Built-in iSight showing blackscreen.

Hey all,
The problem just surfaced last month, when i would open photobooth,ichat,skype.etc. The green LED light will turn on, but it would just display a blackscreen on the programs.
I tried everything, resetting SMC, and the applealt+pr on the chime...EVEN did a clean install..and it started working on the welcome screen when it asks you to take a picture, and after the welcome box, i opened photobooth and boom
what should i do???
last resort is to send in for repair, but i have tonssss of work to do, can;t afford to

Welcome to Apple Discussions, wkim8732
Assuming your problem is with a built-in iSight, with all you have tried, your Mac may have hardware problems that require professional service.
Disconnect all peripherals other than your keyboard, mouse, and internet connection. Then restart your Mac and try the suggestions in Apple's How to Troubleshoot iSight. If the reset suggested there still does not correct the problem, use the other suggestions to find out if your problem is application specific or, perhaps, is a problem with your user account.
If you iSight works doesn't work in any app in any user account, check whether it shows in your System Profiler as a USB Device. Your iSight's info should look similar, but no necessarily identical, to this picture:
If iSight doesn't show in System Profiler and doesn't work in any app, contact Apple or an Apple-Authorized Service Provider for service. The service technician may be able to tell you how long you should expect the repair to take from talking with you or from a quick initial inspection of your Mac.
If I understand your post correctly, you iSight actually worked while you were initializing your reinstalled software but then quit again. If so, and if you used Archive & Install, you might be able to get your Mac going again by reinstalling again using a differnet method.
Backup your important files first!
For this reinstall, start by zeroing your disk to remove any possible problem info. Depending on the size of your hard disk, zeroing can take several hours, so plan accordingly. Then perform a clean install onto your newly erased hard disk, but do not migrate your information and settings from the same backup you used before or a backup you just made. Doing so might copy the problem back to your newly installed system along with your good information.
Instead, use a known good backup or initialize manually so you are certain you do not move bad info to your clean install disk.
You will also have to reinstall your applications from their original sources rather than migrating your applications and settings from a backup or another Mac.
As you can see, this process will be time consuming compared to Archive and Install, but it is the only way I know to be certain you have not kept or restored bad info that may be causing your problems. If a clean install onto a zeroed disk does not cure your problem, you will need professional help unless you are willing to use your Mac without a working iSight.
If you choose to continue to use this Mac with iSight or other functions not working, I suggest that you backup more frequently and also to more than one other hard drive in case more problems develop.
EZ Jim
PowerBook 1.67 GHz w/Mac OS X (10.4.11) G5 DP 1.8 w/Mac OS X (10.5.2) External iSight

Similar Messages

My built in isight shows a black screen please help me

hey guys well wherever i go to check the video, for example photo booth, i see the green light that the isgight is on but the video is just a black screen, i think i saw someone with a similar problem but i cant find the thread

i found the thread indeed, the guy said a pram reset did the trick.

Built in iSight camera no longer showing up or recognized by iMac

Hello there - I have a white 1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac with a built in iSight camera, and the camera is no longer showing up, or is not recognized by the computer any longer. Very strange! The little green LED by the camera is not lit any longer, and the camera is not recognized any longer by Photo Booth, iChat AV, or any of the other apps that would use the camera. This is a real pain, because I am leaving for France in a couple days and am taking my MacBook Pro with me, and am hoping that I can use iChat AV to talk to my kids at home on the iMac. I do have an extra iSight camera that I have hooked up to the iMac and can use in a pinch, but I really want to use the built in camera on the iMac. Any hints / ideas / suggestions on what to do for this problem would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

