iCam Problem - Strange

[scorpi04]

Hi. About 4 weeks ago I installed iCamSource on my Sony Vaio Laptop running Vista Home Premium. I am using a Logitech C920 HD Webcam via USB. This connects fine and runs for several days without problem but recently whilst accessing the Webcam via my iPhone 3GS and iCam it appears that I am watching my normal live image but on checking back later (and with significant lack of motion detections) I access the cam only to find that the image appears frozen i.e. I am watching a day time image whilst it is dark outside. The date/time stamp shown on the image is still running correct? When I get home and bring up the webcam view via iCamSource, everything appears to be running fine. I am presented with the option to Stop the connection and the "UPnP Success 12000 -> 12000 (Click for Info)" still shows and everything "appears" to be working" however it clearly has "frozen" on a daylight image from earlier in the day.    Any ideas???

[OUAnthony]

I've always had issues with USB cameras freezing up randomly...never could figure it out. I think the advice I've seen on here is to make sure your drivers and OS are updated. I wasn't using iCam when I had USB cameras, so I don't know if that advice would work or not. Definitely worth a shot. I prefer IP cameras because they don't have that issue. If you can't resolve the problem, I wrote a script a while back for someone on here that will automatically kill icamsource.exe and restart it...which will in turn restart the webcam (clearing a frozen image, but hopefully preventing it by having this script run 2-3 times a day). Let me know if you want the script.

[scorpi04]

Thanks for reply. It's strange that after running iCamsource with this webcam for nearly 4 weeks without a hitch it now freezes most days? Updating the OS and drivers is worth a go but in the meantime I may give the script a go. Unfortunately I may need a step by step to using the script (not great on computers!!) If you can send me it with instructions to install etc. that would be ideal. Thanks

[OUAnthony]

Are you running Windows 7?

[scorpi04]

No. Vista Home Premium 32 Bit.

[OUAnthony]

Ok, I don't have a Vista computer to type up exact directions, but they should be pretty much the same, as Win7 and Vista are very similar.

1) Open Notepad (Start > Programs > Accessories > Notepad
2) Copy and paste the following text into Notepad:

taskkill /f /im icamsource.exe
ping 1.1.1.1 -n 1 -w 5000 > nul
c:
cd \
cd C:\Program Files\iCamSource\
start "" "iCamSource.exe"
exit

3) In Notepad, click File > Save As, change the "Save as type:" to "All Files ( * . * )" and type a file name in the "file name" box and type ".bat" (without quotes) immediately after the file name. For example, it might look like this: iCamReset.bat (Where you save the file doesn't matter much, but it's probably easier if you save it to C:\ (no subfolders).

4) Close Notepad and then make sure icamsource is running (verify by viewing with iCam). Now browse to the file you just saved with Notepad (My Computer > C:\ ) and double-click on it. If it works properly, a black window will open for a few seconds, then close...and you will temporarily lose your feed in iCam.

Let me know if that works, then I'll give you directions on how to make that file run automatically a few times per day.

[scorpi04]

Hi. Sorry for the delay. It appears to start a 2nd iCam source app ( I can see 2 icons in the tray at the bottom of the screen) but it doesn't re-start? When I hover over the icons they both show as "stopped" then whilst hovering over one icon it disappears but the other icon remains but still shows as stopped?

[scorpi04]

It does now appear to work. Initially it did not seem to re-start but now it is? It also would not allow me to view iCam from my iPhone but now it does? Anyway all appears OK now. How do I get that to run automatically 2 or 3 times a day now?

[scorpi04]

Thanks for your help so far. Please post how to run the automatic settings for 3 times per day and I will pick them up tomorrow as it is now midnight UK time.

Thanks

[OUAnthony]

I can't remember how similar Vista's "Task Scheduler" is to Windows 7. If you encounter problems post the options presented to you. Anyway, to schedule the batch file to run automatically:

1) Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools (if you don't see Admin Tools, you might need to change the Control Panel view from basic to advanced/small icons) > Task Scheduler

2) Click "Create Task" (or something similarly phrased)

3) On the "General" tab, choose a name for the task, choose "Run whether user is logged on or not" and you can try checking the "Hidden" box so you don't have to see it run. If these options don't work, you might have to experiment with it...by checking the "Run with highest privileges" and/or unchecking "Hidden," or last by changing it to "run only when user is logged on." If you have to choose that last option, you'll need to select your user account by going to "Change User or Group..." and digging around until you find the name of your user account on the computer (the name displayed on the Windows lock screen -- which Windows + L keys will display).

On the "Triggers" tab, click "New..." and begin the task "on a schedule," choose "one time" (set it for 10 minutes from your current time so you can see if it works after you're done setting it up), and check the "Repeat task every:" and change it to "12 hours" by typing over the option in the box (you can adjust this later, as needed) and change the duration to "indefinitely." Finally, make sure the "Enabled" box is checked...otherwise it definitely won't run...then click the OK button.

In the "Actions" tab, click "New..." and "Start a program." Next to the "Program/script" box, click "Browse..." and use the file browser to find your batch file (I recommended the root C:\ folder for ease). Click the OK button.

In the "Conditions" tab, uncheck (if checked) the box that says "Start the task only if the computer is on AC power." Everything else should be unchecked.

In the "Settings" tab, check the "Allow task to be run on demand" and "Run task as soon as possible after a scheduled start is missed" and uncheck everything else. Click OK and close the Task Scheduler.

4) Watch your iCam feed for a few minutes to see if you (temporarily) lose connection (which should happen if the batch file is successfully run). If you do lose connection, wait for a minute, then click the refresh button in iCam to see if the feed is back up.

By the way, what you described after testing the batch file earlier is normal....for some reason, Windows doesn't remove the icon from the system tray when a program is "killed." When you hover over the icon from the program that was forcefully killed, the icon then disappears from the system tray. It should NOT take more than a minute or so for your iCam feed to come back up. If it does take longer and you are using uPNP/auto config router, you might try using manual port forwarding instead (or unchecking the auto config router box in icamsource if you only have one camera).

[scorpi04]

Thanks. I will try this later today and post back. Thank you for your advice.

[scorpi04]

Hello again. I have now set the schedule and later today it will start to run. Fingers crossed.

Thanks again for all your help. I will post back if I run into any further problems.

[OUAnthony]

No problem. Hope it works for you. If not, try changing some of those settings I mentioned. If it still doesn't work, we'll see if we can figure it out.