Built-in iSight problems-"camera in use by another application" but its NOT

I am having an issue with my iMac G5 2.1GHz with iSight built in.
I tried to iChat AV tonight after months of not using it. When I opened my own video window it says "Your camera is in use by another application."
There are no other applications open in the dock other than Finder.
Same results with Photobooth. The message reads -- Photo Booth cannot open because the camera is in use by another applicaton. Close the application using the camera, then try opening Photo Booth again. < OK >
I searched this forum and tried the following:
• zap PRAM
• reset SMU
• reset NVRAM
I looked for iSight prefs, but couldn't find anything. Deleting prefs is the only thing I have not tried, but I do not know what to delete.
Also, the camera shows up under USB under system profiler. The IR remote also shows up on the same bus, and the remote works just fine.
The green light next to the iSight is never on.
I switched to another user and experience the same problems, so it does not seem to be user settings.
Any help to get my computer to recognize my iSight would be appreciated!

Thanks for the note. I saw that Apple KB article #93216 that basically tells you not to have any other applications running that use the camera, which I do not. Also, I have Classic installed, but it is not running as I hardly ever use it.
Since my original post last night I have tried several more things, with absolutely zero success.
One unique thing that I thought would work (and it sort of did) was to add Photobooth to my Startup Items under the Accounts tab of System Preferences. Unlike iChat AV, Photobooth will not even open if the built-in iSight is not available. So, I thought, let's see if Photobooth will open at Startup and perhaps take over the camera before whatever is taking it over has a chance to do that.
Sure enough, this trick worked, although the video screen was blank. On a second time the video screen showed erratic thick lines like it was starting to pass the video data through and then was stopped. Again, my iSight is recognized by Apple System Profiler, so the computer knows it is there and is getting power, etc. As soon as I quit Photobooth and tried to reopen it, I received the message again that the camera was in use by another application.
My next steps, when I am able, are to try to boot off an external firewire hard drive that should have an older saved backup of my system, from when the camera was working. I will also download the combo updater as you suggest, MGW, and apply that as I understand that to be a sort of remedy for any number of problems.
To me it appears to be a software issue. I would imagine with the OS and not related to any application in particular. (iPhoto cannot access the iSight, can it? For some reason my iPhoto opens automatically on my G5 iMac every time I boot it up, and I cannot figure out why. I will look into this issue and see if it is related.)

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This message can also show up when iChat is having trouble recognizing the video format coming from the camera. I'm not sure if it will help, but you may want to try installing the iChatUSBCam demo to see if it help iChat to recognize the camera.
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Hi there
Please help, Ive been using ichat with my Panasonic NV-GS17 digital camcorder on Panther for ages with no hassel at all, ichat just found the camera and away I went.
I recently upgraded to Tiger 10.4.6 now every time I log into ichat it says that the cameras in use by another application. Please help
I have read some other similar messages about this subject but have still had no joy. I do use Qtime pro 7.0.4 but was using this before I upgraded my system.
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Hi Dano71,
Welcome To The Apple Discussion Pages.
Was the camera plugged in when you did the update ?
If so unplug it for about 15 mins or so.
Do you have any Quicktimew Plug-ins you have added under Panther ?
Have you looked at this FAQ http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=278760 about possible Panther to Tiger iChat problems ?
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Hello. I'm having trouble using my built-in iSight camera in my brand new MacBook Pro. I can get the thing to work while using iMovie 08, but it won't work with Photo Booth, iChat, or iMovie HD. The very first day I had the computer, it worked with Photo Booth, so I'm fairly certain it's a software problem. I've loaded a ton of software.
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3. Rebooting
4. Repairing permissions
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Welcome to Apple Discussions, schmargle
I think you are on the right track. The fact that you have "loaded a ton of software" makes me think possible conflicts.
For your HP issue, parkersal's solution at http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=4246676#4246676 might help you. In addition to some more details about parkersal's tip, you can find some other users' suggestions in Shelia Addison's sightless iSight ... thread.
If HP is not your only problem, your quickest fix may to be an Erase (your entire startup disk) and Install (of the OS.) Update to the latest version, and test your iSight before you install anything else to be sure it works. Then install the additional software you need one-by-one, testing iSight between each one to make certain you know which one is breaking it.
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I was having the same problem I could not find the answer here in the apple forums so I did some googeling and found this forum on macosxhints.com here is a link to the whole discussion
http://forums.macosxhints.com/showthread.php?t=57786
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http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107393
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Hello Brandon
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Try some other Flash-based video website to determine whether your problem is only with Yahoo or some system component.
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http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4761707&#4761707
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• Repair permissions. (Click here if you need help.)
• Then download and apply the Mac OS X 10.5.2 Combo Update.
• Finish with another Permissions Repair, and then check your iSight again.
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Try a different browser (Firefox, Camino, etc.) to see if your problem might be in Safari.
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Your last email was returned with a technical Error
Copy here
Ok,
My misunderstanding about which one was not working.
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Hi.
I had this same exact issue with my PowerMac G4. I would plug in my new USB 2.0 MacAlly IceCam2 and it would work in all other programs except for iChat. I noticed that in the other programs the camera was very slow (response time) but was functional. After searching everywhere I some how decided to unplug it from one of the two built in USB ports (shown below) and plugged it into an expansion port on a PCI USB 2.0 card I recently installed.
http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Hardware/DeveloperNotes/Macintosh_CPUs-G4/PowerMacG4/3Input-Output/chapter_4_section2.html
USB Ports
The PowerMac G4 computer has two external Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports on the back and two on the keyboard. The USB ports are used for connecting the keyboard and mouse as well as additional I/O devices such as printers, scanners, and low-speed storage devices. The USB ports are off of the USB controller connected to the PCI bus.
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I wish I would have known this a few days ago!
Thanks,
~croat
Message was edited by: croatjj

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Built-in iSight problems-"camera in use by another application" but its NOT

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