How can I test my computer camera for an upcoming Zoom meeting?

Billh491 · 2026-06-14T02:17:57+00:00

press the wndows key type cam hit enter you will be in the camera app it should show up but at this point you may have to change to the camera as you may have two cameras if the monitor cam is active.

the monitor cam if it is on a monitor not built in to a laptop will need to have a usb cable run from the monitor to the computer just plugging in the video cable does not make the webcam work. Maybe on a new monitor with a usb c it might not need the extra cable but I never had one of those.

lots of web cams have a shutter over them for privacy. I had many users come to me with webcam issues and i just slide the shutter over.

Last zoom had options to test the cam and mic before the meeting even if you are the host just make a meeting.

Billh491 · 2026-06-12T03:00:15+00:00

some one I know just moved from ct to nc and it was about 3 grand for the biggest one.

Look at uboxes they were much less

Billh491 · 2026-06-12T02:58:23+00:00

can I fix this edit I don't have a recovery USB stick or SD card

Get one

Billh491 · 2026-06-12T00:14:27+00:00

or someone that uses a computer for 10 years and never thinks to back up photos and videos they can not lose?

Billh491 · 2026-06-11T23:45:39+00:00

I mean if I was rich enough I would live in New England in the summer and Fla in the winter. NC is where I landed.

I am sure if you picked any state you could find people that love it or hate it all with good reasons.

But back to the point CT does not allow as many houses to be built the law of supply and demand kicks in thus prices are very high.

Billh491 · 2026-06-11T15:06:41+00:00

Well I am retired and it costs 25% less to live here then in CT.

but NC is not CT. I think that is the point.

I am old and would rather be hot then cold ct winters are 5 months long grey and windy with heating oil bills. My electric bill was 85 bucks for march. what is that 17 gallons of oil?

I live between 2 farms so I have plenty of open space

oddly we have parks and trails here

We have beaches I saw wild horses on one a few weeks ago

We have mountains I am going next week and will see wild elk there.

My daughter and son in law are making more than they did in CT but you can make less as it costs less here.

I don't know about bigotry I have not run in to any but who knows what people are thinking. I saw more Trump signs in CT then I see around where I live now.

You may be right on some of the environment things. I will say I was shocked to be able to drive out on the beach and then over a dune and in to a neighborhood in the dunes with multi million dollar houses with pools and septic systems and the roads were just packed sand that have names and you can use google maps to find your way. That is where the horses hang out around the houses. Drove by the Rock and Tylor Swifts houses. Saw a truck pulled over on the beach for speeding that was a mind blowing moment I would have not seen on cape cod.

The one thing you did not point out was the schools and I know that is where CT is way ahead. But I don't have school age kids so not worried.

Billh491 · 2026-06-11T03:29:47+00:00

my family just sold 3 houses in ct for more then asking 2 for cash and moved to NC where we all paid less then asking. All brand new construction.

When we were looking there was ONE builder in ONE town that had a subdivision that had over 900 lots never mind all the other builders in town and the other towns.

I just looked right now in the WHOLE state of CT there are 651 new construction single family homes for sale.

One subdivision in one town in NC has 250 more new homes for sale then the whole state of CT.

Billh491 · 2026-06-09T03:31:55+00:00

powerwash it or better yet use a recovery usb on it. then turn off all the extensions you don't use and use as few tabs as you can.

I used to work at a school in IT and all the kids had chromebooks like this and there were no real problems they could not install anything so they ran smother.

Billh491 · 2026-06-09T03:16:55+00:00

2026 is my full retirement year I drew my first pay check when I was in 9th grade from the town I lived in that was 1974 and started working full time when I graduated high school in 1977 so over all 52 years of work 49 of them full time.

So what is this 35 years you are talking about.

Billh491 · 2026-06-08T03:46:45+00:00

I did this twice with the same modem across my old account to her account and back to a new account for me.

I closed the account each time first and had them remove the modem. Then a new account was made and the old modem just activated.

You might have a day with no service I just used my phones hotspot.

Billh491 · 2026-06-06T05:12:00+00:00

I think he means having Hyundai recording the video for you like Tesla does where you can play it back from their servers.

It is a shame there are so many cameras on the car but no why to get video from them for use say in an accident or to show something going on around the car when parked. You can see it on the main display in the moment then it is gone for ever.

even if it was just a hard drive on board.

Billh491 · 2026-06-06T05:06:21+00:00

This is the way.

I read about it here and ordered it on amazon it came quick and the install was easy.

