Webcam creation of the video preview failed

Using HP dv9815nr laptop, XP SP3, 3GB RAM, and such.

This machine is supposed to be Vista, but I downgraded per instructions from the web. All is well except one thing. It is a small issue but it just bugs me.

Many on the internet report the problem that "creation of the video preview failed" ... such as me too.

My webcam works in other programs such as chat programs, and so on.

But, here is what doesn't work and where I get the message:

When I open Windows Explorer on the left hand side are the shortcuts to the drivers, etc. One of them is the "USB Video Device) - if I click on it on the right side where you usually see folder, files, etc I will get live picture from the webcam as expected.

But, once I install almost any other new program that APPARENTLY involves some sort of video related program .... I installed a video format converter, and tried a golf game, and other programs that clearly depend on video codecs of some sort.

When the error is there trying to see the cam via the explorer I can still have the camera work within a program that needs webcam access .....

So, this is a very small issue, becuase the cam works, but just not via the windows explorer as noted ......

Suggestions? I've arleady unistalled the drivers, removed them manually, reinstalled, tried other versions of the HP Webcam built-in video camera, and so on.

Any help would be apprecaited, I really don't want this tiny error to stay there, I want my computer working properly as much as possible.

Help ?

Thanks ! ?

MY BELIEF is that the problem could be related to the WIA service. It seems that it sometimes is related to one program and then is not reset to allow connecting to another program later (such as the view of the camera in the windows explorer page page). If I disable the service then my camera is unusable and get the error message when clicking to preview photos in the windows epxlorer page. If I restart the service then things work normally, but then stops working again once a new program is installed that may have hijacked the service acquisition.

So, what do you think ?

Clearly some file is being installed that corrupts the display of video in explorer ... if I install something it stops working and doing an uninstall corrects it. However, I don't know what file is the culprit

Installed Kazaa Lite Mega Codec Pack and after installing it I get the same problem of viewing video in Windows Explorer ....... If I uninstall the codec pack it works fine ....... some file is causing this to break.

The same thing happens when installing a video conversion program, Tiger Woods Golf 2007. and numerous other things.

What I need is a suggestion of what file that seems to be involved and how I can prevent this.

This is not a problem of having installed a codec pack - it happens with other programs too - including 3 different Antivirus programs.

Suggestions to solve the problem are appreciated !

The problem happens with many program types.

Yes, maybe it's a codec that's the issue - but I have no idea which one or what file is being installed by these different programs that would cause the preview to fail.

I uninstalled the codec pack and things are working normally - so I'd like to know how to make sure things continue to work ...

This problem still exists ...... can anyone help ?

What codec does the webcam use ? maybe if I know such a thing I can remove that from my codec pack install and allow the webcam setup to take priority .....

ANYONE ?

I think yes, you can stay away from these all-in-one codec packs and only install the specific codecs that you actually want to.

I now know the solution! If you've installed Vista or Windows 7 and recently gone back to XP or perhaps even dual booted, the reason for your webcam not working is due to the Vista/Windows 7 drivers modifying the actual firmware of the webcam. Try using the Vista/Windows 7 driver in windows XP and see if that solves the problem.