What Should You Do When Linux Is Not Finding Your USB Camera?

Problem scenario
In Linux in the /dev/ directory you looked for the camera.  In /dev/ and could not find a file associated with your web camera.  You verified the locally attached camera is connected via a USB cable to your physical computer.  

When you try to use it, you see this message:

"--- Opening /dev/video0...
stat: No such file or directory"

What should you do?

Solution
1.  Verify the camera is turned on.  It the camera is turned off, you may not see it.
2.  Verify the camera works on another computer.  If it does, try a different USB port on the Linux computer with the problem.  If it does not, the camera may need to be replaced.


See also How Do You Troubleshoot a Computer Camera That Is Not Rendering Images?

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