Eric

It would be helpful to have a little more information about what you might have tried to do to fix this issue. Most laptops these days come with some 3rd party software installed to "help" you make the most out of your webcam, but you don't really need extra software to run the webcam and chat with friends or family. Do you use Skype or a similar chat program? Even if you do not use Skype, you could install it to see if your webcam and microphone are indeed in working order. Also, you can look at your webcam through software that should be included on your laptop from when you bought it. A helpful hint is that the software that might have come with the laptop should say something about "webcam" or "youcam" or similar in nature. Make sure your Windows software is updated, and check under "Optional" updates for items related to the webcam. The best solution I can think of is to head over to Dell.com, click on "Support" and in the drop-down menu, click on "Drivers and Downloads". From there you can select...

One suggestion is to use your laptop not directly placed on your lap, or even avoiding putting your laptop on a bed, couch or chair directly. It is a LAPtop after all, right? Why shouldn't we use it while curled up in our favorite chair or on the couch snuggled under a blanket or in bed? The biggest reason to have something like a laptop desk, (a flat sometimes wood or plastic surface towards the bottom of the laptop), or a laptop rest that has either passive, (no fans), or active, (spinning fans), is to allow the air to freely circulate around the intake ports and the exhaust ports to allow air to cool the internal components of the laptop. The two previous mentioned reasons for over-heating are correct and good reasons that laptops over-heat. We keep these portable devices we own tethered by always having the power supplies attached and charging the battery. The heat produced by constantly charging the battery when the battery is fully charged, or when the vents are blocked will also shorten the life of...