trouble with laptop camera init

SaintDanBert · 09-27-2020, 12:47 PM

====================
Follow-Up
====================
I launched 'chrome' and then 'meet.google.com' and created a new meeting. Chrome announced, "camera is starting" and I got a light at the camera. Viola! My smiling, but puzzled face appeared on screen and on my connected tablet.

When I repeated the 'dmesg' command, I still got "not initialized". Not a surprize. But then:

Code:

prompt$ less /var/log/syslog
...
Sep 27 12:07:47 kaywine kernel: [   15.083167] uvcvideo: Found UVC 1.00 device Integrated Camera (04f2:b217)
Sep 27 12:07:47 kaywine kernel: [   15.092218] uvcvideo 1-1.6:1.0: Entity type for entity Extension 3 was not initialized!
Sep 27 12:07:47 kaywine kernel: [   15.092220] uvcvideo 1-1.6:1.0: Entity type for entity Processing 2 was not initialized!
Sep 27 12:07:47 kaywine kernel: [   15.092221] uvcvideo 1-1.6:1.0: Entity type for entity Camera 1 was not initialized!

Sep 27 12:07:47 kaywine kernel: [   15.092290] input: Integrated
     Camera: Integrated C as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1a.0
         /usb1/1-1/1-1.6/1-1.6:1.0/input/input27
Sep 27 12:07:47 kaywine kernel: [   15.092378] usbcore: registered new interface driver uvcvideo
Sep 27 12:07:47 kaywine kernel: [   15.092379] USB Video Class driver (1.1.1)
...
prompt $

Why would boot-time init fail to find the camera but a lowly (grin) browser make it work?

Thoroughly stumped,
~~~ 0;-/ Dan
====================
Original Posting
====================
My laptop camera used to work, but I don't use it much. At some point, it stopped working. I;ve run Linux Mint {something} on this workstation since Mint 10.x and I've systematically updated the installed packages and kernels.
I suspect that somewhere along the line, an update stepped on something. I hope that this isn't broken hardware.

Can someone help me sort out hardware vs. software?
If software, can someone help me discover what is going wrong?

I get the following reports:

Code:

prompt$ dmesg | grep uvcvideo

[   15.083167] uvcvideo: Found UVC 1.00 device Integrated Camera (04f2:b217)
[   15.092218] uvcvideo 1-1.6:1.0: Entity type for entity Extension 3 was not initialized!
[   15.092220] uvcvideo 1-1.6:1.0: Entity type for entity Processing 2 was not initialized!
[   15.092221] uvcvideo 1-1.6:1.0: Entity type for entity Camera 1 was not initialized!
[   15.092378] usbcore: registered new interface driver uvcvideo

prompt$

and the following:

Code:

prompt $ sudo modinfo uvcvideo

filename: 
    /lib/modules/5.4.0-47-generic/kernel/drivers/media/usb/uvc/uvcvideo.ko
version:        1.1.1
license:        GPL
description:    USB Video Class driver
author:         Laurent Pinchart <laurent.pinchart@ideasonboard.com>
srcversion:     B1A7C9FD663C3F0B47C280D
alias:          usb:v*p*d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip01in*
alias:          usb:v*p*d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v8086p0B03d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v29FEp4D53d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v2833p0211d*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v2833p0201d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v1C4Fp3000d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v1B3Fp2002d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v1B3Bp2951d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v19ABp1000d00*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v19ABp1000d01[0-1]*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v19ABp1000d012[0-6]dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v199Ep8102d*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v18ECp3290d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v18ECp3288d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v18ECp3188d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v18CDpCAFEd*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v1871p0516d*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v1871p0306d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v17EFp480Bd*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v17DCp0202d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v174Fp8A34d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v174Fp8A33d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v174Fp8A31d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v174Fp8A12d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v174Fp5931d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v174Fp5212d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v152Dp0310d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v13D3p5103d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v0E8Dp0004d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v0BD3p0555d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v0AC8p3420d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v0AC8p3410d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v0AC8p332Dd*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v06F8p300Cd*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v05E3p0505d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v05C8p0403d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v05ACp8600d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v05ACp8501d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v05A9p7670d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v05A9p264Ad*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v05A9p2643d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v05A9p2641d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v05A9p2640d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v058Fp3820d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v04F2pB071d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v046Dp082Dd*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v046Dp08C7d*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v046Dp08C6d*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v046Dp08C5d*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v046Dp08C3d*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v046Dp08C2d*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v046Dp08C1d*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v045Ep0723d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v045Ep0721d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v045Ep00F8d*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v0458p706Ed*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
alias:          usb:v0416pA91Ad*dc*dsc*dp*ic0Eisc01ip00in*
depends:        videobuf2-v4l2,videodev,videobuf2-common,videobuf2-vmalloc,mc
retpoline:      Y
intree:         Y
name:           uvcvideo
vermagic:       5.4.0-47-generic SMP mod_unload 
signat:         PKCS#7
signer:         
sig_key:        
sig_hashalgo:   md4
parm:           clock:Video buffers timestamp clock
parm:           hwtimestamps:Use hardware timestamps (uint)
parm:           nodrop:Don't drop incomplete frames (uint)
parm:           quirks:Forced device quirks (uint)
parm:           trace:Trace level bitmask (uint)
parm:           timeout:Streaming control requests timeout (uint)

prompt $

My Platform: (formatting adjusted for readability)

Code:

prompt $ sudo inxi --full --sensors --filter

System:    Host: kaywine Kernel: 5.4.0-47-generic x86_64 bits: 64 Desktop: Cinnamon 4.4.8 Distro: Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia 

Machine:   Type: Laptop System: LENOVO product: 4294CTO v: ThinkPad X220 Tablet serial: <filter> 

           Mobo: LENOVO model: 4294CTO serial: <filter> UEFI: LENOVO v: 8DET70WW (1.40 ) date: 05/14/2015 

Battery:   ID-1: BAT0 charge: 38.1 Wh condition: 38.9/57.7 Wh (67%) 

CPU:       Topology: Dual Core model: Intel Core i5-2520M bits: 64 type: MT MCP L2 cache: 3072 KiB 
           Speed: 797 MHz min/max: 800/3200 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 797 2: 797 3: 797 4: 797 

Graphics:  Device-1: Intel 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics driver: i915 v: kernel 

           Display: server: X.Org 1.19.6 driver: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa resolution: 1366x768~60Hz 

           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel HD Graphics 3000 (SNB GT2) v: 3.3 Mesa 20.0.8 

Audio:     Device-1: Intel 6 Series/C200 Series Family High Definition Audio 

driver: snd_hda_intel 

           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-47-generic 

Network:   Device-1: Intel 82579LM Gigabit Network driver: e1000e 
           IF: enp0s25 state: down mac: <filter> 
           Device-2: Intel Centrino Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250 [Kilmer Peak] 

driver: iwlwifi 
           IF: wlp3s0 state: up mac: <filter> 
           Device-3: Intel type: USB driver: i2400m_usb 
           IF: enx001de14ea1d1 state: down mac: <filter> 

Drives:    Local Storage: total: 1.16 TiB used: 535.22 GiB (45.2%) 
           ID-1: /dev/mmcblk0 model: SD16G size: 14.91 GiB 
           ID-2: /dev/sda vendor: Western Digital model: WD10SPCX-60KHST0 size: 931.51 GiB 
           ID-3: /dev/sdb vendor: Samsung model: SSD PM851 mSATA 256GB size: 238.47 GiB 

Partition: ID-1: / size: 78.24 GiB used: 9.86 GiB (12.6%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda8 
           ID-2: /boot size: 975.9 MiB used: 248.9 MiB (25.5%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda6 
           ID-3: /home size: 97.93 GiB used: 51.47 GiB (52.6%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda4 
           ID-4: /var size: 29.47 GiB used: 10.83 GiB (36.7%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda7 
           ID-5: swap-1 size: 11.94 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda5 

Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 51.0 C mobo: N/A 
           Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 1958 

Info:      Processes: 234 Uptime: 25m Memory: 7.66 GiB used: 1.81 GiB (23.6%) 

Shell: bash inxi: 3.0.32 

prompt $

Thanks in advance,
~~~ 0;-Dan

