(Satellite A205-S4629) Chicony Camera Issue!

Alright;
This is not, by far, the worst problem I've ever had with a computer. I love my new notebook dearly, and it works wonderfully.

That is, except for the built-in Chicony 2.0 Camera. Does it work? Yes, but only when it feels like it...(And before I forget: I have Windows Vista Ultimate; I got it that way straight out of the box)

Here are the issues I'm having with it:

1) Occasionally, when I try to use it, be it with the Camera Assistant Software or Windows Live Messenger, I'm told that it is already in use by another application. Huh? The only other thing I ever run with it at the same time is Windows Media Player, and that shouldn't be a problem. So I'll exit WMP grudgingly. Sometimes it will work, other times it won't. In that case, I restart, which always works luckily.

2) Frequently, when I use the camera, everything will be completely black. (The box that shows what the camera is capturing, i mean.) I can usually resolve this by opening the Properties menu in Camera Assistant Software. The black screen comes back sometimes, though rarely. This might not be a problem per se; the camera itself might just be a piece of junk, but if that's the case, I'm a little annoyed. If you're going to build a camera into my NICE computer, why make it a piece of c**p that I'll want to replace?? That's just plain mean.

So if anyone has any idea as to what my problem might be, how to fix it, etc...

Reminder: It's a Satellite A205-S4629, and the camera is a Chicony 2.0, whatever that means...

 

C'mon guys...Nobody has any idea? Really? I'm not in the least tech savvy, just about anything would be helpful!

 

I had to completely uninstall the camera software and reinstall it from the Toshiba disks to get it to work correctly once already. (windows update busted them)

Did you try that?

Note I have the x205 series and not the A205 series so my experience may not be applicable.

 

No, I haven't tried that.

It's been a problem since I got my computer. Vista came with the machine, so I didn't think it would have to do with updates. I didn't even realize that I could uninstall/reinstall the camera without starting everything over again. Do you mean using the recovery disk? Like I've said, I don't know very much about computers, so you'll have to bear with me, please. I didn't notice any other software that came with the computer.