Webcam not recognized by 11.4, worked fine with 11.3

English Hardware
1

I have a Z_Star webcam, which used to work perfectly well with OpenSUSE 11.3. At some time after updating to 11.4 (Tumbleweed, in fact) the device wasn’t recognized any longer. Skype and Kopete both show that I have no available webcam device. The lsusb command (see below) shows the camera is there. What am I missing?

> lsusb
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 054c:01bd Sony Corp. MRW62E Multi-Card Reader/Writer
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 05e3:0608 Genesys Logic, Inc. USB-2.0 4-Port HUB
Bus 004 Device 003: ID 046d:c317 Logitech, Inc. Wave Corded Keyboard
Bus 001 Device 019: ID 0ac8:307b Z-Star Microelectronics Corp. USB 1.1 Webcam
2

If you are using Tumbleweed, expect issues.
But it is there.
Try installing wxcam from packman

3

Hi! Thanks for the idea; I already had wxcam installed, but reinstalled it anyway. It didn’t change a thing.

I know this webcam worked with gspca, specifically gspca_zc3xx.ko – how can I bring it back to life?

4

Install the stable release
Don’t use what amounts to a bit of a testing ground OS.

5

A few questions…

  • What is the correct way to load the module for the webcam? I tried modprobe but that didn’t make a difference.

  • Is there any file (blacklist? other?) that can be blocking the module or not allowing the webcam to be recognized?

  • Are there any boot time parameters that can affect the webcam?

6

Its not in the gspca compatibility list: http://mxhaard.free.fr/spca5xx.html

Did you try any of the LD_PRELOAD commands: HCL:Web cameras - openSUSE

Does the gspca driver show up as a loaded module when you type:

lsmod
7

Its not in the gspca compatibility list: http://mxhaard.free.fr/spca5xx.html

Did you try any of the LD_PRELOAD commands: HCL:Web cameras - openSUSE

Does the gspca driver show up as a loaded module when you type:

lsmod
8

Right… but it was working before, so the point is moot, I guess.

Yes, I’m using that with Skype… but no luck.

The gspca driver shows up fine:

# **lsmod | grep gs**
gspca_zc3xx            50961  0 
gspca_main             31979  1 gspca_zc3xx
videodev               79207  1 gspca_main
9

Then maybe the problem is you are missing a configuration file. What is your criteria for saying it is not recognized by 11.4 ?? Just not working in Skype ? Thats not a good criteria or its a bad thread title.

To quote my previous post:

… and ?

10

Two answers:

  1. There is no video device whatsoever in /dev – that’s why I say the device isn’t recognized by 11.4. Since there’s no video device, Skype, Kopete, Cheese, etc., do not show video.
  2. I am using the preload command for Skype – it worked fine in 11.3 but fails now, which I assume has to do with having no /dev video device.

What configuration files would you be referring to?

Thanks for your time!

11

I typed that in a hurry - sorry , I should have stated a plugin or library.

… anyway, NOW that you clarified your criteria for determining the webcam not giving the appearance of working thats a mute point.

I found an older gspca compatibility list that mentions your webcam: Linux Kernel Documentation :: video4linux : gspca.txt

I gave away my (and my mother’s) gspca webcams to some MS-Windows users and purchased UVC compatible webcams. In my view the UVC compatible webcams work much better than the GSPCA, plus there is a very active and helpful support mailing list for the UVC webcams. As it stands today, I would not purchase a GSPCA webcam (nor any laptop whose integrated webcam was such a beast).

Did you try unplugging and plugging the web cam in ? Did you try booting without the webcam and then plugging it in after boot? How about the opposite? Booting with the webcam ?

Did you try different USB ports?

12

If you can get this working with rpms, I recommend that approach. Still, if you wish to learn some gspca installation methods (from tarball), you can look here: Get Your Webcam Working with GSPCA | Linux Journal

13

I’m afraid that going with UVC seems the likeliest solution now. I tried unplugging the webcam and plugging it back in, and booting with/without the webcam, and changing the USB ports, and the results were always the same; no /dev device appeared…

I do still wonder what could have been changed in 11.4, seemingly making gspca stop working – though of course I cannot be sure that’s the actual reason; another change somewhere else may have been the cause for the disappearance of the device.

Thanks for your time!