I did not expect the reinstall of Vista after reformatting the partition previously held by Win7 would be facing the same problem. It's hard to explain in any logical manner. Did you update VISTA to the current or just installed it from the original disc and in the latter case there is some ground to think it might be for lack of some needed software. If that is true, hopefully, with updated drivers and software ( including Cyberlink's Webcam software), DirectX or some such Windows software, it should be OK. I don't think it is a hardware issue. Finally, check if the system needs any firmware updates for the WebCam which HP might offer for your Make and Model. I hope things will be OK in the next few hours with the required software install