Why won't my webcam work?

[vnagel08]

I have a Dell Inspiron with a built-in webcam and it worked when I first got it. I've had it for a little over 6 months now and went to use it, and under the start menu I searched webcam. It showed Dell Webcam Central under programs, but with no icon next to the item. If I click it, it says Windows can't open the file, because it doesn't know what program to open it with.

Can anyone help me and explain why it won't work anymore? And also how to fix it? Thanks!

[Nitika]

Hello, I am Nitika from the Dell Social Media outreach team.

Issues with the webcam can be addressed
First we need to check whether Imaging Devices is getting detected in device manager
For this we have to
1. Right click on My Computer
2. Select Manage
3. Click on device manager
4. On the right side please check if you are getting imaging devices
If you are getting Imaging devices in device manager then we can install a generic the WEBCAM software from the below link

http://www.nchsoftware.com/capture/index.html

In order to verify that the system does not have any hardware issues, you can run the system diagnostic available in all dell systems. Follow the instructions below to run hardware diagnostics
1. Press F12 on the dell logo while powering on the system.
2. Complete all the diagnostics and make a note of error codes if any
If possible please provide me your system service tag so that I can check your order details and give you the correct driver which needs to be installed.
And you can find the service tag
**on the bottom of the laptop on the white sticker **it’s a seven digit alphanumeric code which ends with BS or number 1.
If in case you do face any challenges in the process, please feel free to contact me directly by sending me an email or by through a reply to this blog.
We would recommend you do not post your private information on a public forum and if in incase any specific contact details need to be shared..
Thanks & Regards
DELL_NITIKA_K
Dell Social Media Responder