Soke coming out of the top of my camera

It is going to need professional service. Fixing cameras is very specialized.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Easyshare+v603+camera+flash+not+working

..

On some cameras this means a slow shutter speed and that the picture may come out blurry because there's not enough available light for a faster shutter speed to get an acceptably sharp picture.

Not seeing the pictures I have to guess. If the shade you mention is not like a straight line, but more rounded, try making the picture without the lens hood. Or use a external flash, when you use another than the standard lens. I don't think you can take a picture in manual, with a shutter speed above 1/250 second, because in such case the top or bottom part could become shaded then, but then the shade is in a straight line from left to right.

I have the Canon Rebel t1i (500d) and I had the same problem (built in flash not working). I tried a number of remedies I found on forums etc but none worked. I then tried this with the camera pointing away from me as if taking a picture. In the external flash housing is a metal sprung plate which surrounds the five circular pins (one big, four small at the rear). If you get a small straight headed screwdriver and lift the front of this plate and at the same time pull it back towards you it will come out altogether. (In picture 2 I show this plate removed and sitting in front of the mount only so you can see it removed, it was brought out backwards so towards me from the camera).
I then removed the four small screws being careful not to drop them and took off the mount for the external flash and then tried the flash it opened straight away. I then cleaned all the area of the mount and the two plates and replaced them all ensuring I fitted them exactly as before. I then checked the camera again and presto working fine. I hope this helps everyone with the problem.
I hope this remedy works it did for me.

Does the camera have a reset botton should be a small hole with reset written by it try there first.

If the Forced flash setting is already enabled and the flash is still not working, then the issue may be due to another camera setting. Even if the Forced flash setting is enabled, the flash will still not work in the following circumstances: When shooting MPEG movies When shooting in the Twilight or Handheld Twilight mode If shooting with the Burst or Multi Burst mode If an external flash is connected. Please make sure that the Camera is not set to any of these modes. You can check the manual to get the information to change the setting..
If the issue persists, please reset the Camera and make sure that battery is fully charged. If the issue persists after performing all the above mentioned troubleshooting steps, service is required. If you feel that the above Troubleshooting steps, helped you. please rate my answer positively. Thanks for understanding.

I have the Canon Rebel t1i (500d) and I had the same problem (built in flash not working). I tried a number of remedies I found on forums etc but none worked. I then tried this with the camera pointing away from me as if taking a picture. In the external flash housing is a metal sprung plate which surrounds the five circular pins (one big, four small at the rear). If you get a small straight headed screwdriver and lift the front of this plate and at the same time pull it back towards you it will come out altogether. (In picture 2 I show this plate removed and sitting in front of the mount only so you can see it removed, it was brought out backwards so towards me from the camera).
I then removed the four small screws being careful not to drop them and took off the mount for the external flash and then tried the flash it opened straight away. I then cleaned all the area of the mount and the two plates and replaced them all ensuring I fitted them exactly as before. I then checked the camera again and presto working fine. I hope this helps everyone with the problem.

My D60 flash problem was that the flash would pop up, but would not flash. The release lever would keep "clicking"...it did no know that the flash was up. Since I was told that the min cost of sending it to Nikon for repair was $250, I downloaded a repair/service manual for the D60 from http://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/9029672-nikon-d60-service-repair-manual ($8.99)
This manual gives a step by step assembly and disassembly of the camera.

I actually lucked up and fixed my problem...

Problem Descripton/Solution (short version):
There was a tiny plastic collar at the flash hinge that got pushed back into the camera. This collar served to close a couple of contacts. I stuck a home made wire/double hook tool into the hinge clearance hole and pulled the collar out and snapped it back into place.

Problem Description/Solution (LONG version)

WARNINGS (based on experience)
1. Yes, the flash will still shock the **** out of you..even with the battery out. You will smell burnt hair/flesh.
2. Be careful of the tiny contact leaf springs. They are hard to bend back into the correct position.
3. The #00 screws are easy to strip out. Apply firm pressure, turn slowly, and make sure screw driver is aligned properly.
4. Proceed at own risk (to camera). Make sure your warranty really has run out. There are many ways to make things worse. You can back out now and buy an external flash.

All I had to take apart however was the top cover of the flash (two tiny screws on underside of the flash #00 philips head). I found that there are two tiny copper or gold "leaf spring" contacts that have to close to send a signal that the flash is up. These are located at the hinge where the flash wiring runs into a clearance hole into the camera (hole is a center of rotation of the flash). There is a small plasitc collar that fits into this clearance hole from inside the flash/camera base and through the flash housing at the pivot point and snaps into place via 2 plastic hooks or tabs (download/see repair manual). This collar serves to secure the flash housing to the base but also has a tiny pin sticking out that catches one of the contact leaf springs and closes the circuit. The problem is that this collar got knocked out of place and pushed back into the camera. I made a home made wire/double hook tool out of 22 gauge wire (see attached picture) and worked it into the clearance hole by pinching the hooks together and working it in. Go in above the flash wires (top of hole) since the wire path goes downward into the camera. With some work and luck I was able to hook the edge of the collar and pull it back out and snap it back in place.

I then put the flash cover back on and everything still seems to work.

My Hook Tool....
.

Really? the best solution available is to take the top of your camera off?
i don't think so.
Here's a very simple solution I found to get the flash to pop up without destroying your camera.
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1031&message=31993875
the person suggests using a fingernail. (s)he must have long fingernails. I had to use a piece of paper folded in half. Swipe the paper from back to front, as in, from the eyepiece side towards the lens side.
Here's a picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dougpardee/133066175/
good luck

In all of modes you can use "up" key to toggle between "always on", "auto"  and "off" mode for flash. (in some mode there is only auto and off.) also the flash light icon on top right of screen shows th status of flash. I hope this helps...