No, unfortunately that did not help. I did the following...
1. See if the issue is application-specific. - Nope. Camera is not recognized in any of the apps that it should be recognized in, I tested iChat AV, PhotoBooth, ImageCapture, and iMovie.
2. See if the issue is user-specific. - There's only one user account on this Mac, so I couldn't do that.
3. Find out if the computer recognizes the iSight. I went into System Profiler and checked the USB profiler, and the camera does not show up.
4. Reset SMC or PMU. These just looked like different ways of restarting, which I did multiple times.
I have also run my Software Updates (on OS 10.5, which I did with a clean install from an OS 10.5 DVD by the way) and still no camera. This problem started happening with the original OS 10.4 (which it came with) and I was hoping a clean install of the OS would help, but no.
I'm wondering if resetting the PRAM might help, but I can't remember those keys you hold down while restarting (was it Apple-Option-P-R ?) or if that is just reaching waaaaay back to the pre OSX days.
Here's the kicker though - if I plug in a FireWire iSight camera, all is well. I'm really hoping that the camera isn't jsut dead, but it's starting to look that way. Would Disk First Aid or maybe DiskWarrior help?

Built in isight camera no longer showing up or recognized

Hello there - I have a white 1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac with a built in iSight camera, and the camera is no longer showing up, or is not recognized by the computer any longer. Very strange! The little green LED by the camera is not lit any longer, and the camera is not recognized any longer by Photo Booth, iChat AV, or any of the other apps that would use the camera. This is a real pain, because I am leaving for France in a couple days and am taking my MacBook Pro with me, and am hoping that I can use iChat AV to talk to my kids at home on the iMac. I do have an extra iSight camera that I have hooked up to the iMac and can use in a pinch, but I really want to use the built in camera on the iMac. Any hints / ideas / suggestions on what to do for this problem would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Sorry to tell you, you're in the wrong forum, this is for G5 PPC iMacs. You need to be [here|http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1110].

Built in Isight recording but clip shows up blank and with 00:00 reading

Hello,
I have had a look around the forum and found one specific topic with a similar problem to mine, but it was unanswered!
I have been trying to record some clips with imovie HD (on my macbook) with my built in isight camera and everytime I go to play a clip back it has a fuzzy noise at the end of the clip which distorts the sound.
Also alot of the clips record and then when they show up in the clips panel they show a blank black square with the 00:00 as the time recorded.
This problem only started today and I also bear in mind that I upgraded my memory today to 1GB.
I used imovie yesterday and it worked perfectly and I have never had problems before.
Any suggestions on what to do? Thanks
Macbook Mac OS X (10.4.8)

I guess the next thing would be to trash the preferences and run a permissions repair.
Quit iMovie.
Locate a file named com.apple.iMovie.plist and get rid of it. imovie will create a new one the next time it runs. Empty the trash and run a permission repair using the Disk Utility.
The files can be found here:
-->/Users/YourName**/Library/Preferences/com.apple.iMovie.plist
Sue

My Mac's Built in iSight is not showing all the options for the camera

On Flash bashed chat rooms such as Stickam and Tinychat, my camera doesn't respond but when I right click>settings >Camera the drop down box only shows one option (Built-in iSight) when it usually shows three (Built in iSight, USB Class Video and Something else that slips my mind right now.)
Screen shot: http://i983.photobucket.com/albums/ae318/KaitheHeartless/Picture2.png
Can anyone tell me how to fix this?
Thanks for the help!
Message was edited by: HaylieFoxe
null

Welcome to Discussions, HaylieFoxe
HaylieFoxe wrote:
On Flash bashed chat rooms such as Stickam and Tinychat, my camera doesn't respond but when I right click>settings >Camera the drop down box only shows one option (Built-in iSight) when it usually shows three (Built in iSight, USB Class Video and Something else that slips my mind right now.)
Screen shot: http://i983.photobucket.com/albums/ae318/KaitheHeartless/Picture2.png
Can anyone tell me how to fix this?
Thanks for the help! ...
Try the suggestions offered in this recent topic on the same subject:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=12717402
EZ Jim
Mac Pro Quad Core (Early 2009) 2.93Ghz Mac OS X (10.6.6); MacBook Pro (13 inch, Mid 2009) 2.26GHz (10.6.6)
LED Cinema Display; G4 PowerBook 1.67GHz (10.4.11); iBookSE 366MHz (10.3.9); External iSight; iPod4touch4.2.1

Built-In isight not showing picture

**Please Help!**
I have a built-in isight camera that is not working at the moment. I have tried everything that apple tells you about troubleshooting isight, created new account, repair permissions, empty caches, but nothing worked. Could not find isight preferences to delete.
When I open, say PhotoBooth, Skype, ichat, my camera turns on (LED green light is on) but no picture is showing up. Do not know if there us a setting that turns the image off and i might have somehow or what. It was working one day and the next nothing.
Does anyone have any solutions for this problem?

