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Hi All.
I bought a new LifecamStudio 2 days ago. I installed the camera, following the instructions of course. In the end of the installation, I could se my self in the Lifecam software window, so far no problems, the camera worked. Suddenly a popup message appeared, telling me that the firmware of the camera needed to be upgraded, so I pressed OK. The firmware upgrade started but was shortly aborted with an errormessage, saying the upgrade was not succesfull. I tryed to reinstall the firmware, but now it tells me hat I already have the most recent firmware installed. So the nproblem is now that, when I instert my camera into the USB port windows finds the camera, but as soon as I start any program the uses the camera it goes from a Lifecam Icon (in the hardware manager that is) to a unknown unit. The Lifecam studio software tells me that no camera is installed. I have installed the camera on other computers without any luck.
/Stefan
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Fixed it :)
In device manager underneath imaging devices I saw "Webcam" -- before the botched fw update it said "Microsoft LifeCam Studio" and had a diff driver. I rolled back the driver (or if that doesn't work you can force it to use the one inside program files \ lifecam) then re-installed lifecam -- my cam now works. Now -- what's the deal with this update utility and why's it changing what driver the camera uses?
Started StudioFW1033.exe as Administrator. Waited for 3 minutes at least - no result.
Camera cannot be recognised. The driver is Microsoft Lifecam Studio. I used alse the generic WebCam driver with no effect. I had been using the camera for more than 2 years and I think I didn't try the firmware upgrade the first place.
So sorry to have this relatively expensive camera failed.
I attempted to do all the items you list in your post but none work. I even tried to call Microsoft support during business hours on a Sunday but they say they are closed.
I'm not a happy camper right now. I want an answer to this issue. I installed the camera on a clean install of Windows 7 x64. It was working until I performed a firmware update to version FW1033. Now my camera won't work at all. I tried using different drivers. I tried performing the firmware update several times waiting as much as 20 minutes between unplugging and plugging the device back in. For a $99 camera you would think Microsoft would post a good firmware updater that doesn't brick your camera.
I'm having this same issue. I've been using the webcam for about a year with no problems, but I moved it to a new computer and thought it would be a good idea to update the firmware when I installed the software (silly me). I followed the on-screen instructions, and the webcam is plugged directly into a usb2.0 port on my motherboard, not a hub. I've tried everything suggested, along with every possible permutation of uninstall/reinstall driver, rollback/update driver, unplug for five seconds and plug back in. Tried different usb ports, different computers. The device is just dead!
Audio still works, and unlike others, mine is still showing up as "Microsoft LifeCam Studio" in Device Manager.
I'm actually quite peeved off to have a webcam of this price bracket stop working due to a firmware update. What's worse is that MS have known about this issue for two and a half years, and not only have they failed to provide a fix that works for everyone, but they have allowed the problem to continue happening to their unsuspecting customers. I mean, if they can't fix the problem with the firmware updater, why not just take it down so this doesn't happen to anyone else? The cam was working fine prior to the attempt to update.
I also don't expect I would have much luck trying to take it back for a refund or a replacement after a year, so it looks like I've got no choice but to go out and buy a new (NOT Microsoft) webcam.
I ended up contacting Microsoft support about this issue. They sent me an RMA to return the webcam and then they sent me a new webcam. Mine was over 1 year old but they still covered it. I had a new webcam back in about a week.
Once you try to update the firmware it bricks the webcam. There is nothing you can do from that point on except contact Microsoft for a replacement.
Hope that helps
