Getting iSight to Run in Parallels

[quarky]

This thread was moved from "Windows Guest OS Discussion".
Alicia

As someone who has finally succeeded in getting iSight to work in Parallels after many struggles, I wanted to share my experience in the hopes that it might help other people facing this issue.

I am using:
- MacBook Pro 15" 2GHz Intel Core Duo, 2GB RAM
- Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
- Parallels 3.0 (Build 5160)
- Windows XP (SP2)

I do not have BootCamp installed.

What I did in Parallels/Windows:
1. Turn off iSight under Parallels' Devices | USB sub-menu
2. Insert Mac OS X 10.5 Installation Disc
3. Open My Computer.
4. Shift-Ctrl-Click the icon for the drive (it should read something like "Boot Camp (D:)"). Select the 'Explore' option.
5. Open the Drivers | Apple subfolder.
6. Double click the file "AppleiSightInstaller".
7. Turn on iSight under Parallels' Devices | USB sub-menu
8. After a moment, a little window pops up at the bottom of the screen saying that a hidden installer has been detected and asks how it should be handled. Allow it to proceed.

Finally, there is another little pop-up saying that new hardware (Built-in iSight) has been recognized. And sure enough my iSight camera works in Windows now!

Well I hope this helps someone. Good luck! Questions/comments welcome.

[nosodualie]

Exxxxelent! I'll try this! Thanks for the tip!

I can't get XP to see the Mac OS X DVD no matter what. It keeps giving me the "Windows cannot read from this disk" error.

Nevermind, had to enable "Use CD/DVD-ROM" emulation in the Virtual Machine. This tip works as advertised.

[zeester]

Hi quarky, thanks for posting the tip.

I followed all the way until Step 8, and instead of saying a hidden installer has been found, I keep getting the Found New Hardware Wizard. Wonder if you have any idea what's going on?

I'm using same specs as you except that my MBP is 2.4GHz. No boot camp either.

[quarky]

Hi zeester,

If the "Found New Hardware" wizard is appearing then Windows isn't automatically detecting the iSight driver.

It's possible that the Wizard is appearing because iSight was activated before you tried installing the driver. To eliminate this possibility, reboot Windows/Parallels, make sure that iSight is turned off in Parallels, and then retry the driver installation. You could also enable iSight in Leopard (i.e. run Photo Booth) before launching Windows, because iSight can't be recognized simultaneously in both OS but this really shouldn't be necessary.

Alternatively, you could try to use the wizard to point Windows to the iSight driver on the Leopard install DVD and see if Windows recognizes it that way.

Let me know if this helps. Good luck. -quarky

Hi quarky, thanks for posting the tip.

I followed all the way until Step 8, and instead of saying a hidden installer has been found, I keep getting the Found New Hardware Wizard. Wonder if you have any idea what's going on?

I'm using same specs as you except that my MBP is 2.4GHz. No boot camp either.

[zeester]

Thanks quarky for your reply. I tried your suggestions, but unfortunately, they didn't work, even after using Photo Booth to enable iSight in leopard. I still ended up with the Found New Hardware wizard every time. Somehow, Windows doesn't seem to recognize the driver file either.

Does it matter that my Leopard CD is not a retail version but came shipped with my new macbook pro?

[Xenos]

Dear all,

To use the Isight camera you can try to install Apple ISight drivers for Windows manually. Please follow the instructions:

1. Insert the original Leopard DVD into the DVD drive of the Mac. Connect the disk to the virtual machine by choosing the "Default CD/DVD" drive under the "Devices - DVD rom" menu.
2. Hold down the Shift key in order to disable the autorun option and stop the Boot Camp drivers automatic installation. If the Boot Camp window appears click on the "Cancel" button to cancel this installation.
3. Open MyComputer, right-click on the Boot Camp DVD disk, choose the "Open" option, browse to the "Drivers-Apple" folder and find the "AppleiSightInstaller.exe" file.
4. Connect the iSight camera to the virtual machine. To do so please choose the iSight camera under the "Parallels - Devices - USB" menu.
5. Double-click on the AppleiSightInstaller.exe to install the required drivers for iSight. Please follow the on-screen instructions.

Our QA team has tested this method however it's not proved by users yet.
We'd appreciate the feedback from you.

