Windows 7 - Editing with XP's Movie Maker 2.1... but in Windows 7

Written by: PapaJohn • Edited by: Rhonda Callow
Updated May 18, 2011 • Related Guides: Windows 7 | Movie Maker | Windows XP

Movie Maker was introduced in late 2000 as a very basic video editing app, just good enough to nudge me from the analog world to digital, where I've been ever since. Now I see it being dropped from Windows 7. It'll be missed by the communities of Windows XP and Vista users. Where to now?

Can We Add Movie Maker 2.1 to Windows 7?

Certainly the optional download of the new Windows Live Movie Maker will work in Windows 7, and promises to be better in the long run for many users. It was developed from scratch after years of lessons learned under its belt. But it's a slimmed down version with fewer features and there will be many who want to continue with the tried and true features of MM2.1 in XP and MM6 in Vista. Is that possible? We'll see.

Windows 7 teased me. I could copy the Movie Maker folders from XP and Vista, register their DLLs, and run versions MM1, MM2.1, MM2.6 and MM6. Each opened OK but lacked some or most features until their DLLs were registered. That shifted them into higher gears where they worked with enough features to get my hopes up, high enough to write this article and demo its use with an example.

MM2.1 from XP seems to offer the most promise. It's a much more self-contained app than MM6 in Vista. I can use it in Windows 7 to capture DV from my mini-DV camcorder, and create and edit projects using more than the basic sets of custom effects, transitions and title overlays.

After making a project, I can use MM2.1 to save the movie to a wmv or DV-AVI file on the hard drive, or transfer it to my mini-DV camcorder. The files on the hard drive are easy to upload to online hosts such as YouTube, Facebook and Vimeo.

Here's a link to the first project I made completely with MM2.1 running on Windows 7, a 2 minute video of my grandson's last basketball game of the season.

Basketball Game

Which MM2.1 Features Work?

Most features work well. Here's a rundown.

Video clips work fine. You can:

Capture from a mini-DV camcorder with a firewire connection (after a driver is installed... I did it by installing the optional Windows Live suite, which automatically installs the driver when you plug the camcorder in and turn it to the VCR mode).
Preview and split clips in collections.
Drag the ones you want to the storyboard or timeline view of the project.
Split clips on the timeline, and add effects and transitions. The basic and some added ones work but most third party ones don't.
Preview the project... it sometimes pauses by itself, often as the position reaches a transition.
Save the movie to either wmv or DV-AVI format and see all the video clips in it.
Save the movie to a DV camcorder connected by firewire (this works without having first installed the driver for the camcorder).

Still pictures (BMP, JPG, PNG) had major issues at first... I don't know the reason, but they were resolved by downloading and installing MM2.6. Here's what happened before I installed MM2.6:

They imported into collections and previewed fine.
Frame snapshots from video clips in the collection saved as JPG files OK.
You could drag them to the project timeline/storyboard where you think they're fine as the thumbnails show as usual... but
They appeared only as blackness in project previews or saved movies.

In my sample video I was going to use a frame snapshot at the very end, of the ball as it reached the rim of the basket... a freeze-frame with text over it. But when I saw the still picture wouldn't work I split the video clip and applied the slow-down-half effect a couple times and finished it with that instead.

Audio/Music clips sort of work, with quirks but no critical issues:

They import and preview well from the collections.
On the timeline they work but sometimes pause by themselves during a project preview. This may be related to the occasional pauses when the timeline position reaches a transition.
The audio is included in saved movies without problems.

Title Overlays work fine:

The text features and title animations of MM2.1 work as they do in XP.
Custom xml files and overlay images also work well, including moving overlays.

Conclusions

I have no conclusion. At this point, running a copy of XP's Movie Maker 2.1 in Windows 7 beta is mainly an exercise to explore user options in the first Windows operating system since Windows Me that doesn't include a version of Movie Maker. But it sure looks promising.

Vista has MM6 and an optional download of MM2.6, I didn't set out to explore how well MM2.1 runs on Vista, but checked it along the way and found it works about the same as on Windows 7. I'm too cautious about the possibility of causing issues in Vista by adding MM2.1 into the mix. For example, MM2.1, MM2.6 and MM6 all use the same collection database file and you could too easily find yourself in the middle of unwanted complexities. In Windows 7 the MM2.1 and Window Live Movie Maker processes are far enough apart to not conflict. If you add MM2.6 to resolve the image issues with MM2.1, you'll possibly run into issues as they use the same collection database. Be careful

There's the needed permissions to do such a thing as copying part of an earlier version of Windows into Windows 7. I've suggested to Microsoft they offer an optional downloadable MM2.1 package for the community of Movie Maker users, as they did MM2.6 for Vista users.

