iCamSource activates light for built-in cam, then crashes

[allen456]

Uninstalling is leaving a lot of stuff untouched in the Registry.  When I reinstall I have the same problem.  Is there any solution other than doing a line-by-line surgery of the Registry (always a bit risky)?

[Stefan]

OK, now you've got me.  How do I determine where and what version of DirectShow/DirectX is on my PC?

Is you go to Start > Run and enter "dxdiag" and click OK you will open a DirectX diagnostics tool that should, under the System tab, tell you what version of DirectX you currently have installed. You can download the latest version of DirectX from Microsoft at: http://www.microsoft.com/games/en-US/aboutgfw/Pages/directx10-a.aspx

[Stefan]

Uninstalling is leaving a lot of stuff untouched in the Registry.  When I reinstall I have the same problem.  Is there any solution other than doing a line-by-line surgery of the Registry (always a bit risky)?

Are you having trouble re-installing the latest version? If so, then it is an issue with either Windows or the installer software we use to package the iCamSource. Please let me know if this is the case. We may be able to put together a zip of the files you need to run the iCamSource.

If you are able to get the iCamSource 1.3.5 running again I would like you to try to connect to the following public network camera MJPEG URL instead of your Built-In webcam: http://pendulumcam1.eng.auburn.edu/axis-cgi/mjpg/video.cgi

There is no camera login or password. Doing this may help us understand what the cause of the issue is by removing your webcam and its drivers as a possible cause.

[allen456]

No I can reinstall the latest version but it still shows my old name & password (i.e., it's reading info from the Registry) and it still crashes.  I tried pasting in the URL you gave me but it leaves the Start button grayed out.

[Stefan]

No I can reinstall the latest version but it still shows my old name & password (i.e., it's reading info from the Registry) and it still crashes.  I tried pasting in the URL you gave me but it leaves the Start button grayed out.

I understand. The application info (your login, password) that the iCamSource saves shouldn't have any affect on it crashing when you click the Start button.

As for trying the Network camera, did you have an iCam Login and Password entered? That should enable the Start button. (You just don't need a Login or Password for the Camera itself.)

[allen456]

I didn't think that the name & password would crash the app, just that something else in the Registry might be having an effect.  There's a lot of iCam stuff in there.

I copied and pasted the URL for the camera into the URL box on the Ethernet/Wi-Fi tab.  The Camera Login I left blank and I selected the radio button for MJPEG.  I did not check the boxes for Auto-start or Port Range.  I have my Login and Password entered.  The Start button is still grayed.  I opened the URL in Firefox and can see the picture but it isn't moving even though the clock is incrementing.

[allen456]

I check DirectX and it seemed that it was not the latest (ver. 9.0c) so I downloaded what was supposed to be the latest (Ver. 9.26.1590) and ran it.  It completed without error but dxdiag still shows 9.0c even after the reboot.  I'm starting to feel snake-bit here.

[Stefan]

I didn't think that the name & password would crash the app, just that something else in the Registry might be having an effect.  There's a lot of iCam stuff in there.

I copied and pasted the URL for the camera into the URL box on the Ethernet/Wi-Fi tab.  The Camera Login I left blank and I selected the radio button for MJPEG.  I did not check the boxes for Auto-start or Port Range.  I have my Login and Password entered.  The Start button is still grayed.  I opened the URL in Firefox and can see the picture but it isn't moving even though the clock is incrementing.

The registry entries that the iCamSource application explicitly uses can be found in HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/SKJM, LLC/iCam ... You can delete that folder and re-run the iCamSource to reset the saved settings. All the other entries that include "iCam" are either part of the installer or the operating system.

I am confused as to why the Start button would still be greyed out when entering an MJPEG URL and an iCam Login and Password. I just tried it with the latest version (1.3.5) on a relatively fresh install of Windows XP and the Start button became enabled and the iCamSource was able to connect to it.

If you could e-mail a screenshot of your iCamSource when you have the MJPEG URL and iCam Login and Password entered to support@skjm.com I would appreciate it. There may be something fundamental that we're missing here, so a screenshot might help.

Thanks for your continued patience.

[allen456]

Wow, progress.  It turns out that I do get an active Start button, it just takes a long time to show up.  This time I waited it out and I got the image.  I could even watch the clock incrementing.  This should narrow things down a lot.

[allen456]

I think I've found something.  I installed an HP Photosmart Printer recently and when I installed the drivers they installed a bunch of other junk that I really didn't want.  I see that there is now an app called "HP Webcam" in the HP folder of Start>Programs.  This app (which is a Vimicro app) works and gives me a preview screen when I click on it.  The old icon, called "HP Pavilion Webcam" which is in its own folder in Start>Programs no longer works.  When I click the old icon, the blue light comes on and then there is a Video Preview Error saying to Please check the device connection and make sure that the device is not being used by another application or user.  The icon shortcut points to "HP Webcam 1000", a device in My Computer.  Opening it directly gives the same error.

The problem is that in all my other imaging apps (DSI, Amcap, HandyAVI, etc.) they show "HP Pavilion Webcam" and, from inside the app, it is working.  I don't know why this is so, but they predate the printer install and that may have something to do with it.  I am loath to start deleting things because I don't want to mess up my other apps.  Is there a way of editing the device selections in iCamSource to point it to the working executable?  Contacting HP Support is an all-day affair with little hope of resolution.

[Stefan]

Thank you for those updates.

If you are able to view the network IP camera then the issue is most likely with your webcam driver, as the additional information you have provided seems to support.

It seems as if the HP Printer drivers have somehow affected your built-in webcam. I would suggest going to the HP website and re-installing the drivers specifically for your webcam, as there seems to be two instances of the webcam installed, and one of them works for some things, whereas the other one does not.

The iCamSource doesn't use an executable to access the webcam ... It queries the operating system for a list of webcam devices and puts those devices in the list. The devices that the operating system returns depends on what device drivers are currently installed.