Best regards,
Xenos

[zeester]

Thanks for posting the method Xenos. I still can't seem to install iSight. Everytime I double-click on the AppleiSightInstaller.exe file, nothing happens. The cursor will show a turning hourglass for about 2 secs and then nothing will happen. No new windows, no on-screen instructions. And the Found New Hardware wizard comes up again.

I tried going to Device Manager to manually update the driver. When I ask the wizard to search for my installation file under D:\Drivers\Apple, it says "The location you specified does not contain any device information files". But I see my AppleiSightInstaller.exe file in that very folder from the explorer window.

I haven't had any other problems running .exe files on my Windows XP so far. Could there be something wrong with my Leopard DVD?

[Xenos]

zeester, thank you for the feedback. I've delivered it to QA team. Hope to get the answer soon.

Best regards,
Xenos

[dspackman]

Brand new Macbook Pro as of yesterday, did all Tiger upgrades and currently on 10.4.10.
VM is XP Pro SP2 with all current updates. I've tried using older Boot Camp drivers but the installer wouldn't recognize them, although they work great on older Macbooks and Macbook Pros.

I tried using the AppleiSightInstaller.exe directly from a Leopard install disk and had the same results as Zeester. the file appears momentarily in the task manager as a running process but then dissapears. Sad :(

[rfsonders]

Has there ever been a fix to use the iSight with Parallels and 10.4?

[Xenos]

Hello all,

Here is another solution to try.
1. Run your VM, start Windows.
2. Open Device Manager (Start –> Run –> type devmgmt.msc and click OK).
3. Click Devices in Parallels Desktop menu and choose Isight Camera.
4. Check if iSight camera or any unknown device will appear in Device Manager after that.
5. Insert the original Leopard DVD into the DVD drive of the Mac. Connect the disk to the virtual machine by choosing the "Default CD/DVD" drive under the "Devices - DVD rom" menu.
6. Go to Start -> Run. Type CMD and click OK.
7. In Windows XP command interpreter type cd desktop. Press Enter.
8. Then type appleisightinstaller -p. Press Enter.
Isight driver installation should start after that.

Best regards,
Xenos

[zeester]

Thanks! This solution worked perfectly. However, after Step 5, I had to copy the appleisightinstaller.exe file to the desktop before it worked. Without this step I ended up with some error message.

[Xenos]

zeester, thank you very much for your answer!

Cheers

Best regards,
Xenos

[MacAngus]

I tried this on my 17" Santa Rosa running Tiger, copying the file as zeester suggested, and the driver installation program does run to completion. However the 'Built-in iSight' still has a question mark in 'device manager' and the 'found new hardware' wizard runs and fails as usual. I tried a reboot, but no luck. The installer file is from 31 July and is 1.61 Mb.

Any suggestions?

[zeester]

Hi MacAngus, if you cancel the 'found new hardware' wizard and just try using iSight immediately, does it work?

I realise that even after successfully installing iSight, everytime I restart my computer and activate iSight in Parallels, the "found new hardware" wizard pops up again. But now I just cancel the wizard and have been able use iSight directly in MSN messenger with no problems. I couldn't do this in the past before I tried Xenos's solution.

Try ignoring the wizard and test out your iSight to see if it now works.

Edited to add that iSight is also still showing a question mark in my device manager, but I'm ignoring it now because my iSight is working.

[MacAngus]

Look at that - there it is in Messenger. So the device driver is running under the radar. Thanks for the help! I am now about to do the same setup at home to get that one working...

[zeester]

You're welcome :)

Good to hear that you got it to work too!

[gfisher]

Question when i get the camera working does the mic work as well like it does with ichat?

[quarky]

Hi gfisher,

I don't think microphone operation is related to running iSight in Parallels VM. My built-in mic has always worked in Windows, even before I succeeded in getting iSight to run. If you're having problems with an external mic, then it may be a driver or other issue which could be better addressed in a separate posting.

quarky

[SoCalJRC74]

Hi Xenos,

I have the exact same problems that Zeester had, except that when I did the manual command line driver install you detailed on 11/13 the installation failed. At this point I've tried everything from the basic boot camp install listed in FAQ's to the command line string you listed, both with the isight cam selected and unselected, and also running the drivers both from the 10.5 install CD and from the desktop. And banging the keyboard against my forehead doesn't work either. ;) I'm running an iMac w/10.5 and XP SP2 via Parallels 3.0 b5582, any ideas?