I hope Windows Live Movie Maker is sufficient for your video making needs. Copying MM2.1 from XP requires you to get over some techie hurdles and shouldn't be done by those without sufficient computer skills.

I have a number of computers and Windows XP with Movie Maker 2.1 is still my primary work place when it comes to Movie Maker projects. If I only had a single computer and was a Windows 7 system, I wouldn't hesitate using MM2.1 on it.

PapaJohn Jan 15, 2012 8:15 AM

RE: Windows 7 - Editing with XP's Movie Maker 2.1... but in Windows 7

Andrea, as the file names and sizes of the DLLs used by MM2.1 and MM2.6 are identical with the exception of wmm2filt.dll.... I'd guess they are identical in functionality and you could probably use either ones, whichever is registered. The differences are probably in the moviemk.exe files which have somewhat different sizes.

Andrea Borman Jan 10, 2012 7:35 PM

Thank's for your reply Papa John. I first copied the Movie Maker program files from programs on my C drive on my Windows XP netbook. Then I pasted them in My Documents on Windows XP. And then I just clicked send to zip folder and it then created a zip file. With the Movie Maker program files inside. Then I used Microsoft Shared View to transfer the zip file over to my Windows 7 laptop. And then I unzipped the file to programs on C drive and created a new folder. And renamed new folder Movie Maker 2.1. I had to do this because I have got Movie Maker 6 and that is also called Movie Maker.And so if I had not created a new folder and renamed it. I would have had 2 program files with the same name Movie Maker. And Windows would have replaced the Movie Maker file that was Movie Maker 6 with just 2.1 only. And I wanted to keep both versions of Movie Maker(both 6 and 2.1.) I now have Movie Maker 2.1 on all of my 4 Windows 7 laptops. And it turned out that I did not need to register the dill files for 2.1.(Although I did with the first laptop.) As it worked right away after I installed it. But I have had to keep Movie Maker 2.6 on my Windows 7 laptops as well. Otherwise I found that 2.1 does not work unless I have 2.6 installed. What do you make of that? I think that Movie Maker 2.1 must depend or be running off of Movie Maker 2.6's program files on Windows 7. Am I right? But still at least I have managed to get 2.1 running in Windows 7,including the webcam feature which works fine. Andrea Borman.

PapaJohn Jan 9, 2012 7:17 PM

I'm with you Andrea... thanks for the comment.

Andrea Borman Jan 7, 2012 4:40 PM

I have managed to successfully install and run Windows Movie Maker 2.1 for Windows XP on one of my Windows 7 laptops. And all of the features are working. The record from the webcam feature is working in Windows Movie Maker 2.1 and everything else is too. How I did it-I copied the Windows Movie Maker 2.1 program files from my Windows XP laptop onto the Windows 7 laptop. Then after reading several tutorials on the web I was able to register the dill files like you did on your Windows 7. Now Movie Maker 2.1 is working on my Windows 7 just like it does on XP. But the only thing is that I have had to keep Movie Maker 2.6 installed on my computer as well.As I found when I uninstalled Movie Maker 2.6 the webcam feature in 2.1 did not work after the uninstall of 2.6. But when I reinstalled 2.6 the webcam feature worked again. So it seems that on Windows 7 you also need to have Movie Maker 2.6 installed to get the full features of Movie Maker 2.1. Because I think Movie Maker 2.1 uses some of the files from 2.6 in order for it to work on Windows 7. A bit like Avant browser uses or runs off of Internet Explorer to work properly. But still, Windows Movie Maker 2.1 is working on Windows 7,including the web cam feature that comes with it. So it can be done. Andrea Borman.

PapaJohn Oct 18, 2011 12:51 AM

Hi Mason.... Microsoft eliminated the collections of previous classic version of Movie Maker. As you add clips to your project in Windows Live Movie Maker they go into a 'quasi-timeline', not the sort of linear timeline you're used to. What you see is what you have... it's a new learning curve to get comfortable with the change.

Mason Storm Oct 17, 2011 8:41 PM

Is there timeline in windows movie maker on windows 7, i cant find it. Anyone???

PapaJohn Sep 9, 2011 2:11 AM

Good Summary Andrea...

I agree with your comments... although I use all versions of Movie Maker on Windows 7, there are 'minor' issues that could be major for other users.

