I decided to revive an old Samsung ATIV Book 8 (NP880Z5E-X01UB), and I'm dual booting Zorin and Mint. The camera doesn't work on either. Now here's my question: Anyone have this problem w/ their Samsung ATIV Book 8 or not had this problem, and their camera works fine?
I ask this way because, yes I have tried a lot of the generic fixes many of which I learned w/ help from folks on this site and many of which I have had success as well. In this case, I suspect the camera is broken or there just ain't a driver for this camera for this computer, yes I've looked w/ no success.
If I knew someone was running their Samsung w/ no issues, then that would help me decide if it's just a camera hardware issue.
I haven't heard from anyone w/ a similar laptop on either this or the Mint forum whether they have success w/ their built-in camera. I went ahead an ordered an extra RAM SIMM as well as a .5 T SSD anyway and gave it a nice fresh install of Zorin 18. But considering that I have decided to just use this as a garage/shop box, I'm okay with that. I also cannot get the keyboard backlight to work, but again, I don't think that will hinder me in the shop.
Otherwise, just about everything works fine including the touch screen, HDMI and USB ports, speakers, Bluetooth and of course Wi-Fi. The battery seems to hold a good charge. The keyboard is a bit flakey, but it is loosening up the more I use it.
Just did a quick Brave A.I. search:
" For the Samsung ATIV Book 8 (NP880Z5E) , the webcam driver is typically included in the standard Linux kernel (Intel UVC driver) and does not require a separate proprietary driver. However, users have reported that specific Samsung firmware modules (like samsung-laptop ) or UEFI configuration can interfere with webcam functionality if not properly configured.
Key points regarding Linux support for this model:
- Kernel Support : Most modern Linux distributions (Ubuntu, Arch, Fedora) include the USB Video Class (UVC) driver by default, which should enable the webcam without additional installation.
- UEFI/Legacy Mode : Issues with hardware recognition often arise from UEFI vs. Legacy BIOS boot modes. One user noted that installing with an EFI partition and using GRUB resolved boot and hardware issues, though specific webcam behavior in Linux was not explicitly detailed beyond general hardware recognition.
- Samsung Tools : The
samsung-tools package (available in AUR for Arch or via PPAs on Ubuntu) can help manage low-level hardware controls, but it has historically caused issues on EFI-booted systems, potentially affecting webcam or other sensors.
- Troubleshooting : If the webcam is not detected, check the Device Manager (or
lsusb in Linux) for the hardware ID and search for specific drivers. Some users have found that disabling Secure Boot or adjusting BIOS settings can resolve detection issues.
If the webcam is not working, it may be necessary to:
- Verify the device is detected using
lsusb or v4l2-ctl --list-devices .
- Ensure Secure Boot is disabled in the BIOS.
- Consider using Linux kernel 6.14+ or newer, as the
samsung-galaxybook driver (which may cover some ATIV Book 8 features) was merged into mainline starting from kernel 6.15 (as of 2025).
AI-generated answer. Please verify critical facts."
Personally I avoid Samsung notebooks from experience when I was working, maintaining notebooks for students with low-vision/no vision. During the meltdown debacle of Intel processors, Intel's tool to determine if a patch was needed on the Samsung P530's (6 of them) all needed patching.
Intel stated manufacturers of affected notebooks had to supply the fix. They never did. And from recent history on here they never provide BIOS updates.
In the old forum (and in the Unofficial Manuals I have authored for Zorin) the advice was to update your BIOS before installing Zorin. A forum member from Brasil found that out the hard way after my research only came back with a user manual from official Samsung site.