MSN 8.1 Crashing when Webcam is started

[Gareth1986]

Hi All,

Im hoping someone is able to help me.

I have Windows XP with Service Pack 2 installed. Running a AMD 64 X2 6000, ASUS Crosshair Motherboard, ASUS G-Card 8800GTS 640MB, 2GB Corsair DDR2 RAM XMS, Seagate 80GB HDD IDE.

The problem is this, whenever someone tries to let me see their webcam, or asks to see mine, "Windows Live Messenger has encountered a problem and needs to close." I have uninstalled and reinstalled, however the problem still remains. This problem is beyond my googling abilities and really need someone to assist me.

Thankyou in advance.

[patndoris]

I'm just curious if it appears the cam will work and then it closes WLM or does it do it immediately upon trying to send/accept? I know you must have uPnP enabled for webcams to work properly with WLM and ideally it should be enabled on both ends or the results can be iffy.

Are you able to view webcam with other messenger programs, and/or did this just start with WLM 8.1 where a previous version of WLM was ok?

Sorry for so many questions, but I too have had some cam issues over the last year and it would be helpful to know the answers.

[Gareth1986]

Well for a start, i dont want to have my webcam functional. So the issue seems to be installed on msn. What happens is - Joe Smith wants to invite you to view his/her webcam. When I click accept, immediately "Windows Live Messenger has encountered a problem and needs to close." message appears, and closes WLM totally. If i do wish to view my own cam, that will crash it. And it i click View Webcam Settings, that will crash it as well.

As for Upnp i dont know what that is, i wouldnt have changed any settings, and neither wouldve the person im talking to.

I have a really old cam, that the software refused to load on because im running XP. However it was deteced via USB port and i could see it working in My Computer when i clicked on it, i could see myself. I dont use any other chat programs so i cant say if it works in others.

Previously, on my old system WLM 8.1 ran fine, this problem has only started when i have completely updated my new system with the microsoft patch updates and installed it. So its never worked with my new system to my knowledge.

Hope this helps.

[patndoris]

I would tend to agree it sounds like your WLM install is corrupted. I'm running 2 computers with XP SP2 & all fixes applied & don't have those issues with webcam. However, when you do a straight uninstalll there are typically folders, files & registry entries that don't get removed as a part of the uninstall process.

I personally don't like doing all the manual work to go find all of these & have found 2 satisfactory (for me) solutions (both free.) Revouninstaller will do a scan before & after the install to find related files remaining after an uninstall has finished & let you delete them. Also CCleaner, under the "issues" tab will show similar items & allow you to delete them. I'd suggest an uninstall & taking the time to be sure WLM is completely wiped from the computer before reinstalling. If you're comfortable doing all the registry cleanup & deleting yourself, you can search the forums for "uninstall WLM". I know I've seen threads on exactly where all the excess files &d entries are.

After it's completely gone, try a fresh install & see if that helps. It's tempting to say it's all because the drivers for your specific camera were not loaded from the software, but if even clicking the webcam settings shuts it down I suspect that's not the case. I'd expect it simply not to recognize your cam or to show your cam in setup but not connect properly. uPnP would cause issues with accepting or sending cam, but you're not even getting that far so I doubt it's the problem either.

Good Luck!