so since i purchased my touchsmart iq816 desktop i ran into a couple of issues. the 1rst was that mp3's and mp3 files alone would not play in the touchsmart software. mp3's would play in itunes as well as in the windows media player but refused to play in touchsmart. my 2nd issue was that all of a sudden, my webcam would not work (wouldn't light up) in the touchmart software. I knew it had worked before cause i recorded a video, so i didn't know why it wouldn't anymore. the webcam also would work fine elsewhere such as in the cyber link youcam, skype, ect.. after a ton of hours spent on the phone with HP, i decided to just do a complete system restore. to my surprise, everything worked fine again so i assumed my problem was of my own fault (aka something i added that conflicted with touchsmart) and that the computer was fine. I decided to 1 by 1, make the additions like i did the 1rst time and 1 by 1, i checked to see if those additions caused any of my problems while creating a new restore point each time. here are the answers if anybody else out there has these same two issues.

WEB CAM ISSUE: it seems that the windows update to "service pack 2" caused the issue. getting your webcam to work again in touchsmart is not as simple as uninstalling it. you must do a system restore to a point prior to adding service pack 2. the moment i updated to service pack 2, the webcam stopped working in touchsmart. as soon as i restored to prior to installing it, the webcam worked fine again. right now I have added everything that I had before, including all HP and windows updates with the exception of service pack 2 and my system is working perfectly.

MP3 ISSUE: I found that a program that I had been using for years on my old computer was causing the problem. This program is called "ORB" and allows you to access the files on your computer from any other internet device such as a laptop or cellphone. the moment i installed orb, the mp3's stoppped working and as soon as i uninstalled the software, it started working properly again in touchsmart.

To conclude, it seems that most issues are related to the touchsmart software. if you have an issue, try and see if you still have the same issue when not in touchsmart. This can tell you if your problem is affecting your whole system or just a specific part of your software such as "touchsmart." I believe that "touchsmart" right now is still very sensitive and conflicts with many basic updates and programs that you might want to add. this is similar to how windows vista had so many "compatible" issues apon it's 1rst release. My advice, create your own personal restore point prior to any updates or programs that you add. i say this cause a lot of the time, a simple uninstall does not do the trick. creating a restore point takes about 3 minutes and will save you hours of time later on. i hope this helps someone out there who has had these same issues. thanks..........