From a user on a forum I frequent:
“I have recently installed the latest version of windows live messenger, But i am having trouble with the webcam features, for some reason wenever i try too turn on webcam, it tells me the webcam wont work because it is being used by another program (which it isnt)
I have been told too go to show menu/tools/audio and video setup, but wenever i click that, i get a message saying “we are unable too run audio/video setup”
This is actually a frequent problem with people who have McAffee AntiVirus running on their computer. I have no idea why an AntiVirus would be interfering with a webcam but there you go. In any case McAffee has a fix for you:
“As a workaround, McAfee recommends configuring SiteAdvisor to stop monitoring Live Messenger.
- Navigate to the following folder:Windows XP/2000/Vista (32-bit): C:\Program Files\McAfee\SiteAdvisorWindows Vista (64-bit): C:\Program Files (x86)\McAfee\SiteAdvisor
- Right-click on the file sasets.ini and choose Open With, then select Notepad.
- Locate the section titled [msnmsgr.exe].
- Change Enabled=1 to Enabled=0.
- Click File and select Save.
- Close sasets.ini and restart your computer for changes to take effect.”
My own little note: You might get a “access is denied” error. To get around this copy the sasets.ini file to your desktop, open and modify it from there, and then copy that file back to the original folder overwriting the original file.
Hope that helps.
Thank you very much for your advice. You are a star! Your instructions were absolutely precise and the added bit of modifying the file outside and then pasting it back was much appreciated. My webcam was working perfectly well until today and i was at my wits end as to the reason. I thought it was a problem with MSN and had trawled through all their help pages. It was by pure chance that i read that some antivirus programs block the webcam feature in live messenger. I installed Mcafee just last night and it all began to make sense. Anyway, in the time that MSN did not work, i tried skype messenger and now find it head and shoulders above the MSN product. Anyway, thanks again for your help!
Glad I could help. :)
heyy i have tryed all of that however when itry to save it it says , ‘ make sure the path and the file name is correct .’ but as far as i know it all is.
any advise?
My new windows life webcam does not work at all. I am using Vista and once installed, I go to click on the program to open and it tells me something along the line of 564 pixels or 574 pixels>? can’t remember the exact error message sorry. But it just wont let me open or run the program at all! I have uninstalled, reinstalled etc. Im using a notebook. The webcam is brand new just like my notebook? so both is compatible (well suppose to be) Any information on this would be greatly appreciated. Microsoft is quick enough to sell the product! but different story when it comes to fixing problems!
Thanks alot for your help. I’ve spend hours to solve the issue and now it s WORKING :D i cannot describe how glad i am :)
I have an issue. I just formated my notebook and installed back all the drivers. it has a built-in webcam. I installed Windows live msn but it does not works with the webcam, it says there is NO webcam but i still can have videocalls with people. I just want to be able to use de Webcam without the videocall. Any one knows a solution? Tnx A lot
Is the notebook missing any drivers when you look into the Device Manager? Have you tried a different webcam application to see if it might just be a problem with messenger?
Even with the copying over method you still might get a permission problem denying you the ability to modify the sasets.ini folder. In that case you need to go to McAfee->Navigation->General Settings->Access Protection: and than make sure the box saying “Use Access Protection” is unchecked. It has to be unchecked before you can modify any McAfee related files.