Ok, so i found the answer by calling apple support.
They told me to
1. Shut off the computer.
2. Turn on the computer.
3. RIGHT AFTER you turn on the computer, simeltaneously hold down the command, option, 'p', and 'r' keys. This will reset the computer. You want to reset your computer two times, for a total of three start-ups (or three biiiiings that you hear at the start of the computer.) DO NOT LET GO OF THE KEYS UNTIL the third biiiing (or startup sound)!
Once you hear that third biiiiing, just let the computer do its normal startup cycle. This process resets the perimeter RAM, which is used by applications such as safari and ichat.
Good luck!

Imovie 11 'import from' only shows built-in isight and not iphone

I just plugged in my iPhone 5 and iPhoto recognised it and imported OK. However when I switched to iMove 11 th eimport box didn't pop up. So I clicked on the camcorder icon to import from the iPhone, but it only shows the built-in iSight camera. I have restarted both iMovie and the iPhone (done a soft re-set too) but the import box does does not pop up automatically and the camcorder button brings the box up but no Iphone seen. Interestingly it works fine with my wife's iPhone 5. Any thoughts please? How can I 'force' iMovie to 'see' my iPhone?

First make sure that there are still movies in the Camera Roll.
Another thing to try. Open Image Capture utilty and plug in your iPhone. You can set it so that the default app is NONE rather than iPhoto. So you can plug in your iPhone without iPhoto opening.
File/Import from Camera should work, but that is the same thing as the camera icon that you tried.
Another thing to try, since your wife's iPhone is working. Power down your iPhone all the way by pressing and holding the on button at the top, then swiping. Then restart the iPhone. And try again.

The built-in iSight on my iMac no longer works on Skype an camera booth. Is that a software or hardware problem. the video screen shows no picture but just horizontal line. Any suggestions?

Hello,
The built-in iSight camera stopped working for Skype and Camera booth giving each screen the same horizontal lines. Is this a software or hardware problem. What insight and advicecan you give me. I would be greatful. Thanks
Georges

Is the little green light on?
Open Console in Utilities & see if there are any clues or repeating messages when trying one of those Apps.

IMovie '08: Built-in iSight camera not recognized in Yosemite

On this page
http://support.apple.com/en-us/TS2472
iMovie '08: Built-in iSight camera not recognized
it says:
In Finder, navigate to /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/
Select the file com.apple.mio.VDCAssistant.plist and delete.
Restart your system.
You should now be able to use your iSight camera with iMovie.
However, in Yosemite, it only has this file name
com.apple.cmio.VDCAssistant.plist
and I don't want to delete it as instructed without someone who knows telling me it won't hurt my newly installed and thus far working well OS 10.10.1, with iMovie 7.1.4 on my iMac 24 inch, Early 2008, 2.8 GHz Intel Dore 2 Duo, 2 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM. It worked with Leopard, and I don't recall having to use the above mentioned support page.

