvcview-qt5           | package | 2.0.6-bp153.3.20 | x86_64 | Main Repository
i  | guvcview-qt5-lang      | package | 2.0.6-bp153.3.20 | noarch | Main Repository
i  | libgviewv4l2core-2_0-2 | package | 2.0.6-bp153.1.26 | x86_64 | Main Repository
i  | libgviewv4l2core-lang  | package | 2.0.6-bp153.1.26 | noarch | Main Repository
i+ | libv4l                 | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | Main Repository
i+ | libv4l-devel           | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | Main Repository
i+ | libv4l-devel-32bit     | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | Main Repository
i+ | libv4l1-0              | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | Main Repository
i+ | libv4l2-0              | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | Main Repository
i+ | libv4l2-0-32bit        | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | Main Repository
i  | libv4l2rds0            | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | Main Repository
i+ | libv4l2rds0-32bit      | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | Main Repository
i+ | libv4lconvert0         | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | Main Repository
i  | libv4lconvert0-32bit   | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | Main Repository
i+ | qv4l2                  | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | Main Repository
i+ | v4l-conf               | package | 3.107-bp153.1.18 | x86_64 | Main Repository
i+ | v4l-tools              | package | 3.107-bp153.1.18 | x86_64 | Main Repository
i+ | v4l-utils              | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | Main Repository
i+ | v4l-utils-devel-tools  | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | x86_64 | Main Repository
i  | v4l-utils-lang         | package | 1.14.1-1.40      | noarch | Main Repository
i+ | xf86-video-v4l         | package | 0.2.0-bp153.1.16 | x86_64 | Main Repository
rsp@dell-linux:~> 

But still the output remained the same as given below:

rsp@dell-linux:~> guvcview-qt5
V4L2_CORE: Unable to find parent usb device.GUVCVIEW: version 2.0.6
V4L2_CORE: ERROR opening V4L interface: No such file or directory
GUVCVIEW (2): Guvcview error
         no video device found
GUVCVIEW (Qt5): fatal error (1 devices detected)
GUVCVIEW (Qt5): creating input dialog
rsp@dell-linux:~>

Further advice welcome.

Thanks & Regards,

RSP2

The Dell Inspiron-15-3542 is an old laptop, I think, so one would think it supported in GNU/Linux. … While waiting for Sauerland’s next investigation suggestion, you could tell us which webcam you have in this Dell ?

Likely the Dell has an internal USB connection to the webcam, so if you type ‘lsusb’ (ie list usb devices) as a regular user you should see a list of USB devices, and one of them should be the webcam (if Linux detects the webcam).

For example, on my PC I have a Logitech webcam and ‘lsusb’ gives me this:

Bus 002 Device 006: ID **046d:0821** Logitech, Inc. HD Webcam C910 

From which 046d:0821 is important for my webcam. Your webcam will have a different ID.

With that I can type:

lsusb -d 046d:0821 -v | grep "14 Video"

(in your case type in your webcam ID) and if your device is a UVC device, you should see a number of lines that look something like this (which is what I get):

Couldn't open device, some information will be missing
      bFunctionClass         14 Video
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video

 In this case the Linux UVC driver should recognize your camera when you plug it in.      
      If there are no such lines, your device is not a UVC device.     

If your webcam is a UVC device, and this is not working, then there is a good FAQ here for troubleshooting USB devices: https://www.ideasonboard.org/uvc/faq/

The above is very basic, more of a UVC driver investigation, as opposed to an application level investigation.

Hi,

Sorry for delay on my side. Yes, it is an old DELL laptop. I looked up the specifications. All that is available is the following:

Camera
Resolution:Still image 0.92 megapixel
Video 1280 x 720 (HD) at 30 fps (maximum)
Diagonal viewing angle 74 degrees

Regarding the other investigations given by you, the results are as follows:

