Aspire 5738Z Crystal Eye for Windows 10 webcam doesn't work

hwfa
hwfa Member Posts: 6

Tinkerer

edited September 2023 in Aspire Laptops
I am running Windows 10 Home 32 bit on an Aspire 5738Z. The Crystal Eyey webcam doesn't work - no driver. I have hunted high and low for a driver. I have found a few sites that advertise downloads for this but when I look inside the downloaded .zip archive I find the latest files are dated some time in 2007 and could therefore not possibly run (and in fact won't even install) on Win 10 which wasn't released till 2015. Help. Please.

[Edited the thread to add issue detail]

Answers

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,865 Trailblazer
    Google "pc.rar" "amazon". Copy and paste the link to the pc.rar and download it. It's a compressed file that must be extracted with WinZip. Then run its setup to install ViewPlayCap which should recognized and use your CrystalEye webcam. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • hwfa
    hwfa Member Posts: 6

    Tinkerer

    Erm. The setup.exe software I find in the .rar file was last modified in 2013 which is two years before Windows 10 was released. Are you sure?
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,865 Trailblazer
    CrystalEyeWeb hardware was designed for Win7, WinVista, & WinXP. NOT Win10. Try it and find out.  :)   Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • hwfa
    hwfa Member Posts: 6

    Tinkerer

    If the hardware is not designed for Win 10, why did you point me at 7 year old software? Or are you saying that this old software will make my old hardware work on the new OS (win 10)? I don't want to try to install ancient software and run the risk of it messing up my laptop.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,865 Trailblazer
    You have ancient CrystalEye hardware for which the ancient CrystalEye software driver won't work on Win10. The ancient VPC software may or may not recognize the ancient hardware. We can uninstall it and try something else if it doesn't. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • hwfa
    hwfa Member Posts: 6

    Tinkerer

    I installed it but it didn’t see the camera. If you have any other thoughts.... Otherwise, thanks for your efforts. 
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,865 Trailblazer
    If pc.rar can't detect the camera, this suggests the video ribbon cable has probably developed a conductor break in the hinge area from wear & tear of opening and closing lid. Are you absolutely sure the camera was working just before you installed Win10? Jack E/NJ 

    Jack E/NJ

  • hwfa
    hwfa Member Posts: 6

    Tinkerer

    Hmmm. Actually, now that you mention it, I think so but I wouldn’t swear to it in a court of law. I only started trying to use it a couple of weeks ago when I wanted to start using Zoom. Unless you can think of an easy way for me to test it myself I’ll have to take it in to my local repair shop. In the meantime I’ll use the external USB camera they gave me which works with the drivers they installed. Thanks again. 
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,865 Trailblazer
    edited September 2020
    No easy way to test except replace. New LCD/cam ribbon cables are less than $20 but require removing the bezel and accessing the mainboard. https://www.amazon.com/Occus-Cables-Laptop-Aspire-Connector/dp/B089T91V8D/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=5738z+lcd+cable&qid=1600088454&s=electronics&sr=1-6

    For the work/labor involved, you might be better off hobbling along with the external USB camera anyway since it's probably higher resolution. The built-in camera of that vintage is only 1.3mp . Jack E/NJ


    Jack E/NJ

  • Corniche
    Corniche Member Posts: 1 New User

    Hello

    Try this:

    Go to Device Manager, Click > in front of USB controller, delete all USB Root Hub

    Restart, The USB Root Hub will be re installed and the webcam is up an running.

    hope this will work for you. :-)

    Regards

  • hwfa
    hwfa Member Posts: 6

    Tinkerer

    Thank you, Corniche, but I recently replaced my Acer with a Lenovo 64-bit laptop running Windows 11 and its camera works.

  • Pinehunter
    Pinehunter Member Posts: 24 Networker

    I have a similar old Aspire 5738Z laptop. It is loaded with windows 10, 64 bit and the camera works perfectly.