Newbie Setting up web cam,Keeps timing out,anything to be aware of?

Hi,
I am running xp pro and have an older Intel usb camera that does not have
Intel supported drivers but it works ok with xp.
I have tried loading eyeball.chat so as to contact family but keep getting
"system error timed out" although the preview video works fine. I have a dsl
connection through a router and have opened ports as advised and even turned
off the inbuilt firewall in the router but still get no joy. I also did a
registry patch supplied by eyeball but zilch.
Is there something I am missing or that I should be looking for? Any advice
appreciated. tia.
Stuart.