Most of my videos are short and I've been using Windows Live Movie Maker for most of my projects.

Miss. Andrea Borman. Sep 8, 2011 8:46 AM

Re-Movie Maker 2.1 on Windows 7.

Yes,Papa John you are right. It is very doubtful that even if I did manage to get Movie Maker 2.1 installed on Windows 7 that it would run. As Microsoft downloads to programs for other versions of Windows e.g WMP 9 for Windows XP. If you try to download it Windows does not even let you install it. Or even when you can install some other apps from Microsoft for Windows XP on Windows 7,they just won't run.

For Windows XP there is no actual download for Movie Maker 2.1. The Movie Maker download I spoke of in an earlier post was Movie Maker 2.0 which I found on Mediafire. This installed Movie Maker 2.0 on my friends Windows XP computer. Because she wanted to reinstall Movie Maker,because she deleted the original file in the past. And could not find a download for 2.1. But after Movie Maker 2.0 is installed,Windows Update will then update it to the current Movie Maker 2.1 on Windows XP.

But when I tried to install Movie Maker 2.0 on Windows 7,I got a message saying" sorry Movie Maker 2.0 is only for Windows XP". So that did not work on Windows 7 either.

But Movie Maker 2.6 does and also you can run both ,Movie Maker 2.6,the 2.1 clone and also the newer Movie Maker 6 side by side on Windows 7. But I don't like Movie Maker 6 as it is more like Windows Live Movie Maker. So I have only got 2.6 on my Windows 7.
So as you say it is best to stick to 2.6 on Windows 7. Andrea Borman.

But it is a sad fact that much of the software that is on Windows XP,good software has been taken out of Windows 7,leaving a stripped down version of Windows compared to how much software and features Windows XP has got. Andrea Borman.

PapaJohn Sep 8, 2011 3:04 AM

Sorry Andrea...

I said at the end of this article that "Copying MM2.1 from XP requires you to get over some techie hurdles and shouldn't be done by those without sufficient computer skills." Those with the skills will find the task easy.

If you do it with or without help, you'll end up with an app that doesn't have tech support from Microsoft... and myself.

Miss.Andrea Borman. Sep 7, 2011 7:55 AM

Re-portable Windows Movie Maker 2.1-

Thank you Papa John for your reply about Portable Windows Movie Maker 2.1. Portable MM2.1 installs as a zip file. And when I tried it it was exactly like Microsoft's 2.1 that I have on my other Windows XP Netbook. And it does support record videos with your webcam.

But when I read from other peoples reviews on portable MM2.1,that their AVG and Norton security found a virus infected file. I got very worried and so I uninstalled it. And then I did a system restore to put my computer back in time to before I installed portable Movie Maker 2.1. And I also scanned with Malwarebytes and my computer was clean-no viruses. But when you read stories like that.It is very worrying and unless it can be proved that portable Movie Maker 2.1 is safe. There is no choice but to forget it for the time being. But the odd thing is that it says on the tag about portable Movie Maker that it IS Windows Movie Maker 2.1 by Microsoft.

But I think the problem is that although Windows 7 and Windows Vista are great OS's.Much of the software that ran on Windows XP has been taken out of Vista and 7.But on Windows XP you have a lot of better software as the early versions of Movie Maker and Windows Media Player 9 are better than the new ones.You said in your posts that you managed to get WMM2.1 running on Windows 7 by exporting the dill files. And maybe it is also possible to run earlier versions of Windows Media Player 9 and 10 on Windows 7 this way.

But how do you export dill files from XP to Windows 7? How is it done? A tutorial on this would be useful to me and other people who want to run their Windows XP software such as MM2.1 and WMP 9 on Windows 7.Could you explain how to do this as I don't have a lot of teck experience in computers.Andrea Borman.

PapaJohn Sep 7, 2011 2:10 AM

Hi Andrea...

I've not downloaded or checked the Windows 2.1 portable version and can't comment about it being safe or not. I recommend the MM2.6 version directly from Microsoft.

Miss.Andrea Borman. Sep 6, 2011 2:08 PM

Windows Movie maker 2.1 on Windows 7-

Windows Movie Maker 2.6 for Windows Vista is a clone of Windows Movie Maker 2.1 for Windows XP but the only thing different about 2.6. Is that it does not support record from your webcam like 2.1 does. But there is a Windows Movie Maker 2.1 portable which will run on Windows 7 and Windows Vista. Which is the portable version of Movie Maker 2.1 for Windows XP. But it is not made by Microsoft. So I don't know how safe that file is on our computer.As I have read that some anti-virus scans blocked the download of Windows Movie Maker 2.1 portable version.So is it safe? Andrea Borman.

