Gateway M-150XL webcam = WTF

I've had my laptop for less than a month now and just about everything has been great. I've had a few minor issues with learning Vista and setting everything up.


My main annoyance has been the integrated webcam. It loads software with the computer starts up, and it has a tool bar that will go on the left, the right, or the top of the screen. If you put your mouse there for a split second (think, clicking the scroll bar on your browser) the camera toolbar pops up out of hiding.

It's very annoying, so I usually shut the program down when I start up. Problem is, it seems like my system doesn't recognize that the camera is even there after I do that.

I went to control panel /hardware and sound/ scanners and cameras , and it's just not there. Maybe it's suppose to be somewhere else ? I just want to be able to start the damn thing and take a quick picture or something.

Besides that, when I first start up, I can go into Windows Live or Yahoo, and turn my camera on and it's fine, but it seems if my computer has been on for awhile, I get this gray screen on yahoo, instead of showing me, and on msn it says it can't detect the camera (I believe Live says the same thing).

I have Vista Home Premium, and I haven't reinstalled or updated any drivers since I got the laptop. It tells me that I have the latest driver...

any ideas ? Is this one of those "wait for the 64 bit drivers and everything will be awesome and the streets will be filled with gold" things or what lol.

I want my damn camera to work, or I can rip it out and mail it back to them and they can pay me back the money they charged me for something I don't need. (but surely want to use since I have it lol)


ETA : I found where the camera is under control panel, well under device manager it's under "Imaging Devices" instead of camera/scanners. maybe that is for usb connected cameras...

 

how about moving the camera software bar at the bottom and autohiding it. put it in a place on your screen that you wont keep running into it.

also about the messengers im not sure since i hardly use my webcam and probably the longest ive used it was at least 2 hours chatting with an old friend

 

Does anyone know if this bar can be deactivated completely?

 

You maybe able to take it out of your startup programs

<Start>
type in the search bar msconfig
click on Startup tab
uncheck the webcam program
click <apply>
reboot

 

After you do the above you will need to manualy start the webcam program from the start menu anytime you want to use it. This goes with any program you do not want to automaticly start when windows loads up. Becarefull not to uncheck needed programs. If you uncheck something that you need, just follow the same instuctions and put a check next to the program again.