PC Doctor February 14, 2022

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Dear PC Doctor:

I have a newish Lenovo Thinkpad laptop (Windows 10) that has been working great. Yesterday, as I was setting up for a teleconference, its camera stopped working. When I opened Zoom and started video, the computer displayed a picture of a camera with a line through it, like a ‘no smoking’ sign. I tried everything I could think of, but the camera would not work. I had to conduct my meeting with audio only. Do you have any ideas for what I could do to fix this?

Thanks,

No Picture

Dear No Picture:

First, go to your Settings > Privacy > Camera. Make sure your setting says “Camera access for this device is on.”

If the problem persists, visit Control Panel > Device Manage > Cameras. The device status should say “This device is working properly.” If the camera shows a yellow exclamation point, it may be that the camera driver is not installed properly or is out of date. Right-click and select Uninstall. Then right-click Imaging devices and select Scan for hardware changes.

If the yellow exclamation persists, visit Lenovo support: https://support.lenovo.com to search the product name and find the corresponding camera driver to install and update. For certain models, there is no separate camera driver. Instead install the Windows inbox driver.

Lenovo also has an app called Vantage. If you try all the steps above and your camera is still giving you trouble, give it a try. It might already be on your computer or you might have to download it from the Microsoft Store. Type Vantage in your computer’s search box. Open the app. Go to My Device Settings > Display & Camera. In your Camera Privacy Mode, make sure Privacy Mode is off.

I hope one of these is the answer to your issue!

Until next time,
Happy Computing!
PC Doctor

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