• If the camera is not detected by Windows, try to disconnect any other USB device(s) temporarily to see if the camera conflicts with any other device on your PC. Connect the camera directly to an available USB port on the PC, rather than a USB hub. Verify that your system meets the system requirements such as Operating System, RAM, or available hard drive space etc.
• If your camera is not detected in one specific application, ensure that there are not any other active programs that may be accessing the camera at the same time.
• Some cameras have a mode button.
  To capture images while the camera is attached to a computer, press the Mode Button.
  The mode button on the PC Cam 880 switches between camera mode and removable disk mode. The mode button on all the other PC Cams (300, 350, 550, 600, 750) changes from picture, to video, to motor drive, to mic etc..
• In the system BIOS setup, set "Assign IRQ to USB" and "USB Legacy Support" and "USB Keyboard Support" to "Enabled" (if present)
• You may also need to check with your system vendor for any BIOS, chipset update.
• If your camera was connected prior to software installation, you can completely uninstall and reinstall camera drivers and bundled software, see the procedures below.

1. Disconnect the camera from the USB interface.
2. Click on Start, Run, type MSCONFIG and click OK.
3. Check the box next to Selective Startup and uncheck the box next to Load Startup Items.
4. Select the SERVICES tab and select Hide All Microsoft Services.
5. Uncheck all results and click Apply then OK.
6. Restart Computer when asked.
7. Click on Start, Control Panel, System and click on Hardware and then click on Device Manager.
8. Click on the plus (+) to the left of IMAGING DEVICES, OTHER DEVICES (if applicable), and UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS CONTROLLERS, and then remove all CREATIVE WEBCAM listings and erroneous items such as USB DEVICE, UNKNOWN DEVICE, etc. from these categories.
9. Close SYSTEM PROPERTIES.
10. Click on START, CONTROL PANEL and ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS. Remove all CREATIVE WEBCAM listings such CREATIVE WEB MONITOR, WEB CONTROL, etc.
11. Click on START, CONTROL PANEL, SCANNERS AND CAMERAS, and remove any CREATIVE WEBCAM listings listed here.
12. Close all windows.
13. Insert the Webcam installation CD and install the Webcam Drivers, and related software.
14. Restart the computer once the installations have completed.
15. Connect your camera to your computer. Windows' Found New Hardware wizard should initialize, follow the directions on the screen, and complete the wizard.
16. If your camera is installed with Creative PC-CAM Center or Creative WebCam Monitor, you can use these programs to test your camera installation.
17. Once all steps have been completed, restore your computer to Normal Startup settings by following these steps:
    • Click START, RUN, and Type MSCONFIG and click OK.
    • Select NORMAL STARTUP, then click Apply, OK and reboot when prompted.

1. Disconnect the camera from the USB interface.
2. Click on Start, Run, and type MSCONFIG and click OK, and select Selective Startup and uncheck Load Startup (Group) Items.
3. Click OK and reboot when prompted.
4. Click on Start, Settings, Control Panel, System and Device Manager.
5. Click the plus (+) to the left of IMAGING DEVICES, OTHER DEVICES (if applicable), and UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS CONTROLLERS, and then remove all CREATIVE WEBCAM listings and erroneous items such as USB DEVICE, UNKNOWN DEVICE, etc. from these categories.
6. Close system properties
7. Click on START, CONTROL PANEL and ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS. Remove all CREATIVE WEBCAM listings such Creative Web Monitor, Web Control, etc.
8. Click on Start, Settings, Control panel, SCANNERS AND CAMERAS, and remove any CREATIVE WEBCAM listings listed here.
9. Close all windows.
10. Insert the webcam installation cd and install the webcam drivers, and related software.
11. Reboot the computer once the installations have completed.
12. Connect your camera to your computer. windows' found new hardware wizard should initialize, follow the directions on the screen, and complete the wizard.
13. If your camera is installed with creative pc-cam center or creative webcam monitor, you can use these programs to test your camera installation.
14. Once all steps have been completed, restore your computer to Normal Startup by following these steps:
    • Click on Start, Run. Then type MSCONFIG and click OK.
    • Select Normal Startup, then click OK and reboot when prompted.

Close any non-essential background applications to free memory ( i.e. programs that are not essential for the camera)

After installing the Creative WebCam NX Pro on a Compaq PC, Windows 2000 may report an error "KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED". This issue may be caused by a conflict with the CLNTMGMT.SYS which is preinstalled by Compaq and is used for such items as the Compaq Diagnostics for Windows, SSM, Insight LC, and FirstBoot Utility.

To resolve this conflict, obtain and install the latest SoftPaq from Compaq for your system. For specific SoftPaq versions, please refer to the Compaq's support home page. Also, removing the Compaq Diagnostics may also correct this issue if the SoftPaq update has not been installed.

