Need Help! M17xR2 webcam no longer works with MSN Messenger

hi, just recently, last couple of days, my R2 webcam stopped working with MSN Messenger. wierd thing is, it still works with skype and cyberlink youcam, and what's more, it worked with msn 2011 before for many months now. just recently happened. dont recall installing anything special.

basically i get error message saying webcam in use by other program when i perform audio video setup. the webcam just wont start if i choose intergrated webcam. if i choose cyberlink youcam, webcam starts in setup, but i still cant use it for video call. really annoying. skype, cyberlink youcam all work just fine.

i have tried Fn+F9 method, dont work, i have tried removing webcam driver and let windows install it again, dont work, i have even tried factory image restore and setup all the usual stuff i normally use (never caused webcam problems before) still dont work. i've also tried removing the webcam hardware cable and plugged it in again securely just to be sure. still dont work. im really out of ideas now. any input or help is kindly appreciated. thanks

 

I had the same issue with my xps 1645. What I did was disabled antivirus and firewall, then disabled the program that is using the integrated webcam in your case cyberlink youcam. Exited msn completely closed the process, Then restarted msn and selected the integrated webcam and tested it out. It worked,
Then I enabled the program in your case cyberlink youcam and set msn to use the cyberlink youcam (in your case) and exit msn and reopen and test out. It worked
Then I enabled the antivirus back and firewall (which I think was the culprit) and it worked it was so strange but it fixed the issue. Try it

 

alex - this just started happening to me. Did chicho's suggestions work for you? I tried them and it did not fix the problem. I uninstalled Cyberlink YouCam and have the Aliensense facial recognition disabled. What is interesting is that my webcam works with Skype, but not Windows Live Messenger. I get the same message that my webcam is in use by another program.

Any suggestions? Since Skype works with the webcam, I am thinking this is a problem with Messenger. I Googled and did not find anything useful.

 

check your settings for usb selective suspend..

1. Click on Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Go to Power Options.
3. Below your selected plan click on "change plan settings"
4. Click on "Change advanced power settings".
5. Double click or expand USB settings, USB selective suspend setting, and
set both "On battery" and "Plugged in" to Disabled.

NOTE: This may decrease the life of your battery slightly

Once you have performed the following, restart your computer and try putting
it into sleep or hibernation mode, resume the system, and see if you are
still being told that the webcam is in use by another application.

Hope this helps

 

V10Ace - that you very much for the suggestion. What you recommend trying is logical and a good recommendation. +1 Rep for offering the idea.

Unfortunately, I already had those settings disabled in my power profile. It's a setup ritual I go through on all computers, because USB selective suspend it a notoriously buggy thing on most computers.

After trying chicho's suggestion, I even uninstalled Alienware Command Center thinking that the facial recognition software wasn't playing nice and that did not help anything.

I installed Yahoo! Messenger and my webcam works fine with it, just as it does with Skype. So, it seems the issue is some sort of a bug with Windows Live Messenger. My guess is that the last update from Microsoft broke something in Messenger. Uninstalling and reinstalling Messenger was a waste of time, too. That's a bummer, because I prefer using WLM.