A lot of problems can be attributed to file type incompatibility with movie maker up to version 2.1. That is pre Vista.
Vista has had several new features and it is now able to use lots more file types. The problem is that pc's are all different, either with the hardware or software installed, so people are still experiencing these problems with Vista.
Not everyone suffers with the same problems and this can be attributed to computer make up, the different hardware and software installed on what can appear to be very similar machines. So if you suffer from any of the problems below, first try the solutions offered.
Files that will work without problems, or rather should work without problems are;
Video - DV-AVI or WMV
Music/Audio - WAV, WMA or WMV
Stills/Pictures - Bitmap
Files that often cause problems are;
Video - Mpeg, MOV, Mjpeg and divx-avi
Music/Audio - MP3
Stills/Pictures - Jpeg
Problems that you may come across by using incompatible file types can be;
File will not save, error says not enough space, project files may be missing. This can be caused by any non-compatible file type.
Solution - Firstly check everything the error message says, so do you have enough space where it is try to be saved, dv-avi files take up 13gb per hour and you need that again to produce a temporary file. Have you deleted or moved any of the project files - look for red X's in the timeline. If all of those are ok then check the file types you have used and change any of them which aren't of the types listed above.
Video file will not import into video track only into Audio track. This is often the case with Mpeg video files which Movie Maker does not recognise properly. Error message often reads like this "
Could not be imported. An interface has too many methods to fire events from"
Solution - Convert the mpeg file (or other file type) to either dv-avi or wmv then re-import.
Video file will import onto video track but when you play back the file on the timeline or storyboard you only get audio and the preview screen is black. This can happen even if the video file can be seen in the preview window when played back via the collections pane.
Solution - Convert the video file (or other file type) to one of the compatible file types listed above and then re-import.
Video imports ok and the movie edits successfully for a short period and then stops responding. This can be caused by any incompatible file. You may be editing a file which isn't compatible or you may be working on which is, but MM starts to hiccup because it can't work on other files properly.
Solution - Check all file types and convert any which aren't on the list above.
Movie saves ok but doesn't play properly video stops at a still picture while music carries on playing. This can be caused by either still picture or music file incompatibility.
Solution - First check the still picture that it stops on and convert to bitmap if necessary. If this doesn't work, or it stops at another still, convert all stills to bitmap. If this doesn't work, then check music files ensure they are in the above formats.
Movie saves ok but when playing back the music stops playing and the video continues. This is most often a music file problem.
Solution - First check all music files and convert to the above file types. If this isn't successful then check other file types.
Movie Maker says it cannot import the file. This is definitely a file compatibility problem and often is caused by trying to import files such as .MOV, a file of Apple origination.
Solution - Convert the file to one of the ones above.
Don't know what your file type is? AVI is just a container and can contain hundreds of file types, so you could use avicodec or Gspot, both link to here, in order to find out what file type it is.
Free and easy to use file conversion software is linked from the useful programmes page.
Now read this page for more information.
