DVP11 5130 - Windows camera app not working for rear camera

Question

This is a re-post of what is in the Mobile Device forum ( http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/mobile-devices/f/3824/t/19536654.aspx ) , it might be more appropriate here. There are currently 3 users including myself experiencing this problem, described as this:

DVP11 5130, the Windows camera app is not working for the rear camera - when the app loads, I just see a dark gray screen. The app is not frozen, the buttons are still on screen so I can shoot panorama and video, so I know the rear camera is not broken, seems to be a software thing because it is just the camera mode that shows the dark gray screen. I'm on firmware A04, any help appreciated.

Note: when rebooting and then immediately loading the Windows camera app, that seems to work for me, but it'll make a total system freeze inevitable that day or the next. After rebooting, and working with other things and then later opening the Windows camera app, that's when it displays the above issue.

Thanks,

Woody

CoyoteCoen · Answer

I am experiencing the same issue with both my DVP11's 5130. Also tried another camera app, with same result. I've also experienced a BSOD once directly after trying to use the camera.

woodman411 · Answer

To all 5130 owners experiencing this problem, including CoyoteCoen, romerojk01, bryant s, and mppm58, are you able to put together definitive steps to reproduce this? I've tried various things typical of what I usually do, and it seems if I open the camera app within a relatively short period of time after rebooting/restarting, it always seems to work. It seems some time needs to transpire before it breaks/freezes, but that just means I haven't zeroed in on the root cause of this. Just curious what others have tried / observed in terms of what they think triggers the failure or elapsed time.

- Woody

mppm58 · Answer

Oddly enough, it is not causing problems today. I did reboot, but I do each day so that hasn't prevented it in the past. Not sure what the trigger is.

CoyoteCoen · Answer

I too have not yet been able to pinpoint what causes the issue. I tried a reboot yesterday, but the camera failed immediately after that.

I tried another reboot this morning, and now it's working fine again. I've also tried opening several other apps with permissions to use the cam (Skype, Facebook app) etc, but they don't seem to interefer with the camera app.

woodman411 · Answer

Update: BIOS update A05 has not addressed the camera issue. I'm currently testing the removal of Microsoft Camera Codec Windows update, let's see how that goes...

Update 2: after un-installing Microsoft Camera Codec, rebooting, and then turning on the Windows Camera successfully, I didn't know what to expect. Used the tablet on and off (sleep) for half the day without problems, then coming home in the evening, I put the tablet to sleep, about an hour later, I discovered it shut down by itself (on-screen windows key had no haptic feedback). Turning it back on, for the first time ever, it went to a distorted blue screen, and about 2 minutes later, regular start up. I don't know if this is because of BIOS A05, the camera code uninstall, the Windows Camera app, or a combination of the three, this has never happened before and it is not good.

- Woody

woodman411 · Answer

This just showed up on the download page for 5130:

Intel Platform Driver, Version: 603.9600.2067.27988,A05
Release Date: 1/30/2014
File Name: Intel_Chipset_WW51_PR7_A04_ZPE.exe
Fixes: Camera shows blackscreen on first startup Blackscreen on chipset driver update

Hope it fixes this. Let us know.

- Woody

CoyoteCoen · Answer

Thanks for the tip Woody. Just installed the update on both our dvp11's. Too early to tell if it is fixed, but so far so good. I'll try to keep you posted

CoyoteCoen · Answer

Have not experienced any issues today. Fix seems to be working correctly.

woodman411 · Answer

With BIOS A05 and Intel Platform Driver Installer A05, both released at the end of January, I was able to use the standard Windows Camera application without crashing... for a few days. That is progress, since before the updates the crash was imminent that day or the next. But when I went into the camera app today, I got the dreaded gray screen again, but this time, the camera indicator light (which let's you know the rear camera is on) was on.

So progress, but it's still not fixed, at least for me.

- Woody

Tablets & Mobile Devices

DVP11 5130 - Windows camera app not working for rear camera

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