Contact Apple. I believe you have a hardware issue there if it's not showing up in your System profiler.
Dave M.
MacOSG Founder/Ambassador  An Apple User Group  iTunes: MacOSG Podcast
Macsimum News Associate Editor  Creator of 'Mac611 - Mobile Mac Support'

Built-in iSight will not work with Skype

I have a new Macbook Pro that I purchased about a month ago, running OS
X 10.5.8.
I've been using Skype to video chat, and at first everything was working
very well. In the middle of a chat, however, the video stopped working
altogether.
If I go to the video tab in Skype preferences, the camera will then turn
on and I can see myself, but once I go back to the call, the camera
won't turn on (the green light on my camera stays off too). In video
preferences I have the following options checked: Enable Skype Video,
Automatically receive video from: People in my Contact list, and Show
that I have video to: People in my contact list. I have also tried to
enable the "Start my video automatically" option but to no avail. The
video camera it is set to use is the Built-in iSight.
I have tried reinstalling skype, including deleting all the preference
files on the computer, but that did not help.
The video works fine in other applications such as Photobooth, iMovie and Google Chat. I have browsed through the many Skype forum posts about similar issues, as well as Apple forums and have tried every fix that people have suggested including resetting my SMC, updating all my applications, trying Skype under different user accounts, reinstalling Quicktime, reinstalling Skype (as outlined in the Uninstall guide for mac), repairing permissions, etc.
I am pretty sure that this problem began directly after I switched to
SCREEN SHARING during a video chat. When I switched back to Video, it
did not work.
No other applications that use my camera are running.
I am assuming that since it originally worked with Skype, and since I had not touched ANY of the options in Skype and have done nothing other than try screen sharing, and since I did a complete Skype reinstall includeing preferences, that the problem should NOT be with the Skype program itself, but rather something that was modified in the operating system configuration during screen sharing.
The only other thing I can think of trying is to reinstall iSight, although I haven't been able to figure out how to do that, or to reinstall my entire operating system, which I don't see as an acceptable solution.
I am using Skype Version 2.8.0.659
Any help getting this fixed would be greatly appreciated.
I have posted a similar topic in the Skype forums along with a screen shot of my Skype preferences window: http://forum.skype.com/index.php?showtopic=422861
From my online reading in both the Apple and Skype forums, it seems as though this is a relatively common problem. If I can find a solution from either Skype or Apple, I will post the solution in both of the forums.
Update: I just upgraded my OS to 10.6.1 and my camera started working again. Then, I was in a chat and I lost my internet connection. As soon as I got back online I restarted the conversation and the camera doesn't work again. This is getting to be ridiculous.
Thank you for your time,
rystheguy

Hi,
It is years since I tried Skype. (Probably in Tiger)
I use Little Snitch, a utility that can report the ports and IPS any App is trying to contact.
For Video chats it seems the Skype process spreads the load across many "Servers" wanting to connect to about 3 doz (I got fed up with clicking the accept Button)
For this reason I do not think it is very secure.
I only today read a post that said Skype had Screen Sharing.
iChat 5 makes it clear (well if you run /Applications/iChat.app/Contents/MacOS/iChat -errorLogLevel 7 In Terminal) that there is a "camera" setting for the Desktop which may be a forthcoming thing or is about produce the Screen Sharing pic. (i.e iChat lists two "cameras" in the log produced by the above Terminal command).
iChat 4 and 5 use the Apple Remote Desktop engine to do Screen Share as does the Screen Sharing App invoked from the Finders Go Menu > Go to Server and using VNC:// as the Link type.
I would have no idea what protocol Skype are using.
They created their own Video protocols and similar with SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) for Connecting to POTS (Plain Old Telephone Systems) Phones in disregard for Internationally agreed Standards.
I doubt that it makes use of the ARD engine. It will probably be a reinvention of the wheel again.
I took a look around the Skype web site but could not find any mention of how they are doing Screen Sharing.
I would guess it is similar to the iUSBCam method of Desktop as Video Feed.
Do the Console or System Log in Console (Applications/Utilities) have any messages about this ?
9:59 PM Monday; September 21, 2009

