Flash doesn't work and camera won't take picture unless flash disabled

Here are some simple things to try first for a camera that won't take a picture when the shutter button is pressed, or with an inoperative flash. They won't work for every case, but they're worth a try. (Hint, make sure that all the screws around the perimeter of the case are present and firmly seated.)

You can open the lens for exposure by aiming the camera at your subject and pressing the shutter button halfway before you take your picture. This also triggers autofocus based on your camera settings. After this, you can aim your camera more precisely and press the button all the way to take a photo.

NORMALLY YOU HAVE TO PRESS THE SHUTTER BUTTON DOWN HALFWAY, & WAIT FOR A GREEN LIGHT TO LIGHT, THEN PRESS THE SHUTTER BUTTON ALL THE WAY DOWN. THIS STEP SETS THE AUTO FOCUS ON THE CAMERA.

The blinking red light means that the flash is charging. All compact digital cameras have a delay when the shutter release button is pressed. Press it halfway down to autofocus, then all the way down when you are ready to take a picture.

Am unfamiliar with an IXUS 9015, but I think you really mean IXUS 90 IS? If so, the camera is known in the United States as the SD790 IS. You may download the manual directly from Canon at the following link:

http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/0300000871/PSSD790IS_IXUS90IS_CUG_EN.pdf

The answer to your question can be found at...

This website

All but the very best flashes can not recycle atthat flash rate. For burst mode, you probably want to use focus modeAF-C or AF-A.
Morris

Page 73 in the manual; If the flash fires in L or H mode (pg. 65), only one picture will be taken each time the
shutter-release button is pressed. The shutterrelease may be briefly disabled to protect the flash after it has beenused for several consecutive shots. The flash can be used again after ashort pause.
The flash can take several seconds to recharge andduring that time the shutter is disabled. NR will also reduce thenumber of frames per second that you can take, and of course yourshutter speed has to be fast enough to allow for 4.5 fps.
In AF-S the shutter won’t fire unless the camera has achieved an in-focus state and the focus is locked.
In AF-C the camera continually focuses, but that isnot the same thing as being in focus. As you move the camera or yoursubject moves, the in focus state will come and go, but the camera willattempt to continuously re-focus. BUT, the shutter will fire even ifwhen the AF system has lost the in-focus state and the picture is outof focus.
In the D90 manual it indicates that the AF-A modewill only fire when the green in-focus light is on, just like in AF-S.The problem is that you probably won’t get 4.5 fps unless both thecamera and the subject are stationary and no time is lost between shotswhile the camera re-focuses.
--
Brooks
http://bmiddleton.smugmug.com/

If it is a dislocation of the switch then its a minor fault .... open the screws and try to disassemble the top and refit the shutter button ... its should work properly ... be carefull while opening the camera so that you dont damage the camera.....

An ideea would be pressing the button a little bit harder and a little bit longer.Most of the cameras have that orange light before the flash(that appears when you press harder on the button) to reduce the red-eye effect in the pictures.
If this doesn't work, look carefully in the manual or the settings of your camera and try to find an option that turns on the flash.Also the type of the picture(indoor, sunny, night etc) can automatically disable the flash.
As a last resort, here is the camera's manual

When taking pictures, you must really be allowing time for the camera's flash to be charged
before you could take another picture so that camera will have enough time to rest and it
could function normally.
But if the camera was dropped, then it's really causing those kinds of issues like flash will not work properly.

You could still try these steps below:

First, do the POWER RESET:
- Turn off camera
- Remove batteries for a minute
- Reload batteries
- Turn on camera

Second, do the MASTER RESET
- Be in AUTO mode
- Press on MENU button
- Press on the right button until you see SETUP 2
- Scroll down until you see RESET
- Press the right button to pick up on YES or NO
- Press on OK/MENU button for changes to be saved
- Turn off camera for a few seconds so that settings will be refreshed

Turn it on and take a picture.
When you want to have just the AUTO FLASH.

- Rotate the mode dial to PROGRAM
- Press the LEFT/FLASH button until you've seen the
LIGHTNING icon with the Letter A on the leftmost part of the screen
- Try to take a picture by pressing and holding the shutter button
halfway first for 3-5 seconds and then press it all the way down

When taking pictures, you must really be allowing time for the camera's flash to be charged
before you could take another picture so that camera will have enough time to rest and it
could function normally.
But if the camera was dropped, then it's really causing those kinds of issues like flash will not work properly.

You could still try these steps below:

First, do the POWER RESET:
- Turn off camera
- Remove batteries for a minute
- Reload batteries
- Turn on camera

Second, do the MASTER RESET
- Be in AUTO mode
- Press on MENU button
- Press on the right button until you see SETUP 2
- Scroll down until you see RESET
- Press the right button to pick up on YES or NO
- Press on OK/MENU button for changes to be saved
- Turn off camera for a few seconds so that settings will be refreshed

Turn it on and take a picture.
When you want to have just the AUTO FLASH.

- Rotate the mode dial to PROGRAM
- Press the LEFT/FLASH button until you've seen the
LIGHTNING icon with the Letter A on the leftmost part of the screen
- Try to take a picture by pressing and holding the shutter button
halfway first for 3-5 seconds and then press it all the way down

If it still does not work, you need to contact the Manufacturer.