PapaJohn Aug 30, 2011 2:08 AM

thanks Tridiv

enjoy your movie making projects...

Tridiv Dutta Aug 29, 2011 12:35 AM

MM2.1 or 2.6

Thanks PapaJohn, I finally could overcome all my fear and copied MM2.6 from one of the XP machine and pasted in my W7 machine, executed the bat file, and lo and behold, it is soooo smooth sailing! Now my Sony handycam (MPEG2, Dolby Digital audio) files are read by MM2.6 and can be edited as usual. Thanks a ton for your guidance. Your material on the MM were also of great help and worth millions. The only thing I still fail to understand why W7 did not include MM.

Keep up your great work for less wiser like us!

PapaJohn Aug 26, 2011 11:42 AM

Hi Tridiv....

How it handles MPEG2 and other files will partially depend on the codecs on your particular system. I'd test it but not expect it to be any better. It'll still be MM2.1 and file conversions of MPEG2 files are the usual path.

See the 'registering DLLs' section of this website page... http://www.papajohn.org/MM2-Setup-Software-2_1.html

Tridiv Aug 26, 2011 3:22 AM

MM2.1 to Win7

Thanks, my son plans to do the copy-paste job of MM2.1 from XP to Win7, but I have few queries. Will it support my new sony handy-cam's MPEG-2 file with Dolby Digital audio? And what actuality you meant by "registering dll files"? Please elaborate.

PapaJohn Aug 14, 2011 4:55 PM

Hi Emma....

You don't download music directly into Movie Maker. You download it from whatever website you want, and then import it or add it to your movie collections or project.

Note - Movie Maker won't work with copyrighted tunes...

emma Savely Aug 14, 2011 4:04 PM

music on movie maker

how can i download the music I like into my movie on movie maker
it only comes with a couple country songs

PapaJohn Jul 7, 2011 2:56 AM

MM2.1 on Windows 7

I'm to the point of doing all my video work in Windows 7 systems... my primary app is Windows Live Movie Maker, but I'll sometimes use MM2.1 or other classic versions.

Andrea mentions a download of MM2.1, something I'm not aware exists outside of the full XP operating system.

Miss.Andrea Borman. Jul 7, 2011 12:16 AM

Windows Movie Maker 0n Windows 7.

No,You cannot install Windows Movie Maker 2.1 for Windows Xp on Windows 7 or Windows Vista. You cannot install it because when you download 2.1 it won't lt. You get a message that says sorry 2.1 is only for Windows XP. but you CAN install Windows Movie Maker 2.6 for Windows Vista on Windows 7. this Does install on Windows 7 and is exactly the same as Movie Maker 2.1 for XP except that in this version you cannot record videos with your web cam. But you can do that with other webcam software such as Mycam and then import the video to Windows Movie Maker just like you can do on the XP version. Andrea Borman.

PapaJohn Apr 9, 2011 12:43 PM

Hi Lai Garza....

When you import a video clip using the menu.... the window that shows your files has an option at the lower left. By default it's checked to do the auto splitting. Uncheck it and it'll stay that way until to check it again.

Lai Garza Apr 8, 2011 4:11 AM

When importing clips...

When importing clips into MM2.6 it breaks them up into separate clips. Is there any way I can keep the videos I important together until I decided to split them manually rather than going through thirty twenty second clips.

JamesTate Apr 2, 2011 8:19 AM

Update

Oh joy! Downloaded and installed MM2.6 on Windows 7 and it works a treat. This'll make life a lot easier for us. Thanks again for the tip John.

JamesTate Apr 1, 2011 4:00 PM

Thanks John

Great...I'll go for the MM2.6 option. Just what I needed. Ta very much.

PapaJohn Apr 1, 2011 3:53 PM

Hi James...

I'd recognize you anyplace, at least your hat.

Windows 7 itself doesn't include any version but most of the computer manufacturers today are adding the Essentials package with Windows Live Movie Maker included.

Rather than going all the way back to your youth, try the Vista MM2.6 version. It's semi-supported by Microsoft and downloads, installs and runs on Windows 7 without having to tweak things like registering DLLs. Here's the link....

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=d6ba5972-328e-4df7-8f9d-068fc0f80cfc&DisplayLang=en

It uses the same 3rd party and custom transitions and effects as MM2.1... if that's not enough for you, you can add MM2.1 from XP or MM6 from Vista, as long as you do your own tech support.