rsp@dell-linux:~> lsusb
Bus 003 Device 005: ID 0bda:0129 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTS5129 Card Reader Controller
Bus 003 Device 008: ID 0cf3:0036 Qualcomm Atheros Communications AR9462 Bluetooth
Bus 003 Device 003: ID 046d:c52b Logitech, Inc. Unifying Receiver
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 8087:8000 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
rsp@dell-linux:~> lsusb -d 1d6b:0003 -v | grep "14 Video"
Couldn't open device, some information will be missing
rsp@dell-linux:~> lsusb -d 1d6b:0003 -v | grep "14 Video"
Couldn't open device, some information will be missing
rsp@dell-linux:~> lsusb -d 1d6b:0002 -v | grep "14 Video"
Couldn't open device, some information will be missing
Couldn't open device, some information will be missing
rsp@dell-linux:~> lsusb -d 8087:8000 -v | grep "14 Video"
Couldn't open device, some information will be missing
rsp@dell-linux:~> lsusb -d 046d:c52b -v | grep "14 Video"
Couldn't open device, some information will be missing
rsp@dell-linux:~> lsusb -d 0cf3:0036 -v | grep "14 Video"
Couldn't open device, some information will be missing
rsp@dell-linux:~> lsusb -d 0bda:0129 -v | grep "14 Video"
Couldn't open device, some information will be missing
rsp@dell-linux:~> 

I investigated each of the ID’s that were resultant from the command ‘lsusb’.
This does not seem to be in conformity with what results you have displayed for your laptop.

Further advice shall be most welcome.

Regards,

RSP@

No Camera is shown in lsusb…

Can you enable/disable the camera with a key combo?

I have no idea how to do that.

Regards,

RSP2

Here on my Laptop:

lsusb
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0bda:b00a Realtek Semiconductor Corp. Realtek Bluetooth 4.2 Adapter
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 04ca:7092 Lite-On Technology Corp. HP TrueVision HD Camera
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 25a7:fa61 Areson Technology Corp Elecom Co., Ltd MR-K013 Multicard Reader
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
journalctl -b | grep -Ei 'camera|uvcvi'
Jul 04 23:39:30 laptop kernel: usb 1-5: Product: HP TrueVision HD Camera
Jul 04 23:39:36 laptop kernel: uvcvideo: Found UVC 1.00 device HP TrueVision HD Camera (04ca:7092)
Jul 04 23:39:36 laptop kernel: input: HP TrueVision HD Camera: HP Tru as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb1/1-5/1-5:1.0/input/input22
Jul 04 23:39:36 laptop kernel: usbcore: registered new interface driver uvcvideo

So if you can not disable/enable your Camera with an key or key-combo or in Bios/UEFI, I think the camera does not work anymore.

Further to Sauerland’s suggestions, can you check your BIOS as well to see if there is an enable control for the camera in the BIOS. This might be something like (this is my speculation):

  1. Restart or power on the computer.
  2. When you see the Dell logo during POST (ie during the “Power On System Test” that occurs immediately after pressing the “ON” key), press the F2 key once a second to enter the System Setup. … (I assume the key is “F2” - it could be a different Function key)
  3. Click the plus “+” sign next to System Configuration.
  4. Highlight Miscellaneous Devices.
  5. Make sure there is a checkmark next to Enable Camera.

Your BIOS may look different so the functions to enable the camera in the BIOS could be different (and it could be enabled and the camera broken).

Hi Sauerland,

The commands resulted the followinh in my laptop:

rsp@dell-linux:~> lsusb
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 0bda:0129 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTS5129 Card Reader Controller
Bus 001 Device 006: ID 0cf3:0036 Qualcomm Atheros Communications AR9462 Bluetooth
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 046d:c52b Logitech, Inc. Unifying Receiver
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:8000 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
rsp@dell-linux:~> journalctl -b | grep -Ei 'camera|uvcvi'
Hint: You are currently not seeing messages from other users and the system.
      Users in the 'systemd-journal' group can see all messages. Pass -q to
      turn off this notice.
No journal files were opened due to insufficient permissions.
rsp@dell-linux:~> sudo journalctl -b | grep -Ei 'camera|uvcvi'
[sudo] password for root: 
Jul 13 09:13:14 dell-linux systemd[1945]: Starting Virtual filesystem service - digital camera monitor...
Jul 13 09:13:14 dell-linux systemd[1945]: Started Virtual filesystem service - digital camera monitor.
rsp@dell-linux:~> 

As for the suggestion of ‘Oldspu’: F2 opens ‘Setup’ and F12 opens ‘Boot Options’. But there is no mention of Camera device in the BIOS anywhere.

Thanks & Regards,

RSP2

Buy a new one, Webcam not listed in Hardware…

Please double check. I read that in Dell, possibly in BIOS (ie press the F2 key when booting ) , under ‘System Configuration’ > ’ Miscellaneous devices ’ > and make sure ‘Enable Camera’ is selected. You may need to scroll down in the ‘System configuration’ to find this.

I read that works for some webcams. Do you have such menu’s in your Dell’s BIOS?