If you receive an error about "Webcam Monitor fails to load skin..." or "Webcam Monitor fails to initialize..." when trying to launch the Webcam Monitor, try to adjust the display resolution.

1. Close all programs including Webcam Monitor, Webcam Control or PC-CAM Center.
2. Right-click the Desktop. Then click on Properties, Settings, and Screen Resolution.
3. Change the resolution to a lower value, for example, 1024 x 768.
4. Click APPLY, then OK.
5. Launch the Creative WebCam again.
6. The above procedure has also been found to resolve error "illegal operations" when running Creative WebCam Control.

If you encounter the error message " Can not load skin ", we recommend you download and install the latest release of the Creative WebCam Monitor from our website.

Most operation issues such as dropped images, or unable to access internal memory while the camera is in detached mode can be resolved by using fresh or fully charged batteries.

The dual purpose cameras such as WebCam Go, WebCam Go Plus, or PC-CAM series can be used while detached from a computer. In some circumstances, especially when the batteries are low, it can cause an image stored in the internal to be corrupted, which could make the on-board memory inaccessible. In this situation it may be necessary to format the cam's memory to make it function again. For this reason, it is not generally advisable to save important images on what is primarily a webcam - intended for attaching to a PC for online image and video capture.

If depleted batteries are accidentally inserted into a camera, be sure to remove them immediately, and replace with fresh batteries.

Can I use my camera outdoors?
It is recommended only to use our untethered camera products for outdoor usage such as DiVi Cams, DC CAMs & certain PC CAMs models that support outdoor mode. The webcam models are usually more suitable for indoor use.

What are the cable length limits for cameras?
Basically, it is not very effective to extend the cable lengths for cameras. Assuming worst-case delay times, a full speed device at the bottom of 5 hubs and cables has a timeout margin of 280ps; reducing this margin to 0ps would only give you an extra of 5cm which is hardly worth the trouble. However, if you require further information on the cable extention, please refer to this site: http://www.usb.org/developers/usbfaq

PC-Cam 880, PC-CAM 900

PC-Cam 300/600/750

CardCam

CardCam Value

1. Verify that the camera is functioning in the software that was provided with the camera.
   Does the camera work in Creative PC-Cam Center or Creative Webcam Control?If the video is displayed in the bundled software, the camera is setup and functioning properly, you may need to update the chat program you are using, or try a different program.

• Verify the device status in Device Manager. Double click on the My Computer icon at your desktop, then click on Control Panel, (Hardware) System, Device Manager, go to Image Devices, and then highlight your WebCam Camera and click on the Properties tab. Some cameras will also add a listing under Universal Serial Bus Controllers.

• If your camera is installed with Creative PC-CAM Center or Creative WebCam Monitor, you can use these programs to test your camera installation. Please refer to its online help for more details.

• The Digital still cameras such as DC-3000Z or DC-3200Z will only function as a MASS Storage Device when connected to a computer system. To get images from these cameras, go to Windows Explorer, locate your camera under Removable storage device, then browse to subfolders, and drag the images to your hard drive.

2. Exit all Creative Software before using the video-conferencing software.
   There is only one stream of video available from the camera at a time. If you have the Creative software open at the same time you are using the video conferencing software, the video conferencing software will be unable to access the camera. Therefore, you must exit out of the Creative software before attempting to use the webcam in another program.

   If you continue to experience problems in the video conferencing software, consult the software vendor for setup and further troubleshooting steps. Other video chat programs may require different settings for optimized use and functionality. Checking with the software vendor or website may provide further information to allow the software to function with the camera.

   MSN Messenger Support: http://messenger.msn.com
   Yahoo Messenger Support: http://help.yahoo.com
   AOL Instant Messenger Support: http://www.aim.com
   Microsoft Support: http://support.microsoft.com

3. If you recently installed Norton Personal Firewall and lost your audio in MSN, please refer to the Symantec Knowledge base Article on how to resolve the issue. You can run a search for "permit MSN Messenger Communications" in this following website:

   http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/support_options.html

4. Ensure that the microphone is connected to the correct input on the sound card. If your sound card has color-coated connections, the microphone jack is usually indicated by a red or pink color.

5. Enable recording for preferred devices only.

   Windows 98/98SE/ME:

   1. Click Start, Settings, Control Panel, Multimedia.
   2. Click the AUDIO tab.
   3. In each option, select the sound device in your system (eg. SB Audigy Audio)
   4. Insert a check in the box to the left of USE ONLY PREFERRED DEVICES.
   5. Click OK.

   Windows 2000/XP:

   1. Click Start, Settings, Control Panel, Sound and Multimedia. 2. Click the AUDIO tab.
   3. In each option, select the sound device in your system (eg. SB Audigy Audio)
   4. Insert a check in the box to the left of USE ONLY DEFAULT DEVICES.
   5. Click OK.