JamesTate Apr 1, 2011 3:28 PM

MM2.1 to Windows 7

Hi John
We just got some new Toshiba laptops with Windows 7 loaded at my work. I've set aside one for use in community video projects and I'm not impressed with the Movie Maker in 7. I see that you mention copying the MM2.1 folder to 7 and registering dll's. I'm not familiar with the process - is it complicated? I'd rather use MM2.1 for the stuff we're planning.Some guidance would be appreciated.
(Yes, it is me from Vimeo and I'm still planning what to do when I'm young again)
Thanks

Miriam Mar 1, 2011 2:49 PM

Audio problem in MM 2.6

I finally decided to grit my teeth and begin again. I switched to a WinXP computer and MM 2.1. I haven't finished editing my movie, but I did put in the clips, add the extra sound that I needed, and I rendered the file to a wmv file suitable to burn on a CD. The syncronization problem has gone away. I will add transitions and titles, but hopefully these will not alter the sound. I'm afraid that until I can afford a more advanced editor than MovieMaker, I will have to stick to the older version.

Miriam Schechter Feb 28, 2011 2:37 PM

Moviemaker 2.6 audio

Thanks for your quick response. Unfortunately, the audio starts out fine, and the drifting happens later in the movie. I video school events as a teacher,neither for fun or profit, and as we are a religious school with very little money, free software is easier to get than money to buy. I have been trying to decide what software would work that I can afford to buy myself,and can't decide whether Premiere Elements or maybe one of the other programs that cost around $100 would be better than Moviemaker 2.6.

PapaJohn Feb 28, 2011 2:04 PM

Hi Miriam....

Audio/video sync issues are fairly common but often difficult to understand the cause and how best to resolve them... and audio tools in Movie Maker are poor to none.

If you video school performances as a business it might be best to go forward rather than backwards to XP, but with purchased video editing software that has more and better features.

If it's for personal use and you want to stay with free software, then maybe some detailed testing would help you understand where in your process the sync issue is being introduced and what steps to take. There are two kinds of sync issues.... the easier to work around one is when the shift between audio and video is constant through a full hour... shift the audio by that much. The harder kind is when the sync is perfect at the beginning but drifts apart as it plays.

Miriam Schechter Feb 28, 2011 11:18 AM

Moviemaker 2.6

Thanks for your previous help. I am still trying to learn to edit video in Win7, using free software, and I'm making progess, but slowly. I video school performances, so I need to do a good bit of cutting and splicing, and thi final movies are around an hour long. I just can't seem to do what I need to in MM Live. I finally have a MM 2.6 file that I like on a Win 7 computer, but when I create a wmv file, the sound gets out of sync. I tried to nudge the whole sound track forward a couple of frames, but I didn't find that it helped, and it's pretty cumbersome. I thought that if I copy the files to a WinXP machine and create the wmv there it might work better, but I was using MM 2.6, and MM 2.1 won't open that file. I'm fighting going back to a Win XP machine and starting all over, but maybe I have no choice?

PapaJohn Feb 26, 2011 9:19 PM

Hi Ecem....

I got an email from Bright Hub with your comment. Rather than wait for it to showup online, I'll respond.

Be sure to zoom into the timeline to see the text clips and the pictures you have them over well enough to grab their right edges and pull them to the right as needed to align the pictures and text clips.

When you make the duration of a text clip longer you need to also change the duration of the associated picture.

I'm assuming you're using pictures, not video clips and you're using MM2.1 or another classic version of Movie Maker, not Windows Live Movie Maker.

I might not be interpreting your comment right. If you need more help, use the forums at http://www.windowsmoviemakers.net/Forums/ as I'll be too busy for a week to quickly respond.

Ecem Feb 26, 2011 6:04 PM

Help, please.

You see, I have to do a project for school. Some of the text that I enter into the title boxes are very long--about 7 sentences. So what I want to do is make that "slide's" time longer than 5 seconds, I want it to be about 7 or 8 seconds. But whenever I try to do that, it messes everything up(for example, the little text things under the black boxes move to the second or third black box, the pictures jump to other places, etc...) This problem is bothering me very much. Please help me if you can.

PapaJohn Feb 8, 2011 3:09 PM

Miriam...

I agee with you about losing some quality with each rendering and minimizing the number of such steps in the process.

I find that WLMM opens classic project files (.MSWMM) from MM6 but not from other versions. Open an MM2.6 project with MM6 (if you have access to a copy of it), resave it, and then open in WLMM. If you don't have MM6, it's easy enough to put the project file on a thumbnail (without the source files) and open/close it in MM6 on another computer.

