MBP 2009 "There is no connected camera

[Chparigi]

I recently bought a used MBP 2009 for a trip to nepal, and i just succeeded in installing MacOS Sierra on it. Unfortunately, i keep getting the error "There is no connected camera" if i try to use facetime. This is kind of an issue, since i'm going to use the webcam extensively on my trip.

The camera is connected, as shown in the image from system report i have attached to this post.

I have tried killing processes both in terminal and in the sytem activity monitor. I have tried to reset NVRAM and SMC, and i have even tried to run it in safe-mode - but still the same result.

Am i missing something here - what could i do to get the connection back?

 

[Weaselboy]

If you open FaceTime then go to this menu, do you see the webcam there on the list where you can select it?

 

[DeltaMac]

Can you get response from the camera in the Photo Booth app?

 

[Chparigi]

If you open FaceTime then go to this menu, do you see the webcam there on the list where you can select it?

View attachment 691995

No, it's not there.

Can you get response from the camera in the Photo Booth app?

It's not there either.


So in general, it seems like there is connection to the kamera, but MacOS doesn't recognise it as a kamera. What kan i do? Has it something to do with kext-files?

 

[Weaselboy]

It may be that you need to install some drivers for it to work. Is there anything about macOS drivers on the manufacturers web site?

 

[Chparigi]

It may be that you need to install some drivers for it to work. Is there anything about macOS drivers on the manufacturers web site?

It's the built-in iSight camera...

 

[Sanpete]

Any reason you installed Sierra, even though it's not officially supported on your machine?

 

[rawweb]

Any reason you installed Sierra, even though it's not officially supported on your machine?

Did the camera work before you upgraded to Sierra? As Sanpete mentions, Sierra is not officially supported on your 2009 MacBook Pro and you might encounter issues with dropped driver support/etc.

 

[Weaselboy]

It's the built-in iSight camera...

Ah.... I thought you were using a third party USB camera. My mistake.

 

[CoastalOR]

I recently bought a used MBP 2009 for a trip to nepal, and i just succeeded in installing MacOS Sierra on it. Unfortunately, i keep getting the error "There is no connected camera" if i try to use facetime. This is kind of an issue, since i'm going to use the webcam extensively on my trip.

Maybe your problem is you must be using a hack to install Sierra. The official max OS is El Capitan for 2009 MBPs. Try installing El Capitan.

 

[Chparigi]

Any reason you installed Sierra, even though it's not officially supported on your machine?

I guess i was stubborn on this ridiculous thing about the mac not being compatible anymore, though there should be no issues.

Did the camera work before you upgraded to Sierra? As Sanpete mentions, Sierra is not officially supported on your 2009 MacBook Pro and you might encounter issues with dropped driver support/etc.

As a matter of fact, i installed macOS Sierra on the other harddrive on the computer, and there was no issues with the webcam on that install! So seems there is something wrong with the installation. I have recovered the system from a Time Machine backup. It is not super bad if i have to start the machine from scratch, but i'd rather not do it.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"As a matter of fact, i installed macOS Sierra on the other harddrive on the computer, and there was no issues with the webcam on that install!"

Suggestion:
Get ahold of CarbonCopyCloner (CCC is FREE to download and it's FREE to use for 30 days).

Connect the external drive (with the copy of the OS that WORKS with the camera).

Boot from the external drive.

Launch CCC and "clone over" the OS from the external drive to the internal drive.

TIP:
You can set up CCC so that only certain folders are actually copied during the cloning process.
For example, you could "DEselect" your user folder (the one on the internal drive), but clone everything else. That would leave your user account and related files "in place" and un-disturbed.

Why do this?
Chances are, the installation that is currently on the MacBook may be lacking one or more files necessary to get the camera up-and-running with the OS.
If you clone over a "known working" copy of the OS, it -might- bring the camera back to life.

No promises -- but worth a try.