WMM Freezing - Size issue?

[Guest]

Hi,

I've been reading the other posts about WMM freezing but wanted to explain
my problem:

Windows XP Professional
5.1 Service Pack 2 Build 2600
49% free space (13.94 GB free)
Available Physical Memory 655.48 MB
Virus Scan done 10/20/06 - clean
Adaware done 10/20/06 - clean
Automatic Window updates

I'm making a 5 to 8 minute movie using video clips and music. I've
transferred 95 clips to date, all averaging 20 seconds long at the most. I
will be adding quite a bit more, using some video clips as audio voiceovers.

According to Explore, the saved WMM file size is only 437 KB's. But I'm
freezing up more and more when I'm working in WMM. There's nothing I can put
my finger on as to what I'm doing or when it happens. I do know if I click on
things too fast, that will cause it to freeze up so I've been very careful.
This has been happening with more frequency in the past couple of weeks.

I had Roxio installed but removed it this week and installed Nero with a
Sony double layer, dual layer CD/DVD burner. WMM continues to freeze up but I
can't say that it is freezing more or less with these changes.

I would appreciate your help with this. If this is a chronic problem with
WMM, I may have to scrap 25 hours of work and start all over again with the
movie/DVD builder in Nero. I really don't want to do that.

Any ideas?

(I'll be gone for awhile but will check back later.)

Thanks,
KP

 

[John Inzer]

Hi,

I've been reading the other posts about WMM freezing but wanted to
explain my problem:

Windows XP Professional
5.1 Service Pack 2 Build 2600
49% free space (13.94 GB free)
Available Physical Memory 655.48 MB
Virus Scan done 10/20/06 - clean
Adaware done 10/20/06 - clean
Automatic Window updates

I'm making a 5 to 8 minute movie using video clips and music. I've
transferred 95 clips to date, all averaging 20 seconds long at the
most. I will be adding quite a bit more, using some video clips as
audio voiceovers.

According to Explore, the saved WMM file size is only 437 KB's. But
I'm freezing up more and more when I'm working in WMM. There's
nothing I can put my finger on as to what I'm doing or when it
happens. I do know if I click on things too fast, that will cause it
to freeze up so I've been very careful. This has been happening with
more frequency in the past couple of weeks.

======================================
The saved file size you are referring to is probably
your .mswmm project file. The reason it appears to
be small is because it does not include your source
files. If you save as a .wmv or .avi movie you will
see a much larger file size.

Sounds like resource issues to me. My first thought
is that you need more memory.

Larger hard drive, more RAM (2GB is not unusual
for video editors).

Disconnect from the net, close all programs...especially
virus scanners before opening Movie Maker.

Also, it may help if you increase the size of your
virtual memory paging file. The following article
explains how:

(308417) HOW TO: Set Performance Options
in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308417

And regular maintenance can help;

Running Disk Cleanup, Error Checking and
Defrag on a regular schedule is a good idea.

(310312) Description of the Disk Cleanup
Tool in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=310312

(315265) How to Perform Disk Error Checking
in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=315265
(check the two boxes..."Automatically fix file
system errors" and "Scan for and attempt
recovery of bad sectors") the utility will run
the next time you restart your computer.
(run error checking repeatedly until it finds
no errors)

(314848) How to Defragment Your Disk
Drive Volumes in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=314848
======================================

I had Roxio installed but removed it this week and installed Nero
with a Sony double layer, dual layer CD/DVD burner. WMM continues to
freeze up but I can't say that it is freezing more or less with these
changes.

I would appreciate your help with this. If this is a chronic problem
with WMM, I may have to scrap 25 hours of work and start all over
again with the movie/DVD builder in Nero. I really don't want to do
that.

Any ideas?

=======================================
The following article may offer some ideas also:

Movie Maker 2 Crashes and Hangs
http://www.papajohn.org/MM2-Issues-Acceleration-and-Codecs.html


--

******John Inzer********
**MS Picture It! MVP**

*****Digital Image******
Highlights and FAQs
http://tinyurl.com/aczzp

*********Notice***********
This is not tech support
........I am a volunteer.......

Solutions that work for
me may not work for you.

Proceed at your own risk.

Need a Web Host?
*******Consider********
Annex Technologies
http://www.annex.com/
**************************

 

[Guest]

Thanks John. I'll definitely check out the links.

I checked the RAM and it reads: 1.59 GHz, 1.00 GB of RAM. I'll check out
adding more RAM as you advised.