MacBook Pro no longer recognizes USB external hard drives or built-in iSight

I have an older MacBook Pro 17" Intel that I use with various external USB hard drives (8 of them). It is connected to my LG 720p 32" flatscreen and works perfectly. Recently, when visiting, I disconnected my external HDs and connected my MBP to my brother's LG 1080p and it was OK.
When I returned home and reconnected my external HDs and TV, it would not recognize the HDs and couldn't find my built-in iSight. Viewing System Information, the USB buses showed an assortment of items, such as the Apple Internal Keyboard/Trackpad, IR Receiver, and Bluetooth USB Host Controller in the buses. The High-Speed Bus showed an external HD as a Vendor-Specific Device, but none of these appeared on the desktop. I plugged in my external iSight to Firewire and it showed up in Photobooth, iChat, and Skype.
What is the problem and can I fix it myself or must I take it to be serviced?
Has anyone encountered the same problem? Got any answers?
I really would appreciate all the help I can get. Thanks.

I have never heard of this before, but the fact that your external iSight works shows that at least some parts of your Macv's AV circuitry are undamaged.
Depending on exactly how you "disconnected" your "external HDs and connected" your "MBP to" your "brother's LG 1080p", I suppose it is possible that your software settings have been compromised somehow. Here is what I would try if my system showed the symptoms you describe.
(0) Start by making a current backup if you do not already have one.
Then try any of the following you have not already considered or used. Use them in any order you think appropriate and test after each one to determine if the problem is resolved:
(1) Shut down (do not merely restart) your MBP. Wait a couple of minutes before starting.
(2) Test in a different user (NOT the "Guest") account: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.7/en/mtusr001.html
(3) Reset SMC http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
(4) Reset PRAM: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.7/en/mh26871.html
(5) Repair your startup disk: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.7/en/mchlp1718.html
(6) Reinstall Lion and apply the 10.7.2 Combo Update: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1459
(7) Contact Apple or an Apple-Authorized Service Provider for service
Message was edited by: EZ Jim

How can I use the built-in Isight camera with an external camera (usb/firewire) at the same time?

How can I use the built-in Isight camera and an external video camera at the same time?
I'm wanting to stream over Oovoo/Skype/etc. using 2 cameras.
Thanks

Simple question with a not so simple answer.
(a) If you mean that you want to run multiple apps simultaneously using a different camera with each app, you may encounter computing power limitations. Digital video is processor intensive. The only way to know if your Mac can do this it to try it. If the video does not work together but each app works when it it the only app running, you are likely overloading your Mac's ability to process and/or move all the required data in your data bus. You can get a better indication of whether this is the case by watching your Activity Monitor utility while running the apps you want to use.
(b) If you mean that you want to have more than one compatible camera connected to your Mac simultaneously for ease of changing between video sources, some, but not necessarily all, apps you are using to operate your camera(s) allow you to select between your cameras.
How you select among connected cameras depends on which application you are using. Here is how camera selection works in a few examples:
(1) For iChat, you can choose which iSight you use in the "Camera:" choices bar in iChat > Preferences... > Audio/Video that appears when more than one compatible camera is connected. Although your camera choices will be different, the choices bar will look something similar to the Preferences settings shown here:
If you cannot see the "Camera" choices bar, your Mac is recognizing only one (or none) of your cameras. In that case, consider the suggestions fromhttp://support.apple.com/kb/HT2090 for iSight problems or refer to your other camera's documentation for help.
This particular choices bar solution applies ONLY to iChat. Most other applications also have settings that allow you to choose which camera to use. However, they do not all work the same way.
(2) For instance, iMovie HD's camera choice is NOT set via Preferences. When you have more than one compatible camera connected, iMovie6 HD uses a drop-down menu choice something like this (depending on which version of iMovie you use):
Note: Because I had no built-in iSight connected when I made this example, and because my external iSight was not connected, the drop-down menu showed only "Time Lapse." Because your Mac has a built-in iSight, your built-in iSight would show in the drop-down menu even when no other camera is connected. Connecting an additional Mac compatible webcam should allow you to choose either camera.
Other iMovie versions work slightly differently.
iMovie 9 (from iLife '11) uses a different camera choice button shown in this article:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iMovie/9.0/en/mov39f84285.html
iMovie 8 (from iLife '09) is slightly different as explained in this article:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iMovie/8.0/en/10172.html
In general, you can use your Mac's help for the application in use to find out how to select among more than one connected camera.
(3) Photo Booth in Snow Leopard 10.6.x and later uses the Photo Booth > Camera menu command to select which camera to use.
Note for readers with older Mac OS X: The previous version of Photo Booth that came with Tiger (10.4.x) is such a simple, basic app that it offers no menu selectable choice. Unless your built-in iSight is already occupied as the camera being used by some open application before you launch Photo Booth, Photo Booth will use ONLY your built-in iSight.
However, you can use the trick from ¶ 4 of http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302781 to let Photo Booth use an external camera.
(If you have an external Firewire camera connected, it may be used in preference to any USB webcam. If that is a problem for you, merely disconnect the problem Firewire device.)
(4) For FaceTime, launch the app and click the Video menu item.
If your Mac recognizes more than one connected compatible camera, a "Camera" section listing the cameras from which you can choose will appear there. Clicking on the desired camera name will let you select the one you want as shown in this image from my Mac Pro and LED Cinema Display:
If your Mac recognizes only one compatible camera, the "Camera" section will not appear in the Video menu, but FaceTime will automatically use the connected camera that is recognized by OS X.
(5) I do not use Skype oir Oovoo. For those or other apps, see Help for each app for info on how to select your desired camera.
Message was edited by: EZ Jim

