Q: My isight external camera freezes

If simply restarting Mac does not resolve the trouble, consider the relevant suggestions from How to Troubleshoot iSight. Test the camera with more than one Apple app in more than one user account.  (It may take a minute or so for this archived link to load.  If you already know how to create a new user account for testing, you need not use this link.)   Have only one app open while you test your iSight.   (Check for camera-using login items that start automatically.)

If your only trouble is with internet-connected apps like video conferencing software, consider the possibility that limited network broadband speed may be the cause of your problem.  If you are connecting via WiFi, turn WiFi off, connect via ethernet, and test whether the problem is the same whether wired or wireless.

If your problem continues after considering all of the above, restart Mac, use Disk Utility to repair permissions, and then download and install  Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.  Do this even if you are already running the 10.6.8 version of Mac OS X (10.6).  As soon are your mini restarts to complete the update, repair disk permissions again.  Then test iSight again.

If you need to post back for more help, tell us which apps you tested and confirm that the problem is EXACTLY the same in every app in every user account you tested.

Message was edited by: EZ Jim

Mac OSX 10.9