EDIT: Note some Dell laptops have a toggle in the BIOS menu (possibly upper right corner in main menu) for ‘basic’ and ‘advanced’ - if so ensure you have checked the ‘advanced’ to be certain the camera enable will show up as noted above.

It is very puzzling that your camera is not detected - and this does suggest a possible hardware issue, although that is not for certain.

When I searched the internet for the Dell Inspiron-15-3542, it appears to me that the Webcam is possibly a Microdia 0c45:670b . My reference: Microdia Integrated_Webcam_HD
That website suggests it is supported by GNU/Linux (which makes sence, as I read this laptop could originally be purchased with Ubuntu GNU/Linux). Further that site notes the device (webcam) is supported by kernel versions 2.6.26 and newer … which means it should work with the latest kernels. Further according to that research, it should work with the ‘uvc’ driver, although its not listed in the ‘uvc’ driver webpage ( Linux UVC driver & tools ) although IMHO that does not mean that much, as that web page is not always up to date.

Further, obviously, if the webcam is not detected, it won’t work with the kernel.

I suspect the focus now needs to be as to why the webcam is not detected when openSUSE boots. If broken - you need to buy an external webcam as already suggested to you.

If the webcamera is known to work (because say it works under a different OS such as MS-Windows), then someone who knows more about USB device detection than myself needs to chime in and give suggestions on ‘udev’ (I think) on how to ensure the device is detected.

Hi ‘Old CPU’,
Hi Sauerland,

I checked again. There is ‘Miscellaneous Devices’ listed. But when I opened, it only had some USB listed and it was ENABLED also. But there was no 'Camera ’ listed.

I think the camera has stoped functioning. I suppose I will have to buy an external camera or a new Dell laptop.

Thanks for unflinching efforts, response and help.

Lots of Regards,

RSP2

Thats unfortunate - as it does read like the webcam could be broken.

Could you check the dmesg, just in case there is an error message that there was difficulty in recognizing webcam ( where this is a very speculative longshot).

ie type this in an xterm:


dmesg | grep 0c45

Thats assuming, of course, that I identified the webcam correctly in this laptop.

If you get nothing, then that will confirm, no webcam identified. On my PC, when I type 'dmesg | grep 046d ’ for my hardware, I get


    3.751804] usb 2-10.4: New USB device found, idVendor=046d, idProduct=0821, bcdDevice= 0.10
    4.247483] uvcvideo: Found UVC 1.00 device <unnamed> (046d:0821)
    4.284016] input: UVC Camera (046d:0821) as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb2/2-10/2-10.4/2-10.4:1.2/input/input19

obviously you won’t get anything like that, but I am curious if there will be an error associated with idVendor=0c45.

Another approach would be to try

dmesg | grep idVendor

… looking for error messages associated with idVendor. I suspect thou, you will get may USB devices, but none of them your webcam, illustrating that there are not even error messages put out associated with the webcam.
.

Hi ‘Old CPU’,

The results are as below:

rsp@dell-linux:~> dmesg | grep 0c45
dmesg: read kernel buffer failed: Operation not permitted
rsp@dell-linux:~> sudo dmesg | grep 0c45
[sudo] password for root: 
rsp@dell-linux:~> sudo dmesg | grep idVendor
    2.853671] usb usb1: New USB device found, idVendor=1d6b, idProduct=0002, bcdDevice= 5.03
    2.858403] usb usb2: New USB device found, idVendor=1d6b, idProduct=0003, bcdDevice= 5.03
    2.882093] usb usb3: New USB device found, idVendor=1d6b, idProduct=0002, bcdDevice= 5.03
    3.294023] usb 3-1: New USB device found, idVendor=8087, idProduct=8000, bcdDevice= 0.04
    3.693409] usb 3-1.3: New USB device found, idVendor=046d, idProduct=c52b, bcdDevice=12.10
    3.891049] usb 3-1.6: New USB device found, idVendor=0cf3, idProduct=0036, bcdDevice= 0.01
    4.078497] usb 3-1.8: New USB device found, idVendor=0bda, idProduct=0129, bcdDevice=39.60
   35.838852] usb 3-1.6: New USB device found, idVendor=0cf3, idProduct=0036, bcdDevice= 0.02
  493.185463] usb 3-1.6: New USB device found, idVendor=0cf3, idProduct=0036, bcdDevice= 0.01
  500.424054] usb 3-1.6: New USB device found, idVendor=0cf3, idProduct=0036, bcdDevice= 0.02
rsp@dell-linux:~> 


I cannot make anything from it.

Thanks & Regards,

RSP2