Installing my Intel "Easy" PC Camera

(Image credit: Amazon.com)

I recently found need of a webcam because my computer, as new as it still seems to me, does not have one. Being my thrifty self, I posted a request on my local Buy Nothing group. Voila! Thanks, community!

It seemed simple enough. Typically, any USB-tailed device plugs straight into my computer, finds its driver, and does its job. Alas, this was not the case today.

I could easily have just written a descriptive note to my husband for help in trouble-shooting, but it seemed worthwhile to make the minor expansions into a blog post, lest another poor soul struggle as I did.

The link opened a help window that suggested I make sure my computer was connected to the internet (it was), that I check for drivers in Windows Updates (none there), or that I install software for the device. Down to the latter option, I hopped over to intel.com and searched "camera."

While it is interesting that Intel has developed a 3D camera, none of the links were relevant to what I thought would be a simple search for a camera driver. It looked like I was going to need to dig deeper

Hmmm... perhaps ENU might reveal something?

Not only did it not reveal anything, but clicking on the *.HLP brought up the message:

I pulled the tag off of the cord. Apparently I have an Intel CS110, which my Google searches indicated was an "Easy PC Camera."

The first search result took me to C|NET downloads, which I tend to trust. Yippee! Better yet, the site described the download as "supports the following driver models: Intel(r) PC Camera CS110." Double yippee!

"...Operating Systems: Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP/2003." Boo. (I have Windows 7.)

Nevertheless, I downloaded the driver from the timewarped year of 2000, assured it I would read the README file, and unzipped the contents.

---

Why can't I get Help from this program?

The Help for this program was created in Windows Help format, which depends on a feature that isn't included in this version of Windows. However, you can download a program that will allow you to view Help created in the Windows Help format. 

For more information, go to the Microsoft Help and Support website.

One might have thought Microsoft would have kept something called "Windows Help" in its successive updates, but whatevah...

So I obediently downloaded WinHlp32.exe, as was indicated for Windows 7. (Which were actually two files, of which I probably only needed one, but I lacked advice on the download screen.)

I double-clicked on the -86x to launch installation, but was met with this message:

So, yes, I only needed one of the downloadable files. Anyway, I clicked on the next one.

Lacking a "Duh!" option, I clicked "Yes." Fortunately, the program installed. Unfortunately, the help files contained information that assumed I had already successfully connected the camera to my computer.

Now I'm at wit's end. I have useless stuff downloaded that doesn't make my camera work. Other online forums that address this issue refer to the same driver download.

Help?