"Unspecified error"

[Public posting]

I'm trying to run Windows MovieMaker and all I'm getting is a very small
error box with "Unspecified Error"

I've got XP/Pro sp2.

It worked okay back when I was using sp1, but this is the first time I tried
WMM since installing sp2. (A lot of programs don't work quite right under
SP2. We were better off without it.)

Doing a fresh reinstall on the off chance that would help isn't practical.
(Too much trouble and I don't want to backup my system before doing it.)

Is there anyway I can get another copy WMM 2.1 to install over the
apparently damaged version I already have?

Are there any switches etc. that I can use to force WMM to give more useful
errors??! (What kind of a freaking idiot programmer does an error message
like "unspecified error"??!)

 

[PapaJohn \(MVP\)]

No on a 2.1 install package.... maybe you remove SP2 and revert to SP1. Use
your Control Panel Software utility.
--
PapaJohn

Movie Maker 2 - www.papajohn.org
Photo Story 2 - www.photostory.papajohn.org

..

 

[Public posting]

So basically I'm screwed yet again by Microsoft.

Removing SP2 is just as risky as doing anything else.

It still involves first backing up my system in case the uninstall screws
up, and uninstalling important system stuff (antivirus, firewalls etc. since
sp2->sp1 might cause them problems) and there's still no guarantee it'd fix
it.

Thanks anyway....

 

[Dean Rowe [MS]]

Sorry to hear you're having problems. "Unspecified error" just means that
something failed. (It maps to E_FAIL in MSDN). I agree with you though we
should be much better at telling you exactly what was going on when that
failure occured.

I assume you're seeing this message box when MovieMaker starts up? Here are
a few suggestions I can think of, off the top of my head.

Reinstalling SP2 might fix, (maybe some files didn't get copied across
properly or something like that). However it sounds like you don't want to
try that approach.

Click Start...Run type in DXDIAG and click OK. This is the DirectX
Diagnostic Tool. Once it comes up go to the "DirectX Files tab" and see if
it says anything in the Notes window at the bottom. If everything is OK it
should say No problems found.

It's possible that there's a problem with your collection file. This file is
stored in your \Documents and Settings\<USERNAME>\Local Settings\Application
Data\Microsoft\Movie Maker. Go to this directory in explorer and you should
see a file called MEDIATABn.DAT where n is a number (probably 0). Rename the
file so it's called _MEDIATAB0.DAT or something like that. Then start
MovieMaker and see if it helps.

Let us know how it goes.
Regards
Dean Rowe
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

 

[Public posting]

I assume you're seeing this message box when MovieMaker starts up? Here
are a few suggestions I can think of, off the top of my head.

The errors pops up the instant I click on the moviemaker shortcut.

The moviemaker window doesn't appear or anything like that.

Reinstalling SP2 might fix, (maybe some files didn't get copied across
properly or something like that). However it sounds like you don't want to
try that approach.

I'd rather try to avoid doing anything drastic that might put my existing
system at risk.

I'm not in the mood to back up my entire c: partition for just in case
something major goes wrong with the uninstalling of sp2 or the reinstalling
of sp2.

SP2 is a major item, not a minor program where it's safe to install &
uninstall on a whim.

When I did the sp2, I did it from the cd. So everything should have been
installed properly. There weren't any errors when I installed it, otherwise
I would have tried it again. (I did a clean fresh install of xp/sp1 and
then did sp2.)

Click Start...Run type in DXDIAG and click OK. This is the DirectX
Diagnostic Tool. Once it comes up go to the "DirectX Files tab" and see if
it says anything in the Notes window at the bottom. If everything is OK it
should say No problems found.

No problems found.

It's possible that there's a problem with your collection file. This file
is stored in your \Documents and Settings\<USERNAME>\Local
Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Movie Maker. Go to this directory in
explorer and you should see a file called MEDIATABn.DAT where n is a
number (probably 0). Rename the file so it's called _MEDIATAB0.DAT or
something like that. Then start MovieMaker and see if it helps.

Nope. Didn't help.