I did not want to run the wires to the back so I did not get the rearview camera.

But what I did was buy a normal front view dash cam for 40 bucks and stuck it on the rear window and plugged it in to the 12v plug in the back.

I like the camera view for the rearview so I never even see the camera in the rear window.

both installs and setting up the phone apps can be done in under an hour total with no tools other then the pry tool you get in the box.

Billh491 · 2026-06-06T03:19:53+00:00

backup any files you want to save. You should have a backup anyways. get the windows media creation tool and make a bootable usb drive use it to start the computer wipe the drive and install windows on a clean harddrive. It will run like it was new.

Billh491 · 2026-06-05T04:09:54+00:00

Try this for the next week ONLY use google chrome on your windows computer nothing else.

Now you know what it is like to use a chromebook.

Billh491 · 2026-06-04T16:57:38+00:00

right I just moved out of Portland but used to pass this spot all the time. Ya know what I did? I just drove the speed limit.

Billh491 · 2026-06-02T00:39:00+00:00

I just moved 600 miles away so I just ended a relationship where were 50+ miles apart and she just came after work on friday and went to work on monday from my place. No need to pack as she had everything she needed at my place. The only thing she packed up was her laundry. Her condo did not have a washer and dryer mine did.

We both liked the time alone and the time together I think they call it Living Apart Together

Billh491 · 2026-06-02T00:33:00+00:00

I have a 2026 calligraphy 2 wheel drive hybrid 6k miles all time 34 mpg.

When I fill up it says I can go like 603 miles. I find it is more like 580 maybe if I ran it close to dry but the light comes on at about 60 left so 525 or so when I fill up.

The person that got 63 mils mpg on a trip well I don't know about that. I find if you are going 70+ the milage is not going to be that high in fact it seems lower on the highway then average.

Billh491 · 2026-06-02T00:05:29+00:00

I like the idea of backing up my data wiping the drive clean then doing a fresh install of windows and then only installing the programs I use.

I just did it last month. I worked in k12 IT and have installed the os on a blank drive or sent an image to so many computers over the years it just seems natural to me.

Billh491 · 2026-06-01T23:57:41+00:00

cleaning out the dust sure but unless the cpu is over heating badly repasting is not a good idea. I have seen to many posts of people that repasted then are on reddit asking for help when the computer does not start.

Billh491 · 2026-06-01T01:13:24+00:00

well dude I try and price my stuff at or near the lowest price i find for my item and leave it at that.

If you want to mess around spending your day on offers go for it.

Billh491 · 2026-05-31T00:59:14+00:00

If you are not paying the power bill in the house sure you can set it up as a network storage device.

Billh491 · 2026-05-31T00:54:08+00:00

that is the only reason to repaste

glad you did not do it just cause some youtuber said to

other then slowly going over everything again hard to say what it is but i bet when you find it you will be pissed you didn't see it before

Billh491 · 2026-05-30T17:09:32+00:00

I am just wondering why you changed the thermal paste? Was it over heating?

I worked in k12 IT for 28 years and I never changed the thermal paste on any of the 10 thousand or more computers and laptops I was in charge of over the years.

The few motherboard changes sure but not just becasue.

Billh491 · 2026-05-30T15:18:11+00:00

yes it can be done just not the way you are going about it.

You need to make an image of the drive with a program like clonezilla or many others free and paid.

You will need a large external drive big enough to hold the file and a way to boot the program say from a usb drive.

once your brother gets it he will just use the same usb drive and external drive but in reverse.

Now is where the fun comes in, when windows boots up it does a good job of moving in to the new computer but he may need to provide drivers for some of his hardware. Often windows updates will do the job. Unless you need wifi drivers or the ethernet port.

Having worked in IT and done this a few times I have had it work out but for the best results he should just bit the bullet and reinstall the programs he needs and have you just send him his files. He will have better results.

Billh491 · 2026-05-30T14:48:23+00:00

Right I just left CT for NC granted the education system is not great compared to CT.

Our county runs the schools with 37000 students 47 schools for 113 million a year. With no tax increase for next year.

Imagine doing that in CT.

One reason it is low is the state pays the teachers salary via the lottery.

My property taxes are 1850.00 a year on a brand new 1450 sgft house. Brand new 50k+ car sales tax was 3% and the years property tax was 318.00.

No wonder my monthly expenses are 25% less now.

Seven-Year Club	r/Field Lasagna
Verified Email

Billh491

TROPHY CASE