[Xenos]

Hello SoCalJRC74,

You are right, BootCamp drivers sometimes do not get installed manually. We have found it out recently and we are investigating the issue. Parallels engineers have sent a request to Apple but we have not got the answer yet.

Best regards,
Xenos

[adamnoakes]

im having a problem and i cant do any of the instructions because my windows vm is not picking any info on my mac instalation disc. it picks up the disc but not anything on it. x( please help me

[Xenos]

Hello Adamnoakes,

Could you please let me see a screenshot of Shared Folders section in your VM Configuration Editor (http://kb.parallels.com/entry/27/470/0/)?

Best regards,
Xenos

[adamnoakes]

k im realy crap at this whole thing what do u atculay want me to do? sorry

[adamnoakes]

hey i got the pic i just dont know how to put it on the fourms :(

[adamnoakes]

here i think this is it
/Users/robnoakes/Desktop/Picture 1.png

[Xenos]

Adamnoakes, to attach an image you should use "Manage Attachments" option when replying (click "Post Reply", not "Quick Reply" button).

Could you also describe your issue in more details?

Best regards,
Xenos

[adamnoakes]

ok what is happening is that when i go on to windows in the vm and put the disc in it picks up that there is a disc in there but says theres nothing on the disc

[Xenos]

Adamnoakes, are you sure the disk is not damaged?

You can make an ISO image of the CD-ROM using Disk Utility and use it instead of the real disk. This is a more reliable way as it lets to avoid possible CD drive hazards.

1. In the Finder, browse to Macintosh HD - Applications - Utilities. Choose Disk Utility.
2. Insert the source CD-ROM, the image of which you want to create, into the CD/DVD-ROM drive of Macintosh computer.
3. Select the CD/DVD-ROM drive from the Disk Utility device list.
4. Click the New Image button on the top of the Disk Utility window.
5. Specify the name and location for the image or leave the default settings.
6. Set Image Format to read-only.
7. Click Save and wait till the image creation process is complete.

Now you can connect this image to the virtual machine’s CD/DVD-ROM drive:

1. Launch Parallels Desktop.
2. Click the CD/DVD-ROM icon in the main Configuration window to open the CD/DVD-ROM drive’s settings.
3. Select the Use image file option and click Browse to locate the ISO image file.

You can use a successfully created image file as a bootable media.

If during the image creation I/O errors occurred, this may indicate that there is either a problem with your disc, or your Macintosh CD/DVD-ROM drive doesn’t function properly.

Best regards,
Xenos

[adamnoakes]

no its not damaged at all when i put it in on the mac its self it picks up the disc fine

[Xenos]

Please try creating an iso image anyway.

Best regards,
Xenos

[adamnoakes]

ok ill try it later im nt on mac atm

[NickK1066]

This isn't working for me either.
MacBook Pro 15", Santa Rosa Ed. 4GB.

I've tried both downloaded drivers and Leopard DVD drivers. All are not recognised by XP as being the drivers of the inbuilt iSight.

I thought this may be because of a new variant/version of the iSight that doesn't match the Windows driver ini.

As it seems Darwin is short of lsusb I fired up kubuntu and this is it's output (the interesting bits):
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 05ac:8502 Apple Computer, Inc.
..
bDeviceClass 293
bDeviceSubClass 2
bDeviceProtocol 1

However in the Apple XP drivers:
DeviceType=3
DeviceSubType=0x1

Although not conclusive it seems to indicate that windows isn't finding this variant perhaps (I'm not an expert on Windows drivers).

Windows shows
Device Instance Id: USB\VID_05AC&PID_8502&MI_00\5&317BA675&0&0000
Hardware Ids:
USB\Vid_05ac&Pid_8502&Rev_0145&MI_00
USB\Vid_05ac&Pid_8502&MI_02

What's interesting is that the Apple iSight.ini shows:
[Apple]
%iSight.DeviceDesc%=iSight,USB\VID_05AC&PID_8503&MI_00
%iSightUpdate.DeviceDesc%=iSightUpdate,USB\VID_05A C&PID_8501&MI_00
%iSightUpdate.DeviceDesc%=iSightUpdate,USB\VID_05A C&PID_8300
%iSightUpdate.DeviceDesc%=iSightUpdate,USB\VID_05A C&PID_8501

Note a mention of PID 8502 MI 02...

