Webcam problems are no fun at all. If your webcam sometimes freezes, doesn't respond or crashes, hang in there. The following steps will likely get everything up and running perfectly:

IMPORTANT NOTE! Please read through ALL of the following steps prior to attempting them! The changes included in these instructions must be done precisely, concisely, and exactly as described. I know these are a little bit on the technical side for most users (translation: not a barrel of laughs) and I apologize for that. However, following the instructions to a tee should give you the intended result.

1. Sign off and shut down Messenger.
2. Click the Windows Start menu at the left bottom of your screen, then select "Run."
3. In the "Open" field, type "regedit" (but not the quotation marks!) and click "OK." The registry editor application opens.
4. On the left side, click the small plus (+) sign to the left of the HKEY_CURRENT_USER folder.
5. Expand the "Software" folder under it and expand the "Yahoo" folder.
6. If there's a "Webcam" folder, go to the next step. If there's no "Webcam" folder below the "Yahoo" folder:
• Select the "Edit" menu.
• Select "New," then "Key."
• Type "Webcam."
7. Select the new "Webcam" folder.
8. Select "Edit."
9. Select "New" > "DWORD Value."
10. Type "UseVFW" without any spaces. This action creates a new entry in the "Webcam" folder.
11. Double-click on the "UseVFW" item in the "Webcam" folder and change the entry in the "Value data" field to the number 1.
12. Click "OK."
13. Select "File," then "Exit" to close the Registry Editor application.
14. Restart Messenger.
15. Try starting your webcam by selecting "My Webcam" from the "Messenger" menu.

Please Note: If you're using Windows 2000 or Windows XP, you'll need to be signed in as an administrator to update the registry entries successfully. If you don't have administrator rights on your machine, I apologize for requiring yet one MORE step – but you'll have to contact your IT Administrator.

If you've gone through all the steps above and your webcam's STILL giving you trouble, I'm truly sorry. Please reply to this email and let me know the problem is continuing in spite of your heroic efforts and the changes you made.