Windows 7 forum: Extreme frustration with "device not recognised"

I'm getting extremely frustrated with this. I've had a webcam/mic for a year which is currently my only source of contact with my girlfriend whos currently abroad on study for the year. The cam I use is called iLuv and I no longer have the disc (was a friends who installed it for me).

Now, I've never experienced a single problem except one morning I go to plug it in and it says device not recognised. It signifies that a driver might be corrupt, and that it cannot find the right drivers for it. I tried every option I could find online but to no avail. Now, I just had my computer wiped and windows 7 reinstalled (for a multitude of reasons) and my cam was working again, great! It found the device, ID'ed exactly what it was with make and model name, and go it working for me almost immediately. Then Windows updates in the night (and restarts because I wasn't awake to postpone it, cutting off a skype call I'd left running) and then what do you know, now it all of a sudden doesn't recognise the device. Can't ID it, can't find relevant drivers, and windows advice is "if you cannot repair, then replace the device" - no windows, thats obviously not a solution!

I'm at my wits end with this, I cannot afford any more equipment and just want this webcame to work which I KNOW it does and I KNOW its compatible with my computer because it was working 5 hours ago, and should already have the drivers. But nope.

And yes, I know I can take my laptop battery out and that fixed it but only temporarily - next shutdown/update/unplug and its all of a sudden some mysterious unrecognisable USB device again, which is nonsense because it found it perfecty fine earlier on.

Any aid would be really appreciated. The cam make is iLuv although I'm not certain of the model, and I'm running Windows 7 on a Toshiba Satellite c-660-119. Thanks.