I tried adding %iSight.DeviceDesc%=iSight,USB\VID_05AC&PID_8502&MI_02. The drivers were detected but the iSight could not be activated as XP moans:
"Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing. (Code 39)

[John@Parallels]

I cannot say exactly, but iSight models can differ probably on MacBooks (Pro?), as you can install systemon your MB only from your DVD (as it was in Tiger unless you bought Leopard separately), I was installed from Leopard DVD drivers both on MB and MBP without problems,,
You can also found drivers in /Applications/Utilities/Boot\ Camp\ Assistant.app/Contents/Resources/DiskImage.dmg you can copy content to Windows and run Install Macintosh Drivers for Windows Xp, it is actually self executable archive

[NickK1066]

The install is fresh retail Leopard install then patched to 10.5.3.

[John@Parallels]

Did you try to use drivers I suggested?

[NickK1066]

Did you try to use drivers I suggested?

Not yet - sorry I was at work and my Leopard DVD at home. Now at home - I'll try later this evening.

[NickK1066]

Hi John,
I've had a look for the drivers but fail to locate them in the Bootcamp Assistant application (manual and spotlight search inside the app).

I've searched the entire application bundle - it's not standard practice to bundle disk images into Resource within an application.

Not sure how this differs - it's a retail complete fresh install of 10.5.0 then immediately patched to 10.5.3 followed by update. So in theory bootcamp assistant should be the latest and greatest (it reports version 2.0 in the "about" box).
It's also has Xcode 3.0 installed with the new beta gcc 4.2 update (which shouldn't make a difference).
The only additional install was iPhoto selectively installed from my old MBP distribution (Tiger) DVDs.

I've never started Bootcamp - just in case that also makes any difference.

[dioshy]

Hi there, everybody!

Macbook Pro 2.4ghz on 4gb running Leopard 10.5.4 @ Parallels 3 (build 5584)

I have tried everything that has been said here and none worked.
Windows recognizes an USB Video Device, and if I double click on it in My Computer, it shows the iSight image, but no other program are able to find/recognize the USB Video Device. I'm particularly interested in having it to work with Skype and Yahoo! Messenger.

Help!!! Thanks guys.

Dioshy

[John@Parallels]

http://kb.parallels.com/en/5028

[dioshy]

Hi, John.

The instructions that you provided didn't work. Here are the specifics:

Resolution section:
1. Done.
2. Done.
3. Done.
4. Done.
5. Nothing happened.

Troubleshooting section:
1. Done.
2. Done.
3. Done.
4. There were no unknown devices. The iSight shows up as USB Video Device under Imaging Devices.
5. Done.
6. Done.
7. Done.
8. The New Hardware Wizard comes up. It detects the custom drivers and it shows the new hardware as iSight. The Windows balloon shows in the taskbar stating that iSight was found / the Device Manager shows iSight (with an exclamation mark), then everything turns back to USB Video Device. The wizard completes successfully.

Then, iSight doesn't work... :(

I have tried to uninstall the device and run the entire process again, but I always get the same results.

Any other tricks? Hehehehehe. Thanks for your help.

[John@Parallels]

Step 4 and 5 in Resolution, device should be detected..
Check also that iSight device is selected in Devices USB,
Also make sure no antivirus prevents installation

[dioshy]

Hi there.

Yes, the iSight is enabled in the USB devices in Parallels.
Antivirus has been disabled.

I tried everything again, same results... :(

[John@Parallels]

What is in Application and System logs related to driver installation

[likegadgets]

I have built 5608. I can run the executable from the Apple disk and it say the driver are loaded (same u running from command window).
The install new hardware wizard runs upon every start with yellow mark on device manager, and while I see the USB camera - when it actually wakes up video is completely jittery.

Is there a real fix for this?

[John@Parallels]

Either performance issue, or 5608 is not installed correctly

[Ian B]

I've had the exact same experience as dioshy and the moderator answered that 4 & 5 are in "Resolution". I'm new to these types of forums. Does that mean that Parallels is working on this problem and it will be "resolved" in the future? If so, any idea when? If it means something else, please explain? I want this resolved to use skype in my Windows XP environment as the version for Windows has many useful features not yet included in the Mac OS version.