Miriam Feb 8, 2011 8:40 AM

MM Live failure

Thanks for your prompt reply. Yes, I am using a firewire cable, and I don't think it's a cable problem as I am able to capture the camera date with Pinnacle 14. But Pinnacle can't seem to turn the avi file into a DVD. It crashes every time about half way through. I have had success creating the original avi with Pinnacle, editing it with MM 2.6, and creating a new, edited avi with MM2.6. This avi I use with MML to create a DVD. I feel like I must be losing quality of the final movie with all this converting, and it would be handy to a least eliminate one step. Is there any way to use a MM2.6 project file directly in MML, without having to create a second avi?

PapaJohn Feb 7, 2011 4:09 PM

Hi Miriam,

MM2.6 is a stripped down version of MM2.1 from XP. One of the features removed from it is the capturing of video from a camcorder, something done in Vista by the Capture wizard.

Windows 7 continued the trend of having the Capture wizard of Photo Gallery doing the capturing. It works only with a firewire connection. Your camcorder has a firewire port and should work... but many new computers running Windows 7 don't come with firewire connections.

Are you using a firewire connection or trying to do it with USB, which won't work? If by firewire, eheck with another firewire cable and/or another camcorder... it's a trial and error process to find the issue.

Miriam Feb 7, 2011 2:14 PM

Movie Maker 2.6 files and MM Live

I work for a middle school, and I make videos of various events. I have a new computer running Win7, with MM live and MM 2.6 installed. I can't get MML to complete a capture. It gets to the end of the DV tape (Canon zr500 camera) and then says the program had to close. It leaves a file .avi_temp_tmp, which I opened by changing the extension to .avi, but the sound was all messed up. MM 2.6 doesn't even recognize the camera.

PapaJohn Jan 16, 2011 10:55 PM

Hi Daniel...

If you've added one title 'card as you call it', you can add more at any time, and move them around the project as you want to. Use the same 'Title' icon that you used for the first one.

Daniel Jan 16, 2011 8:42 PM

I Can't add a new card!

In Windows Live Movie Maker, Im trying to add a new card. After starting with the tite card, im not sure how to add another one. It was so easy in Windows Movie Maker. Can you please help me.

PapaJohn Jan 6, 2011 9:20 PM

Hi Christy...

your issues point to the need to convert the files to others before importing.... there are hundreds of avi file types and many are compressed with codecs such that they don't work well in Movie Maker. See my website's (www.papajohn.org)Import Movie Source Files > Video > AVI page and others in that section.

Christy Jan 6, 2011 8:52 PM

editing in 2.6 in Win7 (64) laptop

I'm having problems with the editing. The converted AVI files -from a proprietary .mpeg format- uploaded just fine. The clips from the first collection (the whole raw footage is 3 gig) edited and played fine. I added clips from the 2nd collection. When I tried to play those the slider jumps to the very end. I've tried restarting WMM and rebooting but still doesn't work.

Any suggestions?

PapaJohn Nov 23, 2010 6:22 PM

Hi Courtney...

No, you can't do it with Windows Live Movie Maker.... you can do it with a custom overlay (title) in MM2.1, MM2.6 or MM6... but it involves making a .png image file with transparancy and applying it with a custom xml title effect.

See the Edit Movies > XML > Script Types > Custom Overlays page of my website (www.papajohn.org). Download my starter kit, check that it works, then substitute one of my images with yours.

Courtney U. Nov 23, 2010 6:01 PM

Overlaying Images on videos

I am working on a business project on creating a video for the new product. My boss wants to know if I can overlay a see through image to give the video an antiqued look and to also put a banner with the text on it over the video. Basically they're both the same thing. Overlaying an image onto the video; however, I cannot figure out how to over lap an image onto the video. Is there a way to do that on windows live movie maker for windows 7? I need to know today asap. I'm on a deadline. Pleeease help

PapaJohn Jul 21, 2010 2:19 PM

Hi Els...

I don't know of any site to download a neat installation package of MM2.1.... but there's lots of Windows XP computers around to copy the files from.

You can open a copy of project file made by v2.1 using MM6 in Vista, and then take it to Windows 7 and open it in WLMM. You don't need to do anything to the project in MM6 except open it and resave.

Note that WLMM doesn't have all the transitions and effects of previous versions so you might find fancy transitions replace with simple fades.

