Conflict of interests?

I'm wondering why a camera would require a special driver. It should simply be connecting by a USB 2.0 port, just like any other USB storage device.

I'd use Control Panel to remove any software it may have installed, then "My Computer - Manage" to roll back any drivers it installed, take it back and get a camera that just uses USB. We have a Fuji and an Olympus and neither causes any problem.

it does just plug into a USB. does it not need a driver then? can i just roll back the driver?

is this the webcam?

yes yes, that is the one. apparently i do need a driver. but the driver it comes with crashes my system... so sad!

You can download the latest version of the software off the manufacturers website, which can be found here:

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/downloads/software/US/EN,CRID=1794,contentid=6361

Note though that its 30mb so hope your on broadband!

There might be a conflict between your new camera and the USB-chipset in your computer.

See if you can find anything here that may help: http://logitech-en-amr.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/logitech_en_amr.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=834

If you don't find anything useful there, I suppose you could try mailing the Logitech support for help. Good luck.

Dag, that's prolly an issue related to how that camera plays with USB - there may be a conflict with its drivers and the particular USB chipset in your machine. You might wanna visit Logitech's website support pages to see if there are updated drivers or patches for your camera/Operating System/Service Pack combination.

If you wanna, post the exact error message wording - all the Xs and 0's and all that - and I'll try to narrow down just where the gl;itch is, but actually, I think it might be easier just to get a different camera. Look on Dell's website to see what they sell, then if you wanna, price-compare. Since you have a new Dell Machine, and Dell offers support for Dell customers who buy 3rd-party products through Dell, a few bucks cheaper somewhere else prolly wouldn't be a good reason not to buy from Dell - if they sell it to you, and you have an under-warranty/in-support computer you've purchased from them, they'll try pretty hard to sort out any problems you might have with it.

it says that driver_IRQL_not_less_or_equal
and then blablabla (i can't copy and paste) but this seemed important:

stop 0X000000D1 (0XFF5A4000, 0X00000002, 0X 0000000, 0XF8644C11
ftser 2k.sys - address
F8644C11 base at F8642000

<grin>

Can you just audio with skype?

audio won't work either. well, both did for about 10 mins yesterday, then my computer crashed twice. it's a camera with a built in mike. am gonna try pursue those links up there you guys dug out. thanks. will report on success.

It seems that the file ftser2k.sys is associated with a virtual serial port interface for USB-drivers for handling devices that aren't USB-aware, and that this device tries to write somewhere in the memory where it isn't supposed to. Such errors are usually caused by obsolete drivers or incompatible hardware. After a crash, you could try taking a look in Start Menu -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Event Viewer and look under "Application" and "System" to see if there is an error message attached to the crash (you could look at the time stamp) that might shed some light on the cause of the problem.

Normally, all that can be done about this kind of problem (softwarewise) is to download all the latest driver updates (including Windows updates), and possibly some update related to the chipset on the motherboard.

can this be it?
The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck. The bugcheck was: 0x100000d1 (0xff631000, 0x00000002, 0x00000000, 0xf8634c11). A dump was saved in: C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini073005-04.dmp.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

also, in the Logitech help from my camera software, i found this about the whole IRQ problem:

"Check for IRQ conflicts
Though Logitech® cameras use a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface that operates on a Peripheral Component Interface (PCI) and a PCI can share up to 4 devices, detection problems can result from the USB host controller sharing the IRQ with other devices. To fix this, move the host controller to its own IRQ.

For information on how to move the host controller to its own IRQ, consult your computer documentation or system manufacturer customer support.

Note: Changing the IRQ on some computers may be difficult because they may share the IRQ between many devices and some computers do not support the changing the IRQ for the host controller. In these cases, the only option is to purchase a USB upgrade card that does not have an ALI, VIA, or SIS chipset. Cards that feature a Lucent or OPTi chipset have been found to work well with Logitech cameras. "

Can moving the camera to its own IRQ solve the problem? And how on earth is that done? Sheesh! Who do they make these computers for?!

I wouldn't recommend moving to another IRQ in Windows XP. It's quite tricky (if it even works), and may cause more problems than it solves.

By the way, do you have SP2 (servicepack 2) and have you made sure Windows is up to date with Windows Update?

One thing you could try is to use another USB-port. Many computers have such both on the front side and back side of the computer, and I guess it doesn't hurt trying to switch sides if possible.

Also, it might be good to know what devices the USB host controller is sharing IRQ with. You could take a look in Start Menu -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Information -> Hardware Resources -> Conflicts/Sharing.

Phoooey. So much to check. This is what the conflicts/sharing thing says. I uninstalled the camera driver yesterday, but will try to install it again and using it from the back two USB ports. (18 and 19?) i didn't try that. I have a strange wireless dial-up internet connection here - it looks like a cell phone, but it plugs into a USB port. So that I plugged into the USB on the side, and the camera right underneath, also on the side. I will try anything... Thanks so much for guiding me through, I really appreciate it.

I/O Port 0x00000000-0x00000CF7 PCI bus
I/O Port 0x00000000-0x00000CF7 Direct memory access controller

I/O Port 0x000010C0-0x000010DF Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM SMBus Controller - 266A
I/O Port 0x000010C0-0x000010DF System board

IRQ 16 Mobile Intel(R) 915GM/GMS,910GML Express Chipset Family
IRQ 16 Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 2658
IRQ 16 Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 265C
IRQ 16 SigmaTel C-Major Audio

IRQ 17 Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 2659
IRQ 17 SDA Standard Compliant SD Host Controller
IRQ 17 Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2915ABG Network Connection
IRQ 17 Conexant D110 MDC V.9x Modem

IRQ 18 Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 265A
IRQ 18 Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller
IRQ 18 OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller

IRQ 19 Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 265B
IRQ 19 Ricoh R/RL/5C476(II) or Compatible CardBus Controller

Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF PCI bus
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF Mobile Intel(R) 915GM/GMS,910GML Express Chipset Family

Ah, you have a laptop computer? Anyhow, here's a list of some things to try:

1. Try another USB-port if possible.

2. If you have Norton Antivirus or similar, try disabling before trying the camera.

3. Download the latest chipset drivers from Intel and install: http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts-df-external/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=N&ProductID=816&DwnldID=9026&strOSs=44&OSFullName=Windows*%20XP%20Professional&lang=eng
(Will require a reboot before working)

4. If nothing else works, you could try disabling some USB Host controllers in the Device Manager under Universal Serial Bus controllers by rightclicking it and selecting disable, and then trying the camera again. To reactivate it later, rightclick and select enable. The best thing would be to try disabling all USB-host controllers for ports you are not using. I understood you have at least one other USB-device other than the camera (the GSM modem thingy), so if the modem stops working, you simply enable the associated USB host-controller again. By deactivating USB-controllers for ports you are not using, you might set some additional IRQs free that may solve the problem if you're lucky.

ooooh boy. i'll try them all later tonight. will start with 1. and hope to god or allah or vishnu that it works. but if i must, i'll try those complicated mind-boggling things, too.
thanks a ton!

hmmm. my computer crashed, even though i uninstalled the camera driver and camera was unplugged. i uninstalled the rest of the camera programs again, can't afford to keep losing work... soooo frustrating! am trying to get those chipset drivers and updates ,,, will see where it gets me...

You got a bluescreen with the same error despite not having the camera connected?

yep, same one, same message :-(