Car Alarms: 98 camry alarm use, light button, battery place

Question
QUESTION: I just replaced the battery in my 98 V6 Camry. I bought the car used and never really figured out how to use/arm/disarm the alarm system. (i figured it didn't really have one because all it has is a small indicator light/button that can be pushed in or out, which never seemed to work).  to my alarm, ha, i found out while the battery was being replaced that there was one and it did indeed work, in fact, the battery place employees replacing the battery had a bit of a time trying to arm and disarm it themselves.  one of them briefly showed me  to turn key to point just before starting car in "on" position, then push alarm button in or out. i can't figure out whether this arms it or disarms and i am really unfamiliar with the system and don't want to go through what happend when the battery was replaced. i don't have the manual.  do you know the basic instructions for arming and disarming the alarm for this one?   much thanks.
ANSWER: ok, sounds like a code alarm or
an Omega alarm style system:

Do this:

Put the key in the ignition, and turn forward
all the way just before cranking. Then within
5 seconds, press and hold in the valet/overide
button-LED (the blinking light) until the siren
chirps, and the LED stays on solid,
and the siren chirps once. This disarms the alarm.
The same applies to return it to armable mode,
but you then will get 2 chirps.

That should work.
Let's see if it applies.

ALARMTEK

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thanks.  i tried that. no chirps happend. also, it is a button that is either 'in' or 'out' and it only lights up when pushed 'in'. but, this is how it was DISARMED when i had my new battery installed. so, kind of confused, i am wondering just how do i know when it is armed or disarmed since there is only one way to make the light light up, and would i have to actually get in the car and do an action with the key everytime or would there be any other way such as key in the door or something?  thanks again

Answer
No, the best answer to your benefit is to actually
replace the system with one you know how to operate,
and will protect the car. At this rate, you could
get stranded somewhere with no recourse.

Not good. And it's not hard to replace an alarm
in this car, so my advice here is to not second
guess or, hope for the best with an unknown device.

Get a decent alarm with 2 remotes and keyless entry
for around 70.00, and you will be better off then trying
to figure this one out.

Wish I had better news, but it's an unknown entity at
this point. Hard to simply guess at what it does.

I hope this makes sense for you.

ALARMTEK
CARALARMZ.com