Hey PJB. After much frustration, and less than great support from Microsoft,
my issue was tracked down to be caused by a bad file somewhere in my
Microsoft .Net Framework software...I had versions 1.1, 2.0 and 3.0 installed
on my computer...along with a SP 1 for version 1.1.
I found this link helpful:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923100/en-us
Try and use method one to uninstall your .net framework software. Method one
did not work for me, I kept getting issues with removing both 2.0 and 3.0.
I then used method 2 which entails following another link and downloading a
..net framework cleanup tool. I ran the program to cleanup ALL .Net versions.
Then I went back to Microsoft Downloads and downloaded .net framework 1.1,
2.0 and 3.5 (not 3.0 - for some reason 3.0 would not download and created
issues).
Once these .Net Framework downloads were installed I downloaded and
installed LifeCam 2.04 software and my kid was up and running in 10 minutes.
It took me over a week to get this issue resolved.
One more thing, when you are downloading and installing your .net framework
files you need to make sure you download in the proper sequence. Also, for
some reason I encountered printer issues the first time through this. The
second time I just unplugged my printer untill all downloads were installed
and I did a computer restart and the printer issue went away.
Good luck!