[John@Parallels]

We are constantly working to improve our products,
Resolution in this case means screen resolution

[Benn]

I have a MBP (Intel), and the Mac OS X install disks but couldn't seem to find the right drivers for the iSight on the disc.

I got Parallels 3.0 with build 5608
Running VM - Win XP Pro 5.1.2600 Sercive Pack 3 Build 2600

[John@Parallels]

What Mac OS you are running?
Drivers are only on Leopard DVD

[Benn]

Ah. I'm running Max OS X. Is there anyway for me to get suitable drivers?

[John@Parallels]

I mean is it Tiger or Leopard?
Apple - About this Mac

[Benn]

I figure it is Tiger.

[John@Parallels]

You need to contact Apple in this case Windows drivers are only on Leopard DVD, or try to search Internet for Windows drivers for iSight

[likegadgets]

I upgraded to PD4 and I still cannot get the isight to work. the appleisightinstaller -p runs ok in the command windows. and the isight is on the device manager with a yellow exclamation and question mark.

The device status says that the drivers for this device are not installed (Code 28).

I have tried reinstalling - it does not find any driver because the wizard cannot find the software. I have copied the full isight folder to my C disk and desktop. I can direct the hardware wizard to it, but states that no isight drivers are there.

Have followed every suggestion and step in this thread. I have NAV 2008 - and have disabled it (there are no viruses) for installation an testing. All possible OS updates are in.

I am running leopard and XP Pro SP3 on an iMac. I really need to resolve this as it is one of the reasons to run parallels - now version 4.0 (3522) (I need a video conferencing software). Thanks.

PS
Any Vmware user - please tell me if you your isight functions well?

[dlemus]

any solution to this problem yet? I have followed every sugestion and still no luck, windows doesn't recognize any suitable driver.

Thnx

[John@Parallels]

create ticket in support please, it seems to be either Windows corruption,or USB controller is corrupted

[PlectoR]

create ticket in support please, it seems to be either Windows corruption,or USB controller is corrupted

Is there any news on this issue? I'm still experiencing it on Parallels Desktop 4.0.3810 for Mac OS with Windows XP SP3 installed as virtual machine. No way to make the camera work with Netmeeting.

Any update is appreciated.

[AMITABHS]

Hey guys!

I'm away from home, and my original OSX leopard disc that came with my macbook is in the original box that the computer came in.

I'm trying to connect with family that is home, is there anyway anyone can suggest to me how to obtain the appleisightinstaller.exe without a disc? I've been searching for any way to download it but can't seem to find it hosted anywhere, not even on apple's site under support --> drivers.

[marco538]

Hi,


I also have trouble to use my built-in iSight camera and I also use a MacBook Pro (2,4 MHz, alu body early 2009), Mac OS 10.5.7 but I use Parallels Desktop for Mac 4 (built 4.0.3844).

Actually until point 6 all went okay, but after the message that new hardware was found I couldn't find the driver on the MacOS DVD because the file was not visible although it must be there.

Could you please advise me what to do?

Many thanks in advance for your quick reply.

Kind regards,
Marco Reinhoudt - Netherlands

[EstebanR]

Hi, I was also having issues so I just decided to post my solution. I followed Xenos's suggestion:

"Hello all,

Here is another solution to try.
1. Run your VM, start Windows.
2. Open Device Manager (Start –> Run –> type devmgmt.msc and click OK).
3. Click Devices in Parallels Desktop menu and choose Isight Camera.
4. Check if iSight camera or any unknown device will appear in Device Manager after that.
5. Insert the original Leopard DVD into the DVD drive of the Mac. Connect the disk to the virtual machine by choosing the "Default CD/DVD" drive under the "Devices - DVD rom" menu.
6. Go to Start -> Run. Type CMD and click OK.
7. In Windows XP command interpreter type cd desktop. Press Enter.
8. Then type appleisightinstaller -p. Press Enter.
Isight driver installation should start after that.

Best regards,
Xenos"

You have to make sure that the AppleiSightInstaller.exe file is saved in C:Documents and Settings/Administrator/Desktop NOT your mac desktop. Otherwise it will not work. Hope this helps someone.