External iSight no longer recognized, built-in iSight works - how to fix?

I have a new MacBook Pro with Leopard and both the built-in iSight and my external iSight were recognized and I could switch between them. This past week or so my external iSight became no longer recognized even after unplugging and re-plugging in. When I plug it into the Firewire port, the green light goes on and it makes a whirring sound, but my computer does not recognize it in iChat, in PhotoBooth, nor in iMovie. I repaired permissions and it still doesn't get recognized in any applications. Is there a setting someplace that needs resetting? Or do I need to bring it into the Apple store for technical help?
Richard

Hello Richard
I wonder how many others have this problem?
A search or look through iSight Discussions will show you that a few of the many users of external iSight have reported problems using their Firewire iSights with MacBook Pro. I will leave it to you to try to determine whether that might be because few external iSight users have problems, few have MacBook Pros, or few use their external iSights with their MacBook Pros.
I agree that the system should allow both to co-exist.
Any other suggestions before I go to the Apple Genius folks?
If you have already considered all the suggestions about cables, connections, Firewire ports, possible conflicts, and the relevant suggestions in Apple's How to Troubleshoot iSight without success, you can also try the following:
• Backup your Home Folder, or at very least, your important files.
• Repair permissions. (Click here if you need help.)
• Then download and apply the Mac OS X 10.5.2 Combo Update.
• Finish with another Permissions Repair, and then check your iSight again.
Users have reported fixes to a variety of audio, video, connectivity, and software conflicts and unreliability issues after properly applying Combo Updates.
Please let us know how it goes.
EZ Jim
PowerBook 1.67 GHz w/Mac OS X (10.4.11) G5 DP 1.8 w/Mac OS X (10.5.2) External iSight.

Built in iSight is no longer working after hard drive was replaced

I have a 2008 MacBook Pro that has served me well up until recently.
I had my hard drive replaced about a week ago and now I've noticed that my built in iSight is no longer working.
It doesn't work with any application or on any user.
The green light no longer comes on.
I noticed this the other day on my gmail account, no longer showing the camera icon next to my name when i'm online.
So I tried pulling it up on photobooth and ichat etc...no luck.
What should I do?
Please help.
Thank you.

Take your MBP back to whoever replaced the drive and ask them to resolve the rest of the problem.
(Before taking it in, make a current backup if you have added ANYTHING since you got the new drive)
If you want to try some things on your own before you take it back for professional resolution, here are a couple of relatively simple things you can try:
Reset the SMC. Instructions here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
Troubleshoot Flash as Adobe Suggests: http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/908/cpsid_90893.html

Built-in iSight showing blackscreen.

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for