Help with E430 Integrated camera

[ladtoyourleft]

Hello,

I bought a Thinkpad E430 in June and have used it without trouble until October. My problem is the integrated camera. It worked fine when I bought the computer, but it stopped working. I was able to get it going again by reinstalling the driver, but it's stopped again and the driver isn't even being recognized when I install it and restart my computer.

Most of my troubles are similar to this person's only I know that my computer was shipped with a camera:

http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-Edge-S-series/Help-with-an-E530-integrated-camera-that-can-t-be...

When I open up web conferencing, it only gives me audio options and when I try to set it up with the device manager it only has the lexmark and xerox options.

I tried to just f11 on startup and redo everything, but it gave me an error in doing that. 

[dmckenzies]

Hi ladtoyourleft,

Can you pinpoint when/how the malfunction happened?

Did it happen suddenly or did it progessively get worse over time?

I ask to see if there is a point that we might be able to roll back to.

Were there any changes made before the camera stopped working?

[ladtoyourleft]

I know that it was in October, but that's about it. I don't know a specific date. To my knowledge, no tinkering was done. No intentional tinkering at least. I did download a program called YAWNCAM to take a picture because my picture was never great using Lenovo's provided software and I wanted to see if I had any other options.

I looked into doing a restore point for September, but when I go into that, the only available dates are from a few days before the present.

It wasn't a slow process or anything. Just one day I went to Skype with my family and it couldn't detect a camera.

Thanks for replying and I'll happily get you any information you may need if you think you can help.

[dmckenzies]

Have you thought about backing up you system and doing a factory restore?

Outside of that, the only other otions to try, that wasn't posted in the forum you linked to, would be to go into the system yourself and see if the camera is physically secured and seated properly.

I would not recommend this if you are still under warranty as it will void your warranty.

If you are under warranty you call call the support line and have them set you up for a tech to come provide service or to send your unit to the repaid depot.

You can find the support center on this page: Contact Support

If you are not under warranty, you can use this Hardware Maintenance Maunual to locate and secure the camera connection.

Let us know which option you decided to go with so we can share the knowledge.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

[ladtoyourleft]

I've already backed everything up in an attempt to factory restore, but I get an error message whenever I attempt to do it through the F11 option--any suggestions on that?

I'm still covered by a warranty, but I'd like to avoid sending my computer in because it's my only one and I don't want to go without one.

[dmckenzies]

Hello,

Here is a forum thread in regards to your F11 issue:

http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/X-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/Factory-Restore-using-F11-at-boot-doesn-t-work...

This should shine some light on the subject.

There is a possibility of having a service tech come to you.

Call the Lenovo Support Center and see if that is included in your warranty coverage.

That way you can get the service you need without being away from your computer.

[ladtoyourleft]

Neither of those were helpful. The link to the recovery topic sent me to the Lenovo One Touch Recovery page that all ends with a message that reads "system recovery failed."

The other link was dead.

I've decided to go ahead and do a system recovery for a fresh start. I still have the problem, though, with that not working. Here's the comprehensive process that leads to the problem.

--I restart my computer and push f11 on startup

--I choose to restore computer to factory settings

--I agree to the terms and conditions and click next

--A message pops up that says "System recovery failed."

--After that there's nothing I can do.

The one touch recovery software led to the same thing. Is there a way that Lenovo could send me a recovery disc? 

[dmckenzies]

Have you run a ChkDsk yet?

Yes, you can call the support line and have them send you the disks.

Or you can PM me with your info and I can have them sent out

I would need:

Name

Phone #

Address

Machine type/Model #

Serial #

[ladtoyourleft]

I still haven't had any luck so I sent you my information. Thanks!

[dmckenzies]

Thanks, I got it.

I am setting it up for you right now.