Lenovo EasyCamera on N500 detected, but no output.
Linux - Laptop and NetbookHaving a problem installing or configuring Linux on your laptop? Need help running Linux on your netbook? This forum is for you. This forum is for any topics relating to Linux and either traditional laptops or netbooks (such as the Asus EEE PC, Everex CloudBook or MSI Wind).
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
Lenovo EasyCamera on N500 detected, but no output.
Hi all,
Just bought a Lenovo N500 and installed Kubuntu. Pretty much everything worked out of the box and I'm really pleased with it. The only thing that isn't working is the built-in webcam.
Cheese displays colour bars and "white-fuzz" as if there weren't a camera connected, but in the preferences menu the camera drop-down selector is populated by one entry: "Lenovo EasyCamera (/dev/video0)"
lsusb says:
Code:
tom@tom-laptop:~$ lsusb
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 5986:0205 Acer, Inc
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 008 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 007 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 0a5c:2150 Broadcom Corp.
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Which doesn't seem to contain any reference to a camera.
Has anyone had any success in using the built-in webcam on an N500? Or any other Lenovo laptop?
I eventually got my webcam working by forcing uvcvideo to use quirksmode=2.
This can be done from the shell...
First see if uvcvideo is loaded:
Code:
lsmod | grep ^uvcvideo
You'll get a single line returned if it is, and nothing if it isn't.
If it's loaded, you'll need to unload it before continuing:
Code:
sudo modprobe -r uvcvideo
We now need to load it with our new 'quirks' setting:
Code:
sudo modprobe uvcvideo quirks=2
And see if it works. If it does, you'll probably want to make it permanent - keep reading.
Or by editing /etc/modules:
By adding/modifying one line in /etc/modules, we can make this a permanent thing. Open it up in your favourite text editor (remembering root privileges) and look for a line with uvcvideo on it. If you find one, change it, otherwise put this on a new line:
Code:
uvcvideo quirks=2
Hopefully this will be useful to someone out there.
small problem: cannot make it permanent. I'm not a linux/terminal guru, but I did the following:
1. cd /etc
2. sudo gedit modules
it contained only one row: lp
I put a new row at the end: uvcvideo quirks=2
saved the file
3. more modules
checked if it has really changed - it displayed the wanted content
4. ls -l
checked if the right has not changed -» still -rw-r--r-- 1 root root modules, OK
5. restart ubuntu
6. test camera with skype - nothing happens :-(
7. manual modprobe in terminal -» camera works with skype!
create a script that you place on the desktop.
put uvcvideo into your /etc/modprobe.d/ (some blacklist filename)
copy and paste the following into a text file...change bin/sh to /bin/bash or dash or whatever you normally use if /bin/sh is not on your system...put into a code box merely to highlight it
Code:
#! /bin/sh
# a file to run with root powers
/sbin/modprobe uvcvideo quirks=2
exit 0
name file webcam, move it to /home/yourname/Desktop
open a terminal
Code:
$ cd /home/yourname/Desktop
su (or sux)(to get root powers)
chmod + x webcam
chown root webcam
IF you are on a sudo system change above to
sudo chmod + x webcam
2) put in webcam...run script it MUST ask for root password
Then test your software.
3) If that worked? then you automate with the creation of an udev rule...I do not have an inbuilt webcam so not sure if udev rule will work for those types but it could be worth a try if you feel up to it?
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.