6. Set Windows recording source to MICROPHONE and test with Sound Recorder.

   1. Click Start. Programs, Accessories, Entertainment, Volume Control.

   2. Click Options, Properties.

   3. Select Recording beneath Adjust Volume For.

   4. Insert a check to the left of Microphone.

   5. Click OK.

   6. Insert an X beneath Microphone.

   7. Ensure the MICROPHONE volume level is turned up. The microphone interface on the sound card is now the recording source.

   8. Click Start, Programs, Accessories, Entertainment, Sound Recorder.

   9. Click the record (RED) button to record audio, click STOP when finished, and click PLAY to playback the recording.

   If you hear the recording, your microphone is set correctly. Test the microphone again in the video conferencing software. If you continue to experience problems in the video conferencing software, verify the microphone is set correctly in the video conferencing software, or consult the software vendor.

Please try the following if your Creative WebCam is not detected by MSN Messenger 6:

• Ensure that all imaging programs including WebCam Monitor are closed i.e. check the system tray for any imaging software such as WebCam Monitor and any third party video or image capture software

• Download the latest version of MSN Messenger

• Ensure you have the latest driver installed for your WebCam i.e. either downloaded from our website or installed from the CD if the WebCam has been recently released.

• When you run MSN Messenger 6 for the first time with the driver of the WebCam installed, DON'T SIGN IN straight away but select Tools - Audio/Video Tuning Wizard. Then follow the steps on screen so that the software configures itself to detect the WebCam.




• When you have finished the Tuning Wizard, check the video/driver settings by selecting Tools - Web Camera Settings...

• Then and only at this stage, click File and SIGN IN.

To improve frame rate and overall video quality, make sure that there is adequate lighting in your environment, and download and install the latest DirectX and Service Packs for your operating system, and experiment with various codecs..

Select a different video codec

Certain Video and Audio compression/decompression drivers may not work correctly with the Creative PC-Cam Center software.

Some recommended codecs for video are:

Intel(r) Indeo(r) 3.2
Intel(r) Indeo(r) 5.04 Compression Filter
Cinepak Codec by Radius

A recommended audio codec is PCM.

If the difficulty persists after a fresh installation of the camera drivers, you can run scan disk, defrag your hard disk, and low the graphics acceleration

Run Scan Disk:

• Click on Start, My Computer, and right click on C: Drive

• Click on Properties, and then click on Tools tab

• In the Error-checking box click Check Now

• Check the box "Automatically fix file system errors"

• Click Start

• A message will pop up asking if you would like to "Schedule this disk check to occur the next time you restart your computer?"

• Click Yes

• Restart your computer so Scandisk can start

• When Scandisk is finished your computer will restart into Windows as normal

Defrag your hard disk:

• Click Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools and then Disk Defragmenter to start the Disk Defragmenter utility

• Select the drive you wish to defragment and click OK or Defragment

• Click Start to begin the process

Lower the graphics hardware acceleration rate:

• Click Start - Settings - Control Panel

• In Control panel double-click Display icon

• In the Display Properties dialog box, select the Settings tab

• In Setting tab, click Advanced button

• In Windows 98 select Performance tab and in Windows XP select Troubleshoot tab.

• Drag the Hardware Acceleration slider left to slow down the rate.

For best results, set your monitor and display card to display 16-bit color or higher. For information on changing monitor settings in Windows, refer to the Windows online Help.

Ensure that there is adequate lighting for your project. The image quality obtained from WebCam PC-CAM depends on adequate lighting. Although it can operate in low light, the resulting image will not be as clear. Incandescent lighting or outdoor lighting is preferable to fluorescent lighting.

In addition, avoid pointing the camera at bright surfaces e.g. sunlight, lights, highly reflective surfaces.

If your camera (for example, Video Blaster WebCam Go) has a adjustable focus ring, adjust it by rotating the ring.

Ensure that the image capture is set to 'higher quality' in Start - Programs - Creative - Video Blaster WebCam - WebCam Go Control - Image Capture if using JPEG file format.

Fine tune the image quality further with PC-CAM Center or WebCam Center:

1. Connect the PC-CAM camera to your computer system.

2. Go to Start, Programs, Creative, PC-CAM. Start the PC-CAM Center.

3. Click on the Live Video button, then click on the Source button.

4. In the Properties screen, click on the Device Settings tab.

5. Drag the sliders for the settings that you want to adjust until you get the result you want.  The Video preview displays the effects of the changes you make. You may need to experiment with various combinations.
6. Click the OK button when it is completed.

Note

• The Exposure value represents the amount of time used for exposing each video frame to light.
• Disable or enable the Auto Exposure and White Balance settings may also affect the frame rate.
• If you are using fluorescent lighting, adjust the White Balance value, so that the image will not have a tint of green or magenta.
• If you are using warm lighting, increase the Hue value so that the image will not be yellowish. If you are using cool lighting, decrease this value so that the image will not be bluish.