Acer Webcam driver Shutdown issue on XP - a more practical fix

Many of us had the same freaking problem, once we install the webcam drivers, the webcam really works but unfortunately windows xp gets stuck at shutdown and we have to power down manually.

A manual fix is to disable the webcam from My computer-> right click -> manage -> Device manager -> Imaging Devices -> Device name -> right click -> Disable.

But disabling and enabling each time i start/shutdown winXP is freaking annoying.

So here is how to configure winXP to enable your webcam at logon and disable it at logoff/shutdown.

Step1: Download devcon from microsoft and unzip it to a folder, let's say "c:\dev"

Step 2: Identify your hardware id
Open a cmd (start -> run -> type cmd and press enter)
Go to the c:\dev\i386 directory (in cmd type "cd \" -> press enter -> type "cd c:\dev\i386" -> press enter)
Create a file of your hardware id's by executing the line
"devcon hwids * > hwid.txt"
Open hwid.txt(located in "c:\dev\i386") and find the name of your imaging device from device manager and use one of it's hardware id's, from now on refered to as webcamid.

Step 3: copy devcon.exe from c:\dev\i386 to
C:\WINDOWS\system32\GroupPolicy\User\Scripts\Logon
and
C:\WINDOWS\system32\GroupPolicy\User\Scripts\Logoff

Step 4: the scripts
In C:\WINDOWS\system32\GroupPolicy\User\Scripts\Logon create a webcamenable.txt file with the fallowing line in it
devcon enable "webcamid"
Save and change file extention to .bat

In C:\WINDOWS\system32\GroupPolicy\User\Scripts\Logoff create a webcamdisable.txt file with the fallowing line in it
devcon disable "webcamid"
Save and change file extention to .bat

Step 5 : adding the scripts at startup and logoff
Start-> run -> gpedit.msc
In User configuration -> Windows Settings -> Scripts(Logon/Logoff) double click on Logon(in the right part of the window)
Add -> Browse -> select webcamenable.bat
Double click on Logoff Add -> Browse -> select webcamdisable.bat

Things should be up and running smoothly from now on

 

msconfig and just stop it from starting at start-up. that's all i did and it works perfect.
i had loads of trouble with conflicts when i first tried to use it. now i love it.
it still huts down and starts when i want it too

 

your webcam might have a process assigned to it which you can disable from msconfig
some people are not so lucky, me being one of them
so had nothing to stop at startup
the way the firs post is written might let you think i am kind of computer illiterate for giving all those details but that is not the case

 

hay some times different cams have different start-up options and sometimes you need to try all of them.there's two options on here that will help loads of people to sort out there problem.

Nice one remedayin and welcome to our Acer playpen

mind had the bisonbar software running at start-up. why i will never know

 

I don't know if this applies to the integrated webcam in an Acer but this might work:

From my Guide:

That Windows hotfix fixes hanging at shutdown if you have a webcam.

 

the trouble i was having was as soon as i tried to open the bisonbar software i would get a notice saying it was being used by another application.
which application i never bothered to look for.
now i use it on MSN,yahoo and windows movie maker with no trouble.
Vista seems to have issues with the orbicam.

im running xp media centre(xp pro with some extras).