I typically have all programs closed when I'm working in WMM. When you say
to close virus scanners, do you mean to disable them while in WMM?

Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it.

KP

 

[John Inzer]

Thanks John. I'll definitely check out the links.

I checked the RAM and it reads: 1.59 GHz, 1.00 GB of RAM. I'll check
out adding more RAM as you advised.

=================================
1GB is good...2GB would be better but
is not totally necessary. based on the
size of your hard drive I expected you to
have much less.
=================================

I typically have all programs closed when I'm working in WMM. When
you say to close virus scanners, do you mean to disable them while in
WMM?

=================================
Yes, I'm saying disable your virus scanner
before opening Movie Maker but be sure
you are off the net when you do it.

Anything you do in the background while
video is being edited/saved/etc...uses
valuable resources. Some machines are
powerful enough to multi-task...and some
are not.

--

******John Inzer********
**MS Picture It! MVP**

*****Digital Image******
Highlights and FAQs
http://tinyurl.com/aczzp

*********Notice***********
This is not tech support
........I am a volunteer.......

Solutions that work for
me may not work for you.

Proceed at your own risk.

Need a Web Host?
*******Consider********
Annex Technologies
http://www.annex.com/
**************************

 

[Guest]

Thanks John. I'll start by disabling the virus scan. I'm on dial up (ugh -
high speed not available where I live) and I try to stay offline when I'm
working in WMM.

I just opened WMM (without disabling virus scan), made a couple of changes
and it froze up on me. I deleted music in the timeline, deleted the song from
the collection, and moved (slid) some audio over and it froze up.

I'm a bit concerned about changing the codecs. I looked at the link you
provided and none of the descriptions seemed to fit what is happening on my
laptop. I'm afraid if I change the .ax on the ones I have, it might mess up
something else. Thoughts?

Thanks again,
KP

 

[John Inzer]

Thanks John. I'll start by disabling the virus scan. I'm on dial up
(ugh - high speed not available where I live) and I try to stay
offline when I'm working in WMM.

I just opened WMM (without disabling virus scan), made a couple of
changes and it froze up on me. I deleted music in the timeline,
deleted the song from the collection, and moved (slid) some audio
over and it froze up.

I'm a bit concerned about changing the codecs. I looked at the link
you provided and none of the descriptions seemed to fit what is
happening on my laptop. I'm afraid if I change the .ax on the ones I
have, it might mess up something else. Thoughts?

Thanks again,
KP

==============================
Sorry but based on the info you provided,
the previous articles are all I can offer.

Maybe the following forum would be useful:

Windows Movie Maker Forum
http://www.windowsmoviemakers.net/forums/

--

******John Inzer********
**MS Picture It! MVP**

*****Digital Image******
Highlights and FAQs
http://tinyurl.com/aczzp

*********Notice***********
This is not tech support
........I am a volunteer.......

Solutions that work for
me may not work for you.

Proceed at your own risk.

Need a Web Host?
*******Consider********
Annex Technologies
http://www.annex.com/
**************************

 

[Guest]

Thanks John. I'll definitely check out the forum since I have a new problem
with video transfer. Video looks fine on camcorder LCD screen and on tv, but
is pixelated in WMM and Nero. There is definitely something in the Windows
settings that needs adjusting.

Oh, disabling the virus scan really helps. Thanks for that tip!

 

[Graham Hughes]

You've not mentioned the file types you have in your project, these can have
a marked effect. Check out this page.
http://www.myvideoproblems.com/Tutorials/MovieMaker/File_type_compatibility.htm
You may find a few more helpful hints here as well
http://www.myvideoproblems.com/Tutorials/OptimiseMyPcForVideo.htm

--
Graham Hughes
MVP Digital Media
www.myvideoproblems.co.uk
www.dvds2treasure.com
www.simplydv.com

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the info, Graham.

I've been transferring video clips from my Sony Digital 8 DCR-TRV280
handycam. I won't be using any still pictures.

When I check the files in Explore, the video file type is Windows Media
Audio/Video file. I'm using music briefly at the beginning and again at the
end. The file type says CD Audio Track. Is there another way to identify a
file type?

I now have 2 GB's of memory but haven't worked in WMM yet. I've been
disabling my virus scan and am wondering if I should be disabling Adaware and
firewalls too.

WMM always freezes up when I go from the Timeline view to Storyboard. Any
ideas on what to do about that? Also, it tends to freeze up after I've been
working in WMM for awhile. (I am using a laptop.)

Thanks,
KP