5 Versions of Windows Movie Maker Running On Windows 7

Windows Live Movie Maker and Movie Maker 2.6 are downloadable packages from Microsoft. MM1, MM2.1 and MM6 are installed as part of the XP or Vista operating systems.

For this round of tests I downloaded and installed Windows Live Movie Maker and MM2.6. For the others, I copied the Movie Maker folders, subfolders and files from my XP-MCE (Media Center Edition) and Vista Home Basic laptops. They opened and worked to some extent but lacked some features. I then registered the DLLs which shifted them into higher gears. I could import files, make projects and save or publish movies.

I didn't experience any crashes during this part of the checking. Starting with a clean slate in Windows 7, I ended with five installed and working versions of Windows Movie Maker. Let's look at each in a little more depth.

This one is the future of Windows Movie Maker. It's intended for Vista and Windows 7 users. See this article and series for more info.

Windows Live Movie Maker

Many Vista users had issues with Movie Maker because of their graphics card. To help them, Microsoft stripped down version 2.1, the flagship latest version of Movie Maker in XP, and produced version 2.6. It's a free download from Microsoft and the installation works in Windows 7 in addition to Vista. Here's the link to get it.

Movie Maker 2.6

Some users may be too young to remember this first version of Movie Maker, one without special effects and transitions. It was included in Windows Me and the first release of XP.

It's not available as a download, but you can take a thumb drive to one of your computers with an earlier XP system, go to the Movie Maker program folder and copy these 4 files to a folder of your choice in Windows 7.

• moviemk.exe (I rename it to moviemk1.exe so it doesn't conflict with the MM2 version file with the same name.
• 3 DLLs: wmmfilt.dll, wmmres.dll, and wmmutil.dll. Only the wmmfilt.dll needs to be registered.

It'll work but not handle video clips until you register wmmfilt.dll.

I'll skip over MM2.0 in XP and go to the version MM2.1 released for XP in 2004. It's the latest version for that system and one that supports all kinds of 3rd party and user tweaks of effects, transitions and title overlays.

Take your thumb drive to your computer running XP SP2 or later, go to the Movie Maker program folder and copy it with its sub-folders. Then put it in a folder of your choice in Windows 7.

It'll work but as with MM1 not have all features unless you register some DLLs: wmm2ae.dll, wmm2dvr.dll (if you have it), wmm2ext.dll, wmm2filt.dll, wmm2fxa.dll, and wmm2fxb.dll.

Movie Maker 6.0 is the version of Movie Maker in all versions of Vista. I copied the folder with it's sub-folders from my Vista Home Basic laptop.

For this version, you should register wmm2ae.dll, wmm2clip.dll, wmm2ext.dll, and wmm2filt.dll.

Registering DLLs in Windows 7 can get a bit tricky as you need admin privileges.... if you're not confident in what you're doing, seek help. I'm still studying the process.

Yes, you can have these versions of Movie Maker working in Windows 7... but will they work without conflicting with each other or other software? Will all the features really work?

We'll see. I'm continuing to the next level of depth as I explore and learn about making movies in the Windows 7 environment... with Microsoft software.

I have yet to experience a hang or crash with any of the versions of Movie Maker running on it.... and I've been reading positive things from others checking this new system.