Els Jul 21, 2010 9:34 AM

how to convert a file made in mm 2.1 to mmlive?

hi papajohn,

were do I find a free download of movie maker 2.1 to install on my laptop with windows 7 home edition. I have a file made in 2.1 and can't open it in movie maker live. Or is there a way to convert the file so it can be opened in movie maker live?
Els

PapaJohn Feb 17, 2010 2:57 AM

Hi Lucy.... that's in my other article.... here's the link

http://www.brighthub.com/multimedia/video/articles/25282.aspx

Lucy Feb 17, 2010 2:23 AM

HELP!

hello i am trying to find out how to download movie maker becuase it is part of my homewrok and i have windows 7 please help !!!!!!!

PapaJohn Feb 11, 2010 6:29 PM

Collection Database Files...

Jim, my website www.papajohn.org has a Manage Your Files > Collections page with some info about the file.

Be aware that MM2.1 and MM2.6 will happily co-exist using the same collection database. But MM6 also uses the same location and file name, and it's not a two-way street. If MM6 has opened it, MM2.1 or MM2.6 will then treat it as corrupt and wipe it clean. If important to you, that's when your backup copy will come in handy.

Jim Stubchaer Feb 11, 2010 5:57 PM

MM 2.1 on Win 7 Collection file

I found that even though I run WMM 2.1 from a thumb drive on a Win 7 PC, the Collection file is on the PC hard drive, not the thumb drive. The default name is MEDIATAB0.DAT. The location is Computer\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\MovieMaker\MEDIATAB0.DAT
This file can be copied for backup purposes. I examined it in Notepad.
New Collection files can be created in the Tools Menu in MM 2.1.
Perhaps everyone else knows this, but I didn't. I find it very useful to help understand how to manage MM. (At age 80 I'm still learning!)

PapaJohn Feb 11, 2010 5:31 PM

Windows DVD Maker....

is included in Windows 7.... Save your movies as WMV files from Movie Maker and then use them in Windows DVD Maker to produce a disc. It should play fine in stand-alone DVD players.

Dan Johnson Feb 11, 2010 5:03 PM

Nice Idea Jim

I have put 2.6 on her new laptop and she has done a sample video and it works.
I will try the XP version on a thumb drive as you did to see if there are more options for her.
Also I have another question:
Would someone point me to a tutorial as to making a DVD of pictures with music or digital videos that will play when inserted into a DVD player hooked up to a TV.
We can watch her projects on the PC but there has to be some formatting or auto play file that needs to be done to it.
She has an application that is called DVD maker that we have not tried yet.
Any ideas?
Thanks guys,
Dan

PapaJohn Feb 10, 2010 4:30 PM

thanks Jim...

I'd bet it was MM2.6 paving the way for - or fixing issues with - other versions of Movie Maker.

Jim Stubchaer Feb 10, 2010 4:04 PM

Windows MM 2.1 & Windows 7

I have a new Windows 7 Home Premium x64 notebook. I installed Win Live Movie Maker and found it greatly inferior to MM 2.1. I then installed MM 2.6, and found it better than Live MM, but also inferior to MM 2.1.
To try to use MM 2.1 on my Win 7 PC I copied the entire Movie Maker (2.1) folder from Program Files on an XP PC onto a USB thumb drive, plugged it into an USB port on the Win 7 notebook, and ran it from there. It works perfectly. I did not register anything. Perhaps the fact that I have MM 2.6 installed helps, but I don't know.
Anyway, my issues with MM under Win 7 are solved. I thought other might like to know.

Dan Johnson Jan 10, 2010 6:17 PM

Thanks

PapaJohn, I understand your position and since I posted last we tried to import and use it but it will not actually do anything.
I am going to look around on how to get this to run as she saw all the "new" transitions and effects and is real excited. If she really is into this media creation I just might buy a 3rd party application.
It's too bad Microsoft has to try to profit from everything.
Dan

PapaJohn Jan 10, 2010 1:36 AM

Hi Dan...

I wish I could help more. I appreciate your detailed comment as it helps me think about how far I'll be helping users go down uncharted and unsupported paths. We're all pretty much on our own when it comes to our personal computers.... I'd hate to be the reason why someone messed up their system because of something I advised.

If I was to be seriously going down the path toward having MM6 running on a Win7 x64 system.... for the long haul as opposed to just exploring it a bit, I guess I'd try the downloadable MM6 installation package that I've read about. Postings from those who have tried it are mostly positive.... I'll leave it to you to research where it is. I havn't downloaded it to check.

I don't routinely use a 64 bit version of Windows 7 and I and prefer running the XP MM2.1 version on my Win 7 32 bit laptop, with MM2.6 installed to assist it in the DLL arena. I run MM2.1 from a thumb drive and stay as far away as I can from the Program Files folders. They seem to have super-security measures associated with them.

I'd suggest the Microsoft Answers forums... or other forums.... for good answers to your questions. I'll be staying arms-length away from all the issues users will be getting into when they go deeply into unsupported grounds.

To get it into the start menu, you can right-click on the MM6 executable and send it to the desktop, and then from there drag and drop it into the start menu. I don't know how to get it further, into the all programs tree.

Dan Johnson Jan 10, 2010 12:08 AM

Me again PapaJohn

I decided to go a different route than 2.6.
I read somewhere that I could copy the Movie Maker folder from the program directory of a Vista Machine and put it in the program files of a Seven machine.
I copied it from a friends machine and put it in the Seven (64 bit) machine's program file directory.
I have a couple issues:
1. there are 2 program file directories, 1 says "Program Files" and the other is "Program Files (x86)"
I believe the (x86) one has something to do with the UAC in Seven. I have that disabled so I have admin rights and also I saw where that it may stop registration of the dll files.
2. I was not able to register the files manually using the regsvr32 routine in the run box. It gave a message to check the binary code or it may not be a dll or OCX file. How can I see if they are registered or not?
It opens and runs if I double click the MM application file from within the MM folder.However, it does not show up in the "all programs" section of the start menu.
We have not tried to import any video or pictures yet to actually make anything but it looks like it will work.
Which program file directory should it be in?
What do I need to do to get it to show in the "all programs" part of the start menu?
Don't give up yet I can smell victory.
Thanks in advance for any advice,
Dan
PS: sorry I have not replied sooner.

John Jan 5, 2010 5:20 PM

Windows 7

If Windows doesn't make a version of MM2.1 to operate with Windows7, and soon, then they have successfully converted me into becoming a Mac user. Mac's IMovie gets rave reviews and you would think Microsoft, as much of a leader as they are, would have put more thought into this. MM2.1 is a decent video maker. Too bad. Especially since the special effect packages I bought can't be used.

PapaJohn Jan 4, 2010 12:39 AM

... Dan

I just checked v2.6 by downloading and installing it on a 64 bit Windows 7 desktop. OK

MM2.6 is a stripped down version of MM2.1, recompiled to run on Vista (and Windows 7 I guess). It'll be pretty much identical to MM.1 on XP but lacking features like capturing video from a camcorder and narrations from a microphone. If her laptop doesn't have a firewire connection, she won't miss the video capture.

Dan Johnson Jan 3, 2010 11:27 PM

Thanks PapaJohn

Okay, thanks for the quick answer. I have a couple more questions...
Are there going to be any problems putting MM2.6 on the 64 bit version of W7?
Also we have limited internet and I'm not sure I want to put any of the MS live applications on her machine.
We have MM2.1 on my laptop with XP SP2 and it seems to do what she needs. It just doesn't have the space or memory that her's does.
If I install the 2.6 version you link to in this article will it be similar to the MM she is used to?
Thanks again for the quick reply and I hope I don't sound too paranoid.
Dan Johnson

PapaJohn Jan 3, 2010 8:56 PM

Hi Dan..... yes, I think you have it right

MM2.6 plus the new Windows Live Movie Maker might give her all she needs. There's no need to register DLLs as the Microsoft installation software takes care of it for you.

Dan Johnson Jan 3, 2010 8:38 PM

movie maker in 7

Hello Papajohn, I bought a new laptop with 7 for my highschool age daughter to do spanish and history projects on. She uses Movie Maker for these projects and was not aware MM was not on 7. The version of 7 we have is 64 bit.
Do you recommend the 2.6 for vista to use in this situation? She mostly uses photos to make movies with titles and music.
If I need to register dll's let me know how to do that.
Thanks in advance,
Dan Johnson
e-mail me directly if you prefer: johnsdp@yahoo.com

PapaJohn Sep 12, 2009 5:24 PM

Response to comment

Hi Dan,

If you use MM2.1 to capture in Windows 7 you'll have the same choices you have with it in XP.

Dan Brennan Jul 3, 2009 3:17 PM

Interesting article. I need to know if I can apply specifications directly to .wmv file captured in movie maker. This is possible with 2.1 with xp, but I haven't been able to apply this profile in vista, except upon publishing, which takes additional time. Is this feature possible in real time with an upgrade to windows 7, either home premium or the business version?
Thanks.
Dan

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Conclusions

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