Re: SP2008WFP and Skype
16 Oct 2009 02:38PM
Chris
I hope you are still with Dell, and can follow up on this - since I
still have my monitor, and its extended 5 year warranty, and now have
had the same issue with 2 different dell PCs with 2 different OS. I
don't use Skype, but have found the same problem with MSN and Yahoo
from time to time.
Over time, I have found that the problem usually occurs when either
the monitor is put in power saving mode by the OS, or the machine
itself is put in sleep or hibernate state and brought back. Turning
the monitor on and off appears to help because it makes the OS
re-detect the attached USB devices (i.e. the webcam in this case) - but
it is not consistent (the little blue light beside the camera flashes
even when it is in its 'dead' mode).
Most of the time, the webcam console application, MSN, yahoo, or any
other application that accesses the webcam will display a black
screen. Often, I can bring the camera back to life by using the other
video recording application that is bundled with the monitor (sorry,
can't recall the name, as I am not at the computer right now)
Anyway, I still see that the driver and webcam application are both
at thier initial release, and now that the new monitor driver page has
a separation by OS, I see that this monitor and its webcam application
are only listed under XP and Vista, but not under Windows 7 - what is
the plan for windows 7? Is support for the flaky webcam being dropped
completely? Can I claim a warranty replacement under my paid for 5
year warranty if the monitor is not supported on a newer OS which both
my Dell computers will support?
Recent interactions with Dell are really starting to put a big dent in my 12 years of loyal patronage!