Are you getting the “we can’t find your camera error code 0xA00F4244(0xC00D36D5)?” When you try to access the integrated camera from an app on your MSI laptop? It means that the app is unable to access and use the camera. In most cases, users start getting the error after a Windows update. 

The issue may also be triggered by wrong camera app settings, outdated/ corrupted drivers, or simply because the camera is not enabled. Depending on the cause, different methods may be used to fix the problem, ranging from enabling the camera to driver update on the MSI laptop. 

Throughout this guide, you will learn some of the most effective methods you can use to fix the error code 0xA00F4244 on your MSI laptop. 

To begin with, you should turn the built-in camera on using the Fn + F6 keyboard shortcut or from the settings menu. If not already configured, you need to allow apps on your notebook to access and use the MSI laptop built-in camera. 

In extreme cases, you may need to reset the webcam, update device drivers or just roll back the software to a version that previously worked. Learn how to accomplish all these and more through the steps described in this guide. 

What Causes the Camera not to Work on MSI Laptops? 

Normally, users get error code 0xA00F4244 when they open an application that requires access to the integrated camera on their MSI laptops. It is to tell you that the system is unable to use the camera. This may be caused by different things, including: 

Camera is Off 

In most cases, applications are unable to access and use the built-in camera simply because the camera is off. If the device is relatively new or underwent some major software upgrades, this is most likely the problem. 

This being the case, you first need to check whether the camera is actually turned on, as described later in this guide. 

App Access Restrictions 

The app you are using may be restricted from accessing the built-in camera on the laptop. If this happens to be the problem in your case, you only need to grant the affected application access to the webcam on the MSI laptop, as illustrated later on in this guide. 

Misconfigured Camera Settings 

With time the camera settings on your MSI laptop may become corrupted. To clear the settings and apply default settings, you need to reset the camera application to its factory settings, as illustrated in method 4 below. 

How to Fix the MSI Notebook Camera Not working Issue

To fix the “we can’t find your camera” error, you should first restart the MSI laptop. This will clear temporary glitches and corrupted temporary data, and possibly resolve the problem. If this does not fix the issue, check whether the MSI laptop integrated camera is properly installed. 

To do this, you need to launch the Device Manager on your notebook, expand on the ‘Imaging Devices’ category, and then select the camera. If the device shows a yellow exclamation mark, then something is wrong with its drivers. In such a case, updating or reinstalling the camera driver will fix the problem.  

Method 1: Enable the Camera on Your MSI Notebook

As mentioned earlier in this guide, the integrated camera on MSI laptops is off by default. In other cases, it may be disabled by the TurboBattery+ feature for enhanced battery efficiency or computer performance. 

In either case, you need to turn the MSI integrated camera On in order to use it. Different methods may be used to enable the built-camera on MSI notebooks, including: 

Using a Keyboard Shortcut 

Just as is the case with many other laptop brands, the Function (Fn) key on MSI laptops may be used in combination with other keys to open specific tools or apps. To turn the MSI laptop integrated camera On, just press and hold the F6 or a combination of Fn + F6 keys simultaneously. 

For these keys to work, you need to have the SCM application—the MSI system control manager utility that offers on-screen notifications as you modify system settings—installed. The SCM.exe that is required to run the MSI System Control Manager is preinstalled in most MSI Notebooks. 

The same shortcut may also be used to turn the camera off. If the keyboard shortcut does not appear to enable the camera, you should try the following: 

 If the laptop is connected to the power adapter, and the TurboBattery+ feature enabled, you can also use it to enable the camera. The TurboBattery+ menu on your MSI notebook may be used to disable or enable preinstalled devices like the Webcam and Wireless LAN.

However, the TurboBattery+ function is only available for use in computers that have the S-Bar application installed. If yours does, follow these steps to enable the integrated camera:

Step 1: locate the blue start icon on your display and hover the mouse cursor over it to unfold the system control manager toolbar. You should then click on the Windows (programs) icon on the toolbar, and then select the battery icon with a love image in the middle. 

