Dell Integrated Webcam connected but not recognized

Hi there,

I had some work done on my laptop (several pieces of hardware were replaced) this week.

It is a:
Dell Studio 1555, Intel Core 2 Duo, T6500 @ 2.10GHz 2.10GHz, 4.0 GB ram, Vista (sp2) 64-bit

The tech had to unplug the integrated webcam to replace something. When he plugged it back in, my laptop did not recognize it. It recognized that something was there - and installed it!! - but the cam doesn't work and I can't find it in my list of devices. The webcam is the original. Nothing was done with any software/drivers; the thing was merely unplugged.

The tech recognized that this had happened because he had seen it happen once before, so he called Dell. Dell told him to have me call them and they would help me download the right driver for it. I did chat instead of calling (not sure if it makes a diff) and they said they had no driver for this webcam. ??? But even if they did, would that even help since this device doesn't show up in my list?

Help, please! We need the vid. chat feature to be able to be able to see overseas family.

Thanks in advance!

 

I think I found the device. In the USB section in the device manager, there is an unknown device.

TIA for any help you might be able to offer, since Dell seems to be clueless about it.

 

Hello,
Found this on dell's site. Might be of help. Seems like a common issue.

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/19271842.aspx

 

I should've updated this a long time ago in case anyone else has the same problem.

I'm not sure what happened, but nothing we or the service guy tried worked, so Dell replaced it. Thankfully it was still under the service plan!