computersavvy · 09-27-2020, 05:40 PM

In your post you show that first the device is seen but not initialized, then it has the driver loaded.

Code:

prompt$ dmesg | grep uvcvideo

[   15.083167] uvcvideo: Found UVC 1.00 device Integrated Camera (04f2:b217)
[   15.092218] uvcvideo 1-1.6:1.0: Entity type for entity Extension 3 was not initialized!
[   15.092220] uvcvideo 1-1.6:1.0: Entity type for entity Processing 2 was not initialized!
[   15.092221] uvcvideo 1-1.6:1.0: Entity type for entity Camera 1 was not initialized!
[   15.092378] usbcore: registered new interface driver uvcvideo

prompt$

after which it gets configured. This is the normal progression of startup and is only an issue if the driver cannot be loaded and the device is unusable after boot completes. All the browser did was use what was already available.

SaintDanBert · 09-27-2020, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by computersavvy

In your post you show that first the device is seen but not initialized, then it has the driver loaded.

Code:

prompt$ dmesg | grep uvcvideo

[   15.083167] uvcvideo: Found UVC 1.00 device Integrated Camera (04f2:b217)
[   15.092218] uvcvideo 1-1.6:1.0: Entity type for entity Extension 3 was not initialized!
[   15.092220] uvcvideo 1-1.6:1.0: Entity type for entity Processing 2 was not initialized!
[   15.092221] uvcvideo 1-1.6:1.0: Entity type for entity Camera 1 was not initialized!
[   15.092378] usbcore: registered new interface driver uvcvideo

prompt$

after which it gets configured. This is the normal progression of startup and is only an issue if the driver cannot be loaded and the device is unusable after boot completes. All the browser did was use what was already available.

The driver didn't load until the browser tried to use the camera and announced, "... the camera is loading..." Shouldn't the driver load immediately after boot?

Thanks in advance,
~~~ 0;-Dan

computersavvy · 09-28-2020, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaintDanBert

The driver didn't load until the browser tried to use the camera and announced, "... the camera is loading..." Shouldn't the driver load immediately after boot?

Thanks in advance,
~~~ 0;-Dan

Not necessarily. That is a device that may remain unused for long periods and once identified during boot it loads the driver when needed. Helps to keep memory which might be scarce on some systems free for use. It also can be a security risk or potentially embarrassing if the camera is always active/loaded/usable and the user is unaware of it or simply ignores it.