Thanks for trying though.

Using MovieMaker certainly isn't critical, but I was wanting to mess with
some video...

 

[Rehan]

[...]

Reinstalling SP2 might fix [...]

I'd rather try to avoid doing anything drastic that might put my existing
system at risk.

I'm not in the mood to back up my entire c: partition for just in case
something major goes wrong with the uninstalling of sp2 or the
reinstalling of sp2.

SP2 is a major item, not a minor program where it's safe to install &
uninstall on a whim.

Look, there is obviously something wrong with your system and without
inspecting it in person it is hard to pinpoint the problem. Hence we can
only offer general fixes that are safe but cover wide range of issues. If
you are not in a mood to try anything then what's the point of asking for
help.

Btw, when asked to "reinstall" it does not mean that you have to uninstall
anything... all it means is that you re-run the installer and complete the
installation steps. It should not affect anything; no settings or data files
change by doing this. Only thing that should be affected is if any file is
misplaced for some reason should get fixed and if anything has become
unregistered it should get registered again.

Many people have found this to be a harmless step. I am not aware of anybody
who developed problems after re-installing SP2 on existing SP2 installation.
So it can be classed as a safe procedure.

Other things that have corrected many peoples various issues are:

* Re-installation of DirectX runtime (full download).
* Installation of Windows media encoder.

 

[Public posting]

[...]

Reinstalling SP2 might fix [...]

I'd rather try to avoid doing anything drastic that might put my existing
system at risk.

I'm not in the mood to back up my entire c: partition for just in case
something major goes wrong with the uninstalling of sp2 or the
reinstalling of sp2.

SP2 is a major item, not a minor program where it's safe to install &
uninstall on a whim.

Look, there is obviously something wrong with your system and without
inspecting it in person it is hard to pinpoint the problem. Hence we can

True. And the useless error message it gives doesn't help.

Although I disagree when you say "system". The system is working fine.
(Well, as fine as it ever has. It still has the same bugs etc. Microsoft
will never fix those because bugfixes are one of the reasons people upgrade
to a new OS.)

The problem is MovieMaker and it's refusal to say what's wrong.

I doubt the problem extends much beyond that.

only offer general fixes that are safe but cover wide range of issues. If
you are not in a mood to try anything then what's the point of asking for
help.

I asked if there was a way to just reinstall MM.

That's the part not working. But apparently it's not available except as
part of sp2. Microsoft figures nobody deserves the ability to install it by
itself because then you might be able to use it without all the new WMP and
DRM etc. that's included in sp2.

I also asked if there were any switches (or other methods) to encourage MM
to give better help. But apparently not.

And when I was asked to try a few other things (dxdiag, MM data file, etc.),
I tried them.

Btw, when asked to "reinstall" it does not mean that you have to uninstall
anything... all it means is that you re-run the installer and complete the

Most of the other help I've gotten has been to uninstall sp2, and then
reinstall sp2.

I'm not even sure you can install sp2 on top of itself.

installation steps. It should not affect anything; no settings or data
files change by doing this. Only thing that should be affected is if any
file is misplaced for some reason should get fixed and if anything has
become unregistered it should get registered again.

I would agree with you for a regular application.

But SP2 is a big part of XP. And some people definetly do have problems
installing it and uninstalling it. That's why I think it'd be a good idea
to back up my C: before I tried it.

I fully admit, I have reservations about doing brain surgery on my OS. And
that's basically what SP2 does.

The attitude Microsoft and others have is "if it doesn't work, reinstall".
That's not exactly helpful.

Many people have found this to be a harmless step. I am not aware of
anybody who developed problems after re-installing SP2 on existing SP2
installation. So it can be classed as a safe procedure.

I've never heard of anybody trying to do sp2 ontop of itself. Nobody has
mentioned that before.

It's always been to uninstall and then reinstall.

I might still be a bit hesitant.

Other things that have corrected many peoples various issues are:

* Re-installation of DirectX runtime (full download).
* Installation of Windows media encoder.

I'll try those tonight.