Step 2: On the TurboBattery+ Setting menu that just appeared, locate the Webcam and select it to re-enable the device in your MSI laptop. Once you are done, click on the OK button to save the changes. 

Note: The webcam will appear grayed out on the TurboBattery+ settings menu if it I disabled. You should not click on the webcam in step 2 above if it is not grayed out. 

Enable the webcam from Windows Settings 

Press the  Windows + I keys on your keyboard simultaneously to bring up the Windows settings menu. Navigate to Privacy on this menu and click on the Camera option in the left lane. If the camera is Off, you need to turn it on. 

Method 2: Check Your Antivirus Software 

Your MSI webcam can fail to launch simply because it is being blocked by the antivirus on your laptop. This happens when the antivirus program detects the camera to be malicious—even when it is not. To fix the problem, you need to allow the camera through the antivirus program. 

Just check your antivirus settings to see whether the antivirus app is blocking the webcam. The right procedure will depend on the antivirus program you are using. For help on how to go about it, visit the antivirus developer’s website. 

Method 3: Allow Apps Access to the MSI Laptop Built-in Camera

If you recently updated your Windows operating system, access to the webcam by the apps will be disabled by default. The following steps will help you allow the apps to access and use the camera: 

Step 1: Press the Windows + I keys on your keyboard to open the settings menu 

Step 2: Click on the padlock-symbol privacy icon on the Settings window then select the Camera option from the left-side pane, under the Privacy heading. 

Step 3: Navigate to the right pane and ensure that the ‘Let app use my camera hardware’ option is turned on. If not, just click on the toggle button adjacent to it to enable this option. If enabled, the toggle button will be blue in color. 

Note: if the toggle button for the ‘Let app use my camera hardware’ is grated out and clicking on it does not toggle it on? You need administrator rights to enable it. In this case, you need to log into the MSI laptop as the administrator then apply steps 1 to 3 discussed above to enable the option. 

Step 4: After you have enabled access to the camera, you should choose which applications are allowed to access the camera.

Method 4: Reset the Camera App on MSI Laptop 

Press the Windows + I buttons on the keyboard to launch the Windows settings menu. Next, click on the Apps option and then select ‘Default apps’ towards the left-hand side of the window. Now click on the Camera option on the right side to expand it. 

You should now click on ‘Advanced options’ then click on the Reset button on the window that just appeared. This operating will reset the webcam on your MSI laptop to its factory settings.

Method 5: Disable Background Camera Use 

Multiple applications on your laptop may be competing to access the camera at the same time. If an application is already using the camera in the background, it may be impossible for other applications on to use the camera. As such, you should also need to disable background camera access by the apps installed on your MSI laptop. 

To do this, press the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys on the keyboard simultaneously to launch the Task Manager. Next, navigate to the Processes tab on the Task Manager then scroll down the list looking for processes running in the background that may be using the camera application.  

If you find a background process that is currently running and using the camera, you need to select it then click on ‘End Process’ button to stop it. This will automatically free the camera up for use by other applications in your laptop. 

Method 6: Reinstall the Camera App 

To reinstall the camera on an MSI notebook, right-click on the Start button in your desktop then select the ‘Device Manager’ option from the context menu that pops up. Next, select ‘Imaging Devices’ then click on the arrow adjacent to it to expand the list. 

Now select your laptop camera or integrated webcam from the expanded list then right-click on it. Select Uninstall from the context menu and follow on-screen prompts to remove the camera drivers from your MSI laptop. After the camera has been uninstalled, you need to restart the laptop. 

After rebooting the MSI notebook, the system will automatically reinstall the camera. You can now check whether the camera is working.

Method 7: Add Legacy Hardware 

You can also fix the MSI camera not working issue by adding legacy hardware on your laptop. Here is how you should go about it: 

Step 1: Right-click on the Start icon on your desktop and select ‘Device Manager from the context menu. Next, click on Action on the Device Manager window then select the ‘Add Legacy Hardware’ option and then click on the Next button.

Step 2: Select the ‘Install the hardware that I manually select from the list’ option then click on the Next button to continue. 

Step 3: Scroll down the list and select ‘Imaging Devices’ then click on the Next button 

Step 4: Now you need to locate the missing camera device from the Manufacturer’s tab, select it, and then click on the Add button. Follow on-screen prompts to complete the process. 

Once you are done, close the window and check whether the MSI laptop camera not working problem has been resolved. 

Method 8: Check for the MSI Camera Drivers 

The integrated camera in your MSI laptop will not work properly if there is  something wrong with its drivers. If this is the problem, updating or reinstalling the drivers should fix the MSI built-in camera not working issue. However, you also need to ensure that the drivers are compatible with your system to begin with. 

The following steps will help you accomplish just that: 

Step 1: Open the Device Manager—by right-clicking in the Start icon then selecting it from the context menu that comes up.

Step 2: Expand the ‘Imaging Devices’ category on the Device Manager then select your camera from the list, and right-click on it. Select Properties from the context menu that just popped up. 

Note: Some webcams/ cameras may show up under ‘Sound, Video and Game controllers’ in Windows 10. Be sure to check if yours does not appear under ‘imaging devices’ in Step 2 above. 

Step 3: On the Properties window you opened in step 2 above, navigate to the Driver tab and then click on ‘Driver details’. Now look for a name that includes the stream.sys extension on the Driver File Details dialog box that just opened. 

If you happen to find the file here, then the camera you are using was designed before Windows 7. In such a case, you may need to upgrade to a newer camera option. If you do not find the stream.sys file in this dialog box, you only need to update camera drivers to resolve the MSI camera not working issue. 

How to Update the MSI Laptop Integrated Camera Drivers 

For the best results, MSI recommends that you first remove the current driver installation on your laptop before trying to install a newer version. In this regard, you need to uninstall the webcam driver then scan for hardware changes, as follows: 

Step 1: Open the Device Manager 

Press the Windows + R keys on the keyboard at the same time to open a Run dialog box. Type devmgmt.msc into the dialog box and press the Enter key on the keyboard to run the command. Running this command will open the Device Manager on your MSI notebook. 

Step 2: Uninstall Camera Drivers 

Expand the imaging devices category on the Device manager and locate your integrated camera. If you can’t find the camera under this category, look for it under the ‘Sound, video and game controllers’ category. Right-click on the camera device and select Uninstall. 

Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the process.

Step 3: Scan for Hardware Changes 

Navigate back to the Device Manager window and click on the Action button. Next, select ‘Scan for hardware changes. 

Note: If your camera does not appear in either of the categories described in step 2 above, it is probably hidden. In such a case, you need to open the Device Manager window then click on View, and select the ‘Show Hidden Devices’ option. 

Now check whether the integrated camera appears under the ‘Imaging Devices’ category. 

Method 9: Install the MSI Camera Drivers in Compatibility Mode  

To update the camera drivers on your MSI notebook in compatibility mode, you first need to download the latest authentic drivers from the manufacturer’s website. Next, open the download folder on your laptop and then right-click on the installer file you just downloaded. 

Select the Properties option from the context menu, and then navigate to the Compatibility tab. Now check the box adjacent to the ‘Run this program in Compatibility mode’ option. Click on the drop-down menu to expand it then select the operating system you are running from the list. 

Follow on-screen prompts to complete the installation and then restart the computer for the changes to take effect. 

Final Verdict 

As you have learned throughout this guide, different things can cause the integrated camera on your MSI notepad to malfunction. Before trying out anything drastic, you need to ensure that the Camera is turned on and that the app you are trying to use has access to the camera. 

Again, you should ensure that no other application is using the built-in MSI camera in the background. If nothing seems to be working, try resetting the camera app or just update/ reinstall the camera drivers on your computer.

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