Hardrive failure purchase new, install and original cam does not worlk

Hi can anyone help me please? I had a hard drive failure and managed to back up my files! I bought a brand new hard drive and installed it then reinstated my back up files of windows 7, I have however no cam, it came as built in with the Advent Modena M201 Red laptop I bought from currys! Its is an Intel Celeron T3500, 3GB DDR3 RAM, 320GB DVD+/-RW, 802.11b/g/n 15.6" widescreen, intergrated intel mobile 4 series! Please can someone help me as I have had this back twice at currys then for it to go out of warranty to then buy my own drive and for the cam not to work! Many thanks for all your help

I don't know if you realise this but the built-in webcam needs software drivers to work and these are not provided on the 'Advent' web site, such as it is. We used to know a link to the necessary drivers but that link no longer works and I don't know what files were actually linked. Maybe John S. can help?

Hello Carolyn. As Alan says its the driver you need and it's not easy to get hold of.

You could go to DriverAgent.com and do a scan for all your drivers.

It will cost something to download them, a couple of pounds for a one off customer, but they will be there. I use DriverAgent a lot and pay a small fee per machines download. It saves me an awful lot of time.

Hi I have been to Driveragent.com, it says its free, then it asks to do a free scan of my laptop. I let it do this and even though everything else is working fine on my laptop it said it found numerous errors. To then download it said it would cost $29.99 and $9.99 for another two years after??? I can not see anything that is allowing me to download for free or a few pounds. Is there another way on the site to obtain software, Many thanks. Regards Carolyn

Hi I have just been told in another of your forums to go to http://knowhow.com which I have. They are owned by Curries/Dixons etc which Advent is their own make of laptop and they have said to go to Device Manager, view devices and printers, and between IDE ATA /ATAPI Controllers and Keyboards should be Imaging Devices, click on it and it should say HD Video Webcam, however mine doesn't even have that in there. They say if it is not there then contact them on a 0844 number chargeable per minute. I am shocked really as it failed with its hard drive twice under warranty and now out of warranty. I never used the cam before so wonder if it was installed in the first place. or Never reinstalled when it's hardrive failed twice! I am now using skype tried it to the other halves ipad, I could see him he couldnt see me but we could both hear each other........I feel as if I am drowning!

If you look in Device Manager, you may see the camera there, but without any drivers loaded. Look at the properties, and it should give you an id. This will be something like "VID\&xxxx\&sys_xxx". Take a note of these details and try Googling for it. That should lead you to the camera manufacturers web site and you may be able to get a driver from there for free.

Slight breakdown in communications sorry Carolyn!

Go to http://driveragent.com/ and click web scan on the left hand side. Your machine will be scanned and a list of hardware produced showing the current state of your drivers. Click on the camera driver and its here you will be required to pay the small fee.

What you found was slightly different and unnecessary.

Thank you cliff, if you were here now I would give you a big kiss! I did what you said, even though it said a lot of things could be done it did offer to let me browse for driver software and gave me the one I needed! it cost next to nothing and yipppppppppeeeee! I am back on board with my cam in full working order. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! and thank you to everyone else for your support! thoroughly appreciated xxxx

so somebody somewhere still has that driver available on a website....

Carolyn
by any chance did you make a record of the name of the actual driver file you downloaded?
or else of the name/description of the camera that DriverAgent gave it?

I've not so far found anywhere else to get that file from since Dixons pulled it off their website