How can I get my Toshiba webcam to work on AIM?

I bought a brand new Toshiba laptop for college. It is Vista Home Premium. Now I want to use the webcam that is in the computer on AIM to stay connected with friends, but it won't work. I uninstalled AIM and reinstalled an hp laptop version to solve the problem. People have said it fixes their Toshibas, but it hasn't fixed mine. I uninstalled and re-installed 3 times, and still no luck. at first i had just a black screen when i tried to connect, and now i get a small image of myself and it times out within 15-20 seconds or so. How can I fix it?

K.
August 2007