On Windows 7, I have a usb logitech c920 camera plugged in.

It displays correctly when I run:

ffmpeg -list_devices true -f dshow -i dummy 

I have a script that uploads a camera image every 15 minutes. This runs fine for a day or two, then it fails. After it fails, the list_devices doesn’t show the camera. Restarting the computer will display it again.

My first question- Is there a way to re-initialize the camera to display without restarting windows or unplugging the device? (Basically, this is remote, so a way to remotely reset it from the command line.)

My second question is- why this device is disappearing on a regular basis? My assumption is another application is stealing it (like teamviewer) and not returning it.