USB Microscope - Windows 7 Driver Problems?

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vicatcu
 
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USB Microscope - Windows 7 Driver Problems?

Post by vicatcu »

Hi folks,

I got my USB camera up and running with MicroCapture and I was *so* happy. But since then I've unplugged it and plugged it back in. Windows is no longer happy though. Can someone please help me get it working (again) in a way that will keep working? I'm happy to uninstall / reinstall software and restart the machine as necessary. I'm just getting frustrated at this point.

Thanks,
Vic

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vicatcu
 
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Re: USB Microscope - Windows 7 Driver Problems?

Post by vicatcu »

I've now tried on three different computers, two Windows 7 and one Mac laptop and none of them seem to detect the camera. I think I may have a real hardware problem.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: USB Microscope - Windows 7 Driver Problems?

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Does it show up anywhere at all in Device Manager (possibly in "unknown devices")?

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vicatcu
 
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Re: USB Microscope - Windows 7 Driver Problems?

Post by vicatcu »

No here is a screen capture of Device Manager attached.
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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: USB Microscope - Windows 7 Driver Problems?

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

If it is not showing up at all, then it is most likely a hardware failure. Contact [email protected] with a link to this thread for a replacement.

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vicatcu
 
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Re: USB Microscope - Windows 7 Driver Problems?

Post by vicatcu »

Hi again folks,

I received my replacement camera. I'm still still not getting a picture from the camera. I think I must be in some kind of driver hell at this point. I've attached a screenshot of my current situation. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the driver from the included CD and restarted the computer multiple times. This is Windows7 64-bit. But my friend tried plugging it into his Mac as well and it wasn't recognized on that computer either. The Microcapture software doesn't say there's no camera attached, but it also doesn't show any picture. This behavior and the way Windows "recognizes" this camera is noticeably different than the first one I got too. Please can you help me figure out how to get this camera to work?
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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: USB Microscope - Windows 7 Driver Problems?

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

Let's just go back and go through it step-by-step. It maybe wouldn't hurt to reboot Windows, and you probably also want to try a different USB port than you used before. Also, we have reports of various strange issues with USB3.0 ports; try to use a USB2.1 port, or a self-powered USB hub if your computer doesn't have any USB2.1 ports.

- First, plug in the microscope.

- On the mini-CD, there should be a program called MicroCapture.exe - that's the one you want to run, not DrvSetup.exe or Setup.exe.

- Click on "Install microscope driver". This will bring up an InstallShield Wizard. You've already installed the driver, but it's probably a good idea to do it again, so select "Repair" in the installShield Wizard.

- When that's finished, click on the "Install Microcapture Driver" button. This will install the MicroCapture Application. When the installation wizard is finished, the application should start automatically. If not, start it manually.

You probably have "auto-play" disabled on your CD drive, and that's how this whole mess got started. I had the same problem, and went through the same steps you did: running setup, and then running DrvSetup. Finally, I looked at the AutoRun script, and that's where I discovered that I should have been running MicroCapture.exe.

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vicatcu
 
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Re: USB Microscope - Windows 7 Driver Problems?

Post by vicatcu »

Bad news folks, I'm still up a creek without a paddle. I followed these instructions to a T and now I'm just getting a gray screen in MicroCapture software.

I went to Best Buy and bought a Belkin Powered 4-Port Ultra Slim Desktop USB 2.0 Hub (i.e. with an AC adapter). The background Windows Update drivers seem successfully install with that in place. Repeatable on a laptop and a desktop computer and across multiple USB ports (on the computers and on the Hub). No evidence of driver problems in WIndows Device Manager either. I've also tried using the 2.5 software package off the Adafruit website insteadof the mini-CD that came with it with the same result.

What else can I try gang?

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: USB Microscope - Windows 7 Driver Problems?

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

We can try replacing the microscope. Please email [email protected] with a link to this thread and ask for a replacement

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jblane001
 
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Re: USB Microscope - Windows 7 Driver Problems?

Post by jblane001 »

UPDATE: after reviewing some of the other posts, I tried just installing the "microcapture driver" from the download (as opposed to the baby cd they sent). It's now working. When I installed it the first time on my desktop I used the CD and on my laptop I used the download. Also on the desktop, I'm not sure precisely what I would have done but I'm sure I would not have skipped down to microcapture and installed it only. So the device seems to be working now, but I would look at that installation package. It's at the very least not obvious and maybe actually installing the software in a way that leaves it in a non-functional state.

I have the USB Microscope (5 Mp version) and I installed the microcapture software and it worked fine on my 32 bit laptop from work. However, it can't find the camera on my 64 bit desktop system, which of course is the one in my lab. Is there a 64 bit version of the software? Does it even need a driver or is the hardware plug and play?

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Re: USB Microscope - Windows 7 Driver Problems?

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

You'll need the driver.
Unfortunately, the software you already have is the only software we know about :(

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