These steps help to diagnose and collect helpful information when encountering camera issues while using a Micro-Vu machine. Often, these simple steps may resolve these issues and help identify the root cause of the problem.
This article applies to Post 2020 Machines
Before contacting Micro-Vu support, we highly recommend following these steps and collect the relevant information along the way to help speed up your support process.
Diagnosing Steps
Before proceeding, ensure your computer fulfills the minimum specifications required to run InSpec. These specifications are listed on the Micro-Vu website downloads page.
Verify Physical Machine USB 3.0 Connection
Check if the machine cable is securely plugged into a valid USB 3.0 port on the computer. A valid USB 3.0 port should be identified by the blue insert OR a SuperSpeed symbol, as illustrated below. Some PCs may have special “charging ports” indicated with a lightning bolt symbol, but using these ports for your machine is not recommended by Micro-Vu.
- If not, plug the cable into a valid USB 3.0 port and try again to determine if the problem still exists. If so, continue with the diagnostic steps.
Verify Camera Connection
Open Device Manager and verify that the machine’s camera is connected under Imaging Devices
The Device Manager can be found by hitting the Windows key and enter “Device Manager” in the search box, as shown below.
- If the machine’s camera does not appear. Try the following steps to see if the issue can be resolved.
1. Power off the machine completely
2. Unplug the USB cable from the machine
3. Wait for 60 seconds
4. Re-plug the USB cable from the machine back into the PC
5. Power up the machine
The Device Manager will refresh momentarily. If the issue still exists, continue with the diagnostic steps.
Verify Camera Connection Is In USB 3.0
If the machine’s camera is present under Imaging Devices, verify the connection type. To do so, follow these steps:
On some PCs, some USB ports may be routed through additional hubs which may introduce delays and instability. This step helps identify and solve these problems.
For machines with multiple cameras, repeat these steps for all the cameras.
- If the machine’s camera is not present under Imaging Devices, skip this step.
In Device Manager, expand the node Imaging Devices, and select the machine’s camera. The selected camera will be highlighted “blue” as shown below.
Click View → Devices by connection, as shown below.
The Device Manager will switch to a view similar to the following.
Verify that USB 3.0 appears as the “hub” that leads to the device and SuperSpeed USB Hub appears as the intermediary node. Make sure the there are no additional hubs between them other than those shown in the screenshot.
Verify Camera Driver Validity
If the camera is detected as a valid USB 3.0 device as indicated above, verify the camera’s driver is functioning properly. To do so, follow these steps.
For machines with multiple cameras, repeat these steps for all the cameras.
In the Device Manager, right-click on the camera device and select Properties
Select the Driver tab.
3. Note the Driver Version reported here. This will be useful in subsequent communication with Micro-Vu support.
Verify Camera Is Available For InSpec
Sometimes, 3rd party software or Windows settings may be preventing InSpec to access the camera.
Deactivate any antivirus software in order to check if it blocks the camera access.
Open Device Manager and locate the machine’s camera, if it enumerates make sure that it is not disabled or blocked by Windows Settings. Settings > Privacy > Camera > Allow apps to access your camera must be on.