Typical uninstall procedure for any program is Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs. Movie Maker is a little different, depending on which version you have. Version 2.1 (which is the latest before VISTA releases) is bundled as part of the operating system update from Microsoft called "Service Pack 2 (SP2)", or "Service Pack 3 (SP3)". To uninstall 2.1, do the above steps, and be sure to check the box "show updates" found at the top of the Add or Remove Programs screen.

To install 2.1 click on this link...Windows XP SP3. The SP3 download can "not take" or effectively fail to update the WMM version. This can certainly be a cause for the issues you are having. Here's how I would go about the process:

1. Close out WMM
2. Run adware/spyware and anti virus software
3. Defrag computer
4. Log out and shut down computer
5. Unplug system from the wall outlet for 30 min.
6. Plug back in
7. Boot up system
8. Temporarily disable virus protection and firewall
9. Download the SP3 Service Pack
10. Open WMM > Help> About > see line 4 ---->should read 2.1
11. Test WMM for your issue

To install 2.0... Downloads.com
NOTE: Before you install version 2.0, you NEED to know what version of Movie Maker is currently on your system!
DO NOT install version 2.0 overtop of version 2.1!
It will cause issues with the files necessary for Movie Maker to run properly.
To check your version of Movie Maker:
Open Movie Maker > Click 'Help' > Click 'About' > See line 4.
If line 4 reads Version 2.1.xx, DO NOT install version 2.0.

First, create a System Restore point by clicking on "Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore" and selecting "Create a restore point" in the pop-up window. Click "Next" and complete the rest of the steps in this wizard to create a restore point. Make a note of the date and time you did this. (you need to know this in case the System Restore doesn't work and you want to go back to your curent configuration).

Once you have successfully created a restore point, click on "Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore" again. This time select "Restore my computer to an earlier time" in the pop-up window. Click "Next" and then select a date just before when you started having the problem. Click "Next" and complete the rest of the steps in this wizard to complete the system restore. If you're not sure of the date when you started having this problem, select a date and try it. If you still have the problem, repeat this procedure but this time select an earlier date.

Finally, if the system restore to an earlier date doesn't fix the problem and you want to go back to the computer configuration before you started, repeat step 2 but this time select the date and time you noted for the restore point you created in step 1. Complete the steps in the rest of the wizard and you'll be back to that original configuration.

For version checking...Open WMM > Help > About -->See line 4 for 2.x versions, and line 2 for 1.x versions. It is not "5.1". This number relates to the OS build.

Sherlock-Codec-Detective is a simple, free utility to check codecs on your system.

The best thing to remember when making a project....make a folder for each project...put all of your files for that project in that folder...then if you want to change machines....you just move an entire copy of that folder over to the new machine....under the same Drive path... and you will be able to see all of your files in the project.

1. Open "My Computer", right click on the C drive icon, choose "Properties".
2. When that loads, click on the "Tools" tab, then click on the "Check Now" button in the "Error Checking" section.
3. When that little window loads, place a CHECK in BOTH boxes, then click on "Start Now".
4. A message will pop up saying that Error Checking will run after you restart the computer, so......Restart the computer.

Error Checking will run automatically after the restart and it locks you out from doing anything until it's finished. It takes a little time to perform the task but after it's finished, it will restart into Windows automatically.

GSpot and PapaJohn #68.

There are many places you can research this as a lot of it depends on how you intend on publishing/sharing your movie. Some places to start are:

• The Doctor's Site...Doc will take you into the numbers of it as opposed to the "high quality large", "best for my computer" type of tags you find in Movie Maker.
• PapaJohn #95
• At PapaJohn's site, > Save Movie > Custom WMV...he has links to custom save profiles that he has created using the Windows Profile Editor (which is part of the Windows Media Encoder 9 Series download). Freely shared, with info on how and where to install.
• For best quality retainage, capture as DV-AVI, edit and save as DV-AVI. File sizes will be huge as this format is uncompressed.
• Use this process if heading toward DVD production - Skier-Hughes site.

Under section 3, "Finish Movie" > "Save to my computer" > save wizard opens > click "Show More Choices" > Tic "Other choices" > use the down arrow or scroll.

Several different ways to do this depending on what you are trying to capture - pictures or video.

1. Windows function: for picture of what is on your screen:
   • Press and hold "Ctrl + Print Screen"
   • Open any photo editing program (like Paint)
   • Press and hold "Ctrl + V"
   • Edit and save - the image file will be saved to your "My pictures" folder by default.
2. In Movie Maker: Snapshot feature/icon located below the preview pane. Tip: do your snapshot from a collection area preview. It is at a better resolution than by doing the snapshot from a timeline preview.
3. SnagIt ($)
4. Video : Fraps
5. Video : Windows Media Encoder Series 9 - for tutorial : PapaJohn #43 & WME 9 Series step guide
6. The old way ---> involves a camcorder and a tripod.

iTunes uses a proprietary file format and (as is the case with most audio) is protected with DRM (Digital Rights Management). To get audio to import, it must be converted and free of the DRM.

Here is a detailed guide specific to WMP10 - the process is dependent on what "view mode" you are currently using:

If you have the menu bar hidden (meaning you don't see "Tools" in a menu bar above the WMP tabs), then:

• Download your iTunes file to your computer.
• Burn the songs to an *audio* CD using the iTunes software.
• Open WMP and click "Rip" from the WMP interface. You will see the tracks you burned to your audio CD in the pane as long as you have that CD in your drive.
• In the upper right hand corner of WMP you will see a "down arrow"... click on it to access application menus. Go to "Tools > Options... > Rip Music" tab.
• Under "Rip settings", make sure the "Copy protect music" box is unchecked. If you don't do this...the DRM will be reapplied to the audio track, and won't import to WMM.
• Select your audio format. (I use Windows Media Audio Lossless). Try to avoid using mp3 file formats...these can randomly cause problems with Movie Maker.
• Complete the ripping back to your harddrive.
• The newly created audio file will be found in your "My Music" folder.

If you have "Show Menu Bar" selected and you see "Tools" then:

• Burn an *audio* CD of the music
• Open WMP and "Rip" the audio track from the audio CD back to your hard drive. When doing this, go to "Tools> Options > Rip Music" tab. Under "Rip settings", uncheck the "Copy protect music" box. If you don't do this...the DRM will be reapplied to the audio track, and won't import to WMM. Save as file type "Windows Media Audio Lossless".
• Open WMM > Import new audio track.

PapaJohn uses a shortcut eliminating the disc burn process. For info...See PapaJohn's site > Import Movie Source Files > Music and Audio.

Instructions are found in the help files of these utilities. As we all know, help files don't always help us depending on our own knowledge level. Given that, below are step by step guides for Windows Media Encoder 9 Series and ErightSoft's SUPER © Converter. Links are provided for download.

Windows Media Encoder Series 9

Step By Step instructions for Windows Media Encoder...
Note: you'll notice at step 11 there is an 11 A)=audio and 11 V)=video.


SUPER © (aka superconverter) - You'll have to navigate a page or two to find the link as the site prohibits direct linking to it.

To use SUPER © video tutorial...Click here

Step-by-step instructions for SUPER © MediaConverter (Online Service)

Or you can download the standalone converter (SA Edition)... Click here. *Note in the requirements section, it does not indicate if Vista is supported.

To use the service, you have two options (both options have a file size limitation of 50MB). You can: What are the advantages, if you choose to sign up? For the purposes of this guide, I assumed you plan to register an account.

Step-by-step instructions for Media Converter
Here are samples of the conversion results:


*The samples are not a true representation of the quality you will get with your files. The samples have gone thru additional conversion processes for display purposes and consequently incurred generational losses with each conversion.

Keepvid
Vdnloader
videodl (beta)
cinemaFORGE

There are others available too. You may need to then use a converter to be able to import into Movie Maker. If the source file is an MPEG2 file, see the item below entitled "Use MPEG2 Source Files In Movie Maker - Files From the Internet, Camcorder Capture or DVR-MS".

DV-AVI is a very good choice for retaining quality all the way through to the DVD. Obviously the DVD process turns whatever you give it into MPEG2, but you want to give it as much quality as possible to work with. Some people have noticed audio problems (pops, clicks) when saving to DV-AVI, but these same audio issues don't seem to be as noticeable in WMV files. However, WMV compresses more and results in softer video. If you notice these audio problems, switch to WMV instead. Your next question is, "Can you workaround the softer look to the video in WMV?" and the answer to that is "yes". PapaJohn has some custom WMV profiles that you can use when going to DVD. See PapaJohn's site > Saving Movie > Custom WMV Profiles. Look for the ones entitled 'Heading to DVD'. Of course, this presumes your DVD authoring software will accept WMV files... most recent versions will, but older versions may not. If your DVD software is older, ignore everything I said about WMV and just stick with DV-AVI. If you don't notice audio problems, you can also stick with DV-AVI.

Importing video files from DVDs, SVCDs and VCDs is a common need.

• DVDs - the video and audio are in MPEG2 files (the VOB files on the disc).
• SVCDs - these discs also use MPEG2 files. The ripping/conversion is similar to that of DVDs. Look for files on the disc with names like AVSEQ01.MPG.
• VCDs - these use MPEG1 files that you can import directly into Movie Maker. Copy the DAT file(s) from the MPEGAV folder on the disc to your hard drive, rename them from a DAT extension to MPG, and import them into Movie Maker.

For more info, see PapaJohn #19, PapaJohn #53 and the "Use MPEG2 Source Files In Movie Maker - Files From the Internet, Camcorder Capture or DVR-MS" item below.

There is more than one way to connect your digital camcorder to your PC but the best, by far, is to use a firewire cable. This cable is also known as a IEEE1394 cable or an iLink cable. If your camera has a IEEE port on it then this is the direction you should go as it will give you the best possible results and is the only way you can save captured video as DV-AVI. If your camera connects only via RCA cables, then you need another device between the camera and the computer to convert the analog to digital such as a digital camera that has digital pass-through capabilities or a Dazzle 80 or 90, which connects to your camera via RCA cables and to the computer via USB. For analog capture, see PapaJohn's site > Analog Video Capture.

Also, see Video Tutorial #5 on this website.

While not a step by step answer, this post from the forum should tell you what you really need to know first: Secret to converting VHS and Hi-8 to Digital format post

This may be a little closer to a step guide (depending on your hardware):
From a forum poster...
From Analog Camera to Computer
Under step #2, item #3 is how I connected my analog camcorder and was able get to get the sound. Overall quality was decent. My T.V. Tuner / capture device has all 3 RCA jacks but, the 2 audio (red & white) jacks don't provide the sound. I had to use the RCA Y-jack like the pics show.

When your source file is an MPEG2 file, you have two options:

• convert the file to a compatible MM file format (see PapaJohn's #50 or the "Troubleshooting Toolbox" item on my "Toolbox" page for a list of converters (including a number of free ones) and the "Use a Given Converter" item above for a set of step-by-step instructions for some of the converters) or
• download and install a MPEG2 decoder.

Converting your source files to a compatible format still seems to be the best option for most users. However, if your camcorder only supports MPEG2 capture or you have a large number of MPEG2 files you wish to import into Movie Maker, then you might want to consider the latter option. I believe it is only for the more adventurous and experienced user and this article by "HitTheBongo" is a must read before considering it. If you try this option, I would also advise that you experiment with a few clips to see if it behaves as you would expect. You may encounter issues, and if you do, simply uninstall the codecs and proceed with source file conversion.

DivX and Xvid encoded file types are not supported by Movie Maker. These file types need to be converted to .wmv or re-encoded to .avi using a compatible codec before importing to Movie Maker. Codecs 'friendly' to Movie Maker can be found on PapaJohn's Site > Import Source Movie Files > Video > Video Codecs. There are a list of converters under the "Troubleshooting Toolbox" item on my "Toolbox" page .

You can get many custom xml's that have already been created by going to this forum post.

This example is for a widescreen effect:

Step 1: Create a folder called C:\Program Files\Movie Maker\Shared\AddOnTFX (if it doesn't already exist).

Step 2: Copy and paste instructions:

1. Locate the xml code you want to add
2. Place your cursor to the left of the code text at the beginning of the code > left click and hold, drag the cursor down to highlight the text of the code
3. Release the left click
4. Move your cursor over top of the highlighted code and right click it > select 'copy' from the popup menu
5. Open up NOTEPAD (Start > All Programs > Accessories > Notepad) and right click on the blank page of Notepad > select 'paste' > the xml code should now display.
6. Click 'File' > Click 'Save as' > type in letterboxmask.xml -NOT- letterbox.xml.txt (The .xml extension is important.)
7. In the box below that reads: 'Save as type': click the down arrow and select 'All Files'
8. In the next box below that reads: 'Encoding': confirm that it reads 'ANSI' > click 'Save'
9. Confirm the file has .xml extension by turning off the "hide extensions of known file types" from Explorer > Tools > Folder options > View.

Use this xml code for a widescreen effect:


Step 3: Restart Windows Movie Maker.

Step 4: Now when you want to use the letterbox masks, you do it as a 'title'. Go to "Tools > Titles and Credits". Choose to place the title on the selected clip. Click on 'change animation type'. Scroll down to the Two-line titles and find Letterbox mask. Pick that.

Step 5: You should see the title appear on the 'Title Overlay' track. If you can't see it, scroll down below your video and audio tracks. The rectangle will probably need to be stretched so it covers the length of your video, for as long as you want the letterbox mask to appear.

There is a good tutorial at PapaJohn's site > Edit Movies > Persian Section.

The easiest way is to use Trugga's Logo Locator. You can research the method here.

You can get a custom XML, click here, Scroll down to the "M" section. See "My Logo".

Here, scroll down to the "W" section. See "Wide Screen Title".

See a step-by-step example under the "Create and Save a XML File" item above.

Bluescreen, greenscreen and Comp A add B are effects (transitions in WMM). Bluescreen and Greenscreen ignore a color of one clip, and overlay the rest onto another clip. So if I had a clip with a blue background and used bluescreen with another clip, the parts of the clip that are not blue will overlay on top of the other clip. Greenscreen ignores the green and Comp A add B ignores the black background colors of a clip.

'Comp A add B' is a compositing function. If you have two images (or two frames of video) and they are combined with 'Comp A add B', the pixels from image/video B are added to those on image/video A.

In layman's terms, the pixel values are added. So any areas that are black in the second frame don't affect the original pixels at all. And any that have some positive value are *added*.

This isn't the same as Chroma keying with black. In that case, black is transparent and the other pixels *replace* the original video. In Comp A add B they get added. It works well for explosions and certain overlays where you want part of the background to show through. But for some looks it isn't correct. For example, if you want to overlay a person or other item, they will sort of look "ghosty".

Rehan's Split Video Package.

Rehan's PIPPlus and Static Transitions, ($8.00) and PapaJohn #5.

• Rehan's Custom Titles and Credits
• The Doctor's Custom Titles > Custom Titles 1, 2 and 3
• Hitthebongo's Video Fx

First open the 'Video Transitions' view and right-click the transition you want. Choose 'Copy'. Now select all your pictures on the timeline (Ctrl+A for all, or click the first and shift-click the last). Next right-click and choose 'Paste'. This also works for effects.

Rehan's Pan and Zoom
* Better control of this feature within a picture can be done in Photo Story 3, a free download from Microsoft.

Rehan's Setting Exact Duration

PapaJohn #37 and PapaJohn #36.

Let me give you a few links first:

• Blending 2 clips...see Forum #22413
• Compositing 2 clips...Forum #27292
• Bluescreening 2 clips...see Forum #28587

Here's my caveat/introduction to the whole issue of overlaying in Windows Movie Maker. WMM has a single video track so anything we are doing with overlays is a "trick" to fool WMM into dealing with 2 video streams.

If you think about WMM, the only time it deals with 2 videos simultaneously is during a transition. For example, when we fade from one clip to the other, you see one fading out as the other is fading in -- two videos appear at once, but each one faded to different degrees. So all the overlaying that is discussed in these forums is done as a transition.

To create an "overlay" you place your two clips on the timeline (one after the other), place a custom transition between the two, then drag the clips so they almost completely overlap. The transition will define how the two clips interact at the points where they are overlapped. Note: I said "almost" because WMM won't let you drag two clips so they completely overlap. If you try, you'll find that instead they switch positions and the transition disappears.

The most basic overlay would be one where you have a blend between the two. Again, think of the fade transition at a certain point. The specified point defines how much of one video displays compared to another. Thus you might have a 20% translucency, a 50% translucency or an 80% translucency depending on what you need. (forum post #17568)

The next step up would be a 'Compositing' overlay. In these forums you'll see reference to the 'Comp A add B' which means take the original A clip, and add the pixels in the B clip. In layman's terms, the pixel values are added. So any areas that are black in the second frame don't affect the original pixels at all. And any that have some positive value are *added*. This is great for adding an explosion or some other similar clip.

The final would be 'Bluescreening' overlay. This is where the "blue" pixels in one video clip are turned transparent and this is overlaid on the other clip.

Using a free video editor called VDub, we can:

1. Open the video using V-Dub (you may have to convert first).
2. Video > Filters > Add Filter > Null Transform > OK > Cropping > Crop to your liking > OK > OK
3. Now Save as to save it back to avi.

To split a video or audio clip:

1. In the Contents pane or on the storyboard/timeline, click the clip you want to split.
2. On the Play menu, click Play Clip, and then click Pause Clip on the Play menu to pause the video at the point you want to split the clip.

-or-

1. On the monitor, move the playback indicator on the seek bar to the point you want to split the clip.
2. On the Clip menu, click Split.

Also, see Video Tutorial #8 on this website.

Step-by-step instructions from the WMM 2.1 Help file are as follows:

1. On the View menu, click Timeline.
2. In the Collections pane, click the collection that contains the clip you want to add, and then click the clip you want to trim in the Contents pane.
3. On the Clip menu, click Add to Timeline.
4. On the timeline, select the clip you want to trim.
5. On the timeline, click the playback indicator and drag it to the point where you want to trim the clip.
   -or-
   Use the playback controls on the monitor to go to the point where you want to trim the clip.
6. Do the following:
   • When the playback indicator is at the point where you want the selected video or audio clip to start playing back, on the Clip menu, click Set Start Trim Point.
   • When the playback indicator is at the point where you want the selected video or audio clip to stop playing back, on the Clip menu, click Set End Trim Point.

Note: You can also drag the trim handles to set the start and end trim points. The trim handles appear when the clip is selected on the timeline; they appear as black triangles on the left and right sides of the box edges.

Also, see Video Tutorial #9 on this website.

Essentially, here's the process within Movie Maker:

Save the audio first:

1. Open your project and drag it to the "audio" track... not audio/music.
2. Save the audio as "masteraudio", to your computer.

Video save:

Note: The process below is detailed for a .mswmm project file. If you attempt to use a rendered file (a clip already saved), at step two, the choice of delete will also result in the deletion of the video because the audio is embedded with the video.

1. Open a new project > Import your master project file (the one that won't save)
2. Right click on the audio > select delete
3. Try to save just the video as DV-AVI and give it a name like "masternoaudio"

--->IF it does save, then reimport that "masternoaudio" clip back into WMM add your audio (masteraudio) back in and retry saving.
--->If it doesn't save, then the next step would be to split the video in half.

1. Same as above
2. Same as above
3. Pick a spot halfway thru the video and note the EXACT spot where you will split the video in half. (Write it down)
4. Use the "split" icon located under the preview pane. You will now see your movie intact, but in two pieces. Right click on the right half and select delete. Now you only have the first half showing.
5. Save the first half as DV-AVI, and give it a name you'll recognize later like "masterclip1"
6. Repeat the above process. This time through, right click on the first half so all you are left with showing is the second half of your video showing.
7. Save it as DV-AVI and name it as "masterclip2"

If you are able to get the segments to save...

• Then open a new project > Reimport the two clips back into WMM (masterclip1 and masterclip2)
• Reimport the audio track (if you saved it)
• Drag the clips back to the timeline and reassemble the project (you can try to add the audio track back in as well here)
• Retry to save as one movie.

This process will save your cpu from being overly taxed as it has already handled the individual segments with all the pics/trans/effects already. If it fails to save, you may need to split up your project even further.

To remove large sections of unwanted video...use double split video method outlined below:
To split with precision: it's a one split procedure, followed by two trims.

This is not a task for a beginner. You should read this forum thread, for details. Knowledge of XML, use of PIPPlus from Rehan's Site, and even VDub, are required depending on method.

Try this method...it's here: 'HittheBongo's Method'
See the full thread here: Forum post #115990.

This effect is done by using a program called LSMaker. You should read this forum thread for all the details... Star Wars thread.

If you just want to do a title, the built in "Scroll; Perspective" is the one you want.

This is an easy one...once you have imported your clip, instead of dragging it to the "timeline...drag it to the "Audio/Music" track and save out. As a note...this can be done outside of Movie Maker by using RAD Video Tools.

Straight from the Movie Maker Help file:

Windows Movie Maker lets you work with audio in a variety of ways. Some of the different audio-related tasks you can perform in Windows Movie Maker include the following:

• Narrate the timeline. Add an audio narration to narrate the video clips or pictures that appear on the Video track of the timeline. Your audio narration is automatically synchronized with the video, so the narration describes the action or event in your movie as it plays back.
• Adjust audio levels. Adjust the audio levels so you can determine the audio balance and playback when you have audio that appears on the Audio and Audio/Music tracks on the timeline.
• Add audio effects.
• Add different audio effects such as a fade in, fade out, or mute.
• Adjust the volume of audio clips.
• Adjust the volume of audio for audio-only clips or the audio portion of a video clip. This lets you adjust the volume of the audio for clips so that it can be clearly heard or not heard, depending the volume level you specify for the audio clip.

This process is done by using the Windows Media Editor. It is part of the Windows Media Encoder Series 9 download.

Check this out for creating custom profiles...Microsoft's Tutorial.

See PapaJohn's site > Save Movies > Custom WMV for custom profiles he has already created and is sharing.

By design the preview pane in Movie Maker runs at 15 fps in order to provide a more "real time" preview of your movie, This is true even when you step through your movie frame by frame. If you need to trim off or examine a single frame, this limitation makes it hard to do. A workaround to allow you to view each frame in the preview pane is to:

1. Apply the "Slow Down, Half" effect, which effectively turns a 1 second of 30 fps video into 2 seconds of 15 fps video.
2. Do your frame stepping and editing.
3. Remove the "Slow Down, Half" effect.

From Microsoft : Add Narration

Also, see Video Tutorial #15 on this website.

You can set the time interval that MM will do an autosave of your project. Here are the steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the General tab.
2. Select the 'Save AutoRecover info every' check box.
3. In the minutes box, specify how often you want Windows Movie Maker to automatically save your project and collections file.

If you do need to re-open a project, you will have a smaller amount of edits to re-add if you shorten the time for autosave recovery.

Try this program: Stop Motionmaker