(Series 7) web cam software

Hi.

My NP700Z3a came with some software that enabled me to record video, take snapshots with effects, etc. I recently reinstalled Win7 from scratch, and now I can't find this software on Samsung's support pages. Could anyone point me in the correct direction (or recommend an alternative)?


/r

 

Run the Samsung Easy settings software. The latest version might offer you items such as the Samsung Themes and the Cyberlink YouCam software that are not available for direct download. Otherwise look on the software / drivers backup disk that you should have made using Samsung Recovery Solution.

John

 

@Raathass: I think John must have meant to say Easy Software Manager, not Easy Settings. (Sorry, John, please correct me if I am wrong.)

ESWM will install drivers and utilities from the Recovery Partition on your HDD, then download the latest updates once you have an internet connection. It makes clean installation a snap. You don't have to keep ESWM installed after the first installation -- though it does help keeping drivers up-to-date for you.

Samsung.com only has Samsung drivers and utilities, not third party stuff such as the CyberLink Youcam you are looking for. But ESWM will install it. Do note that you don't need the CyberLink software in order to use your webcam, it's supported by Windows out-of-the-box.

I would strongly recommend that you use Samsung Recovery Solution to backup your System Software to a DVD or USB flash drive. If you also backup your System Image, you can always get back to factory install, even if you delete (or lose) your Recovery Partition.

 

Thank you for correcting me (not for the first time). I blame the time of day.

I can add that the Cyberlink YouCam package is not being offered by today's version of ESM. I'm sure it was there last week. The Windows driver gives basic webcam functionality but I think it is YouCam that adds various adjustment options.

John

 

LOL

I see how many posts you make in various threads and how many people you help with all kinds of different questions. Little typos like this are bound to happen. I think it's mindboggling that you can keep track of it all and it doesn't happen more often!

And yes, you're right, YouCam does add some additional features.

 

Thanks, guys.

Easy software manager does not find any cyberlink software. In addition I have a version installed 1.1.44.25 which is newer than anything I can find on various Samsung support sites.

I have the recovery CD-rom that was shipped with the laptop, but I can't find anything closely related to cyberlink software on this. No drivers either. It's probably just for restoring the shipped image.

I also have the original disk (I swapped to SSD when doing the fresh install). I've mounted it in a desktop computer and I see 4 partitions. The 100MB W7 partition, the system partition, a data partition and a recovery partition. On the system partition there are only installed files (win + programs). The data partition is empty and the recovery partition unaccessible to windows.

Any advice on how to find youcam installation files is greatly appreciated.



/r

 

Have you tried the SW Update software , which you can find on this page (I know this page isn't for your model, but the updater should still work, seeing that it gave me a audio driver and Bios update and I don't have Win 8 {BTW the Audio drivers made some difference}).

 

Thanks. It found new BIOS and graphics driver, but no CyberLink SW available :-(.


/r

 

I found this Youcam for free which should work with your laptop.

 

Thanks again, but it is a trial wrapped up as the real deal .

/r

 

This has been known to work, try getting the software from another original equipment manufacturer Youcam

 

Sorry, i get a "This is only for Hewlett Packard systems"-ish error message when I try to install.

Thanks for the effort, mate. I give up and might head for the torrents...


/r

 

@Raathass: OK, I didn't realize you had swapped out your original HDD containing the Recovery Partition. That's why Easy Software Manager doesn't show the CyberLink stuff. It looks to see if there is a Recovery Partition, in which case it will install drivers and utilities from there.

Your version of ESWM is the same as mine, that's not the problem. And your Recovery Partition DOES contain YouCam if it was on your original installation. Now we just need to connect the two.

BTW, the included DVD just contains a clean version of Windows 7 SP1, System Software is NOT on it, and neither is the factory image.

You have three options, that I can think of:

1) Put the original HDD back in and use Samsung Recovery Solution to backup System Software to a DVD. Once you pop in that DVD, it will open Easy Software Manager where you can install any drivers and utilities that came with your PC.

2) In Windows, make the Recovery Partition visible on your HDD (now an external drive I presume). Now manually burn the contents of the SystemSoftware folder to a DVD. Make the contents of SystemSoftware the root of the DVD; in other words, the DVD shouldn't have a SystemSoftware folder.

The Recovery Partition is just a hidden NTFS partition. You can use DISKPART in Win7 to change its ID from 27 (Hidden Recovery type) to 07 (standard NTFS) then add a drive letter in Disk Manager. Change it back when you're done backing up that SystemSoftware folder. Ask if you are not familiar with DISKPART.

3) Download Parted Magic and make a LiveCD (just Google it). It allows you to readily see and read the Recovery Partition (without changing it or using DISKPART) and copy files and folders from it. You don't have to know anything about Linux (I don't).

Let me know how it goes.

 

@Dannemand
If I did a clean install on my original HDD using the Samsung disc that came with, should I still be able to get Youcam and all the other SW that came installed at purchase?

 

Yes, absolutely. Regardless of how you installed Windows (or which version), Easy Software Manager will still give you access to everything that was pre-installed when you bought it. But ONLY if you still have your Recovery Partition OR if you have a backup of the System Software from that original Recovery Partition.

Personally, the only thing I installed (beyond drivers) is Easy Settings, as I like to keep my PC lean. And certainly a lot of it is sheer bloat. Here is a post listing most of the items that came with my NP700Z3A and which ones can/should be installed/removed.

Clarification: When I say everything that was pre-installed should be available regardless of Windows version, I meant various Win7 versions. I don't know about Win8 yet.

 

Thx for that, as I would have thought that a clean install would have wiped the HDD, btw I don't have any Samsung software installed, not even easy settings. I don't use the fn keys because most of the fn functions are a duplication of windows functions and to me it's hard to figure out what's the point of the mode switch, seeing that the machine works well without that function being in play. I do install ESM or now SW to check for updates and then uninstall it, I do this because while I play ESM would search for updates and lag my game out.

Thanks again

 

Yeah, that's how I use Easy Software Manager too: Install it when I need it, then remove it when I am done. If you use the steps in this thread for side-loading just the EasyDisplayMgr module of Easy Settings (dmhkcore), then you won't have any problems with it causing lags while you game -- and you'll have full Fn-key support.

 

it was the Easy Software Manager causing lags, sort of like getting an microsoft update while you play, I don't have a need for easy setting in my books.

 

Yeah I know that's what you meant. They both cause lags (Easy Settings and Easy Software Manager). But if you want to have Fn-keys, you CAN sideload dmhkcore without introducing lags. That was my point.

 

Thanks for this. I'm following you on the procedures, but fount it easier to dl a torrent. In my opinion I've indirectly paid for the SW, and have no problems using the download ;-).

Thanks for the tips on clean install as well, I basically only installed Easy Settings but it is nice to have a documented approach. BTW I wonder why Easy settings takes forever to load...


/r

 

Thanks for the update.

And yes, the slow loading was my biggest gripe with Easy Settings as well. I have two solutions:

1) This one is the extreme, uninstalling Easy Settings and just sideloading the Fn-keys module. It's really meant if you need to avoid the latencies that Easy Settings causes in the background.

2) This one is what I recommend most users: Just tweaking how Easy Settings is loaded, but preserving its full functionality.

Let me know if it works for you.