Windows Movie Maker

I have a Vista 32bit machine in the signature.

Windows Movie Maker has always been a little problematic. It hates certain mpeg codecs, it freezes, and it won't run properly at all if you have the Klite codec pack, or the FFDshow codecs.

However, one of the quirks has recently gotten worse. It appears now that W.M.M. is not properly shutting down. If you try to restart the application after closing it, a "this application is still running on this computer" error appears.

Cntrl/Alt/Delete, and the task manager shows no activity.

Is there a fix for this? My current workaround is I have to restart the computer after using W.M.M.

This used to happen occasionally, and usually if you waited a few minutes it would resolve itself. Now it happens everytime I use the app, and even after sitting all night, it will still think W.M.M. is running and won't start the application.

As a side note, what the h311 is up with the icon settings on Vista? Everytime I open up a folder the icons seem to need to reload, and it doesn't remember the folder settings. It's always been a problem, but I swear it's gotten worse. (By 'what is up' I mean, 'has microsoft acknowleged this issue, and are there any permanent fixes suggested?)

Uninstall any third party codec packs that you've installed; as you've found out most don't work as intended in Vista using WMP or WMM. Under Vista you'll notice the wording is slightly different as compared to XP: "You can apply the view (such as Details or Icons) that you are using for this folder to all folders OF THIS TYPE." 'Type' referring to the available templates: 'All Items', 'Documents', 'Pictures & Videos', 'Music Icons', 'Music Details', and 'Contacts'.

So you need to use 'Apply to Folders' once for EACH TYPE. You don't need to seek out each type of folder, instead just cycle any normal folder through the various templates (except for Contacts, only available in Contacts), and use 'Apply to Folders' after each view is set the way you want. You might also want to check out this tutorial...

How to Reset Windows Explorer Folder View Settings to Make Vista Remember
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/70819-windows-explorer-folder-view-settings.html

redduc900, you are a master of Windows. Thank you for the tutorial on the icons.

Unfortunately, I recently formatted the HD and I've never added back any of the problematic codec packs since then, so that doesn't explain my current problems.

Anyone else had abnormal shutdown of WMM? How did you fix it?

Which file type(s) are you having problems with... DV-AVI, WMV, Mpeg2, etc.?

Edit: It's not crashing any more than usual with a specific media type Reduc, it's not shutting down properly. It appears to shut down, but if you try to reopen the application, it says it can't because it's still running. It won't open again until you restart the machine. Edit#2: If it's relavant, I was manipulating video using the DVI "uncompressed" codec, and all the files were transcoded by WMM. No outside codecs used in my current project.



Wait, wait, wait...

I DO have some other multimedia programs. Any of these have known conflicts with WMM?

Quicktime Pro
DIVX codec (NOT the player, not the editor, nothing but the codec.)
Kantaris (Free media player that plays all the stuff the other two won't)

Note that in the past with FFDShow codec, I saw the codec opening multiple instances of itself before an error or crash. I'm not seeing that behavior now. (But I dont' use FFDShow anymore either.)

Honestly, I'm not willing to just give up all ability to play video with DIVX codecs, nor am I willing to give up Quicktime because I have an Itunes acct, and an Iphone, so I need my computer to have interoperability. So I HOPE these apps aren't the issue!!!

If I was to guess, I'd say there was a compatibility issue w/ the DivX codec and WMM. If you're not already running the latest version, try temporarily uninstalling it and see if you still have the shutdown issue.