hi everyone, can someone please help me? i purchased a philips webcam i installed it but when i try to use it it gives me a message that says you have no video capture hardware. what does that mean. please help.

Usually means the software drivers are not installed
But can also be a service. like Plug and Play or possibly HID Input Service.
To check these services are started:- Start-->Run-->Services.msc
Scroll down to: Plug and Play and then HID Input Service, confirm both are started and set to automatic (double click on each service to change settings)

Although it does just sound like a driver issue

Edit:

Doh! Just realized that we are in the Introduce yourself forum (which is not meant for technical questions, as stated here: http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic93388.html (which happens to reside in the Introduce yourself (http://www.techspot.com/vb/menu24.html) forum)

For further assistance, please post a new thread in the appropriate forum